Release candidates of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 have been available for a couple of months. But if you've been holding off on updating your Vista system until SP1 gets the official Microsoft seal of approval, it looks like you may not have to wait much longer.

There's a rumor going around that Microsoft is set to release Vista SP1 on February 15th. This shouldn't come as a huge shock. Microsoft had already said that the operating system update was on track for a Q1 2008 release. That said, we always take software release dates with a bucket of salt.

SP1 adds some stability, bug fixes, and hardware compatibility features to Windows Vista. Users shouldn't expect too many new features, as that was never the goal for this update. Microsoft, of course, is neither confirming nor denying that the service pack will be ready for release on February 15th.

Last week we started to hear a rumor that Windows 7, the successor to Vista could be on schedule for a 2009 release. And it's also rumored that early builds of Windows 7 are making the rounds to early testers and developers. So it should come as no surprise that someone claiming to have access to Windows 7 surfaced this weekend and posted his initial thoughts on the web.

A member of the Neowin forums says that he installed Windows 7 this weekend and was less than impressed (which wouldn't be surprising for such an early build). But that member has not presented any screenshots and has since deleted his post, so we're going to take anything he says with a grain of salt. Of course, it's possible that his post was legit but that he was contacted by a team of lawyers.

In a nutshell, he said that installation was difficult and the driver support was lacking. The GUI, he says looks a lot like Vista, but Gadgets are integrated into Explorer, rather than hosted in a separate sidebar. In other words, you can add, or hide gadgets by right clicking on the desktop. There are also reportedly some changes in the start menu and search box.

The most interesting bit is that Windows 7 aims to streamline the integration between the operating system and Microsoft's online services. For example, you should be able to sync your Internet Explorer settings with your Windows Live account so you can use them on any PC. This is and other online features are on a list of goals though, and aren't currently integrated into Windows 7. If in fact, Windows 7 is even out there right now.

OK, time to put your salt shakers down. What we do know is that Microsoft is already working on the next version of Windows. We also know that Microsoft has been playing up its Windows Live online services. It's not much of a stretch to imagine that Windows 7 will bridge the gap between desktop and online software. But whether the Neowin report is a leak or a pretty decent guess of what Windows 7 will look like, it's too early to say.

[via istartedsomething]

Michael Arrington of TechCrunch is reporting that Yahoo! has paid $350 million to purchase Zimbra. The official announcement isn't expected until this evening, but Arrington's in a pretty good position to pick up gossip today. He's hanging out with a ton of industry insiders today at a little software conference Arrington put together with Weblogs Inc. founder Jason Calacanis called TechCrunch40.

So we're going to assume his information is good and enter the world of wild speculation.

Zimbra makes some impressive open source communication tools for online/offline use. The company has a powerful e-mail client, calendar, and VoIP features.

While it's unlikely that Yahoo! plans to completely overhaul its e-mail client yet again, we could see Zimbra features showing up in Yahoo! services. Particularly the slick AJAX interfaces, the powerful collaboration tools, and the online/offline functionality.

There's this nasty rumor going around that Amazon may be in talks to purchase Netflix for $1.5 billion or so. The rumor was enough to drive Netflix stock up yesterday by about 5 percent or $1.06.

The San Jose Mercury News has already reported that spokespersons for Netflix and Amazon have already dismissed the rumor as, well... as a rumor. Of course, that's exactly what they would say even if there were some truth to it.

But there's at least one good reason to think this deal may be nothing more than idle speculation. Right now Amazon can sell products to buyers in most states without charging sales tax. But U.S. law says that if you have a bricks and mortar operation in a state, you have to charge sales tax. Since Netflix has 43 distribution centers across the country, that could mean Amazon would have to begin charging sales tax to millions of customers.

Just hours after we learned that Microsoft was in negotiations to take over Yahoo! the talks ended. The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reports that the talks were more of a quick chat.

Of course the blogosphere went crazy Friday (slow news day) with speculation on what this would mean for both companies. Microsoft jsut lost its bid to purchase DoubleClick, while Yahoo! is expanding its own advertising network. And while Microsoft has been trying to build its brand online to the point where it's as ubiquitous as the company's desktop software, Yahoo! already has as strong a presence as anyone online.

Could we see talks resume in earnest at some point? We wouldn't rule it out. But as of today, there's nothing to see here, so move along.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs tells Reuters he has no plans to offer a subscription option for iTunes customers, despite claims that Apple was working on just such a system.

To be honest, the rumor seemed a bit unlikely, coming from an unknown company. And it's not like Apple would really need to involve a third party if it wanted to implement a subscription model.

Jobs says the subscription model has failed for most other companies that have implemented it. Apple, on the other hand has sold more than 2.5 billion songs over the past four years through the iTunes store.

Subscription service allows the record labels to collect money on an ongoing basis and provides users with a large music library. But Jobs says there's not much consumer demand for subscription based services where, if you stop paying, you lose all of your music.

Widgets on Facebook. Is this a way to add clutter, or add valuable content?

There is a rumor buzzing around the WorldWideWeb that Facebook users could start to see the ability to add in widgets to their profiles. This could be seen as a disaster, or an improvement. I'm voting for the disaster. Currently the site is extremely clean and easy to navigate. Facebook serves its purpose to a T at present, hooking up friends and staying in touch. Cluttering the space with audio, video, and other distracting content pushes it to the mess that is now evident on the MySpace social network.

What are your thoughts? Would widgets benefit the user experience? Or wreck it?

Did Google buy SpaceshipOne? Michael Arrington has a scoop that Google has acquired the ship and is planning on storing it in building 43 at the Googleplex. The Ship is rumored to be still in the Smithsonian museum, since it won the $10 million X prize in 2004, but could be on the way to Mountain View California. We all know that Google can afford it with their sizable bank account, especially after the recent third quarter earnings released on Thursday. Larry Page is on the board of trustees of the X Prize foundation, so he does have some insides there if indeed it came onto the market. If you have a picture of SpaceShipOne taken on October 21st, Arrington wants it, and he's willing to give an iPod shuffle to the first person with evidence. This would be a great investment for Google, and then they could get back on track with their interplanetary operations. Stay tuned for further developments.

UPDATE: It looks like Google bought a full scale replica of SpaceShipOne. If you feel the desire, you too can get one from here.

TechCrunch's Michael Arrington is reporting on a "completely unsubstantiated" rumor that Google is in the final stages of closing a deal to acquire YouTube for $1.6 billion. He says his source for the rumor is "very good," but that he hasn't been able to get any confirmation. Google certainly has the cash and resources for this kind of transaction, and is probably one of the few companies that isn't scared stupid by the pile of lawsuits that some say loom over YouTube's head, but is YouTube really a fit for Google? Technologically, YouTube doesn't have anything that Google couldn't whip up in a few hours. YouTube does, however, have the social networking savvy that Google has proven itself to be not especially good at. Arrington puts the odds for this rumor at "40% likely to be at least partially true," but my gut says lower--30% or so.

Update: The Wall Street Journal is now reporting that Google and YouTube are indeed in talks, but they are in the early stages and could break off. It quotes the same $1.6 billion figure that Arrington cited.

Mac OS Rumors says that according to some of their "oldest and most reliable sources," Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard" will be shipping with an integrated BitTorrent system that will be utilized for delivering software updates and iTunes content. For sharing their bandwidth, Leopard users would get rewards like credit at the iTunes Music Store and Apple would save "hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars per year" in bandwidth costs. Head over to Mac OS Rumors for the full story.

Ooh, here's some juicy, unsubstantiated buzz: According to Dave Winer, AOL (this blogger's employer) is planning a new service that will challenge MySpace "head on." The announcement will allegedly be made in two weeks.

[Via my boss Jason Calacanis, who neither confirms nor denies, but is probably tenting his fingers right now.]

Update: Down in the comments we've got comfirmation from Armughan Javaid, Program Manager in AOL Technologies' Open Services group. He says "it will be kick-ass!"

Peter Rojas over at Engadget has the word from Google's PR department on yesterday's Google PC rumor: Nope. David Krane, Google's Director of Corporate Communications, says Google is happy with their current PC partners they "see no need to enter this market." Bummer.

The Inquirer is running an article which claims that in Dell is shipping PCs in the UK with Firefox on the desktop. Dell PR has given them a neither-confirm-nor-deny and the Mozilla Corporation could not be reached, which places this story firmly in the dubious rumor category. Still, it seems only a matter of time before major PC manufacturers start shipping PCs with Firefox, and why not? No person I've ever introduced to Firefox has ever complained, and I doubt Dell's customers would, either.

The Inquirer is running an article which claims that in Dell is shipping PCs in the UK with Firefox on the desktop. Dell PR has given them a neither-confirm-nor-deny and the Mozilla Corporation could not be reached, which places this story firmly in the dubious rumor category. Still, it seems only a matter of time before major PC manufacturers start shipping PCs with Firefox, and why not? No person I've ever introduced to Firefox has ever complained, and I doubt Dell's customers would, either.