Windows 7 Service Pack 1 Final has been released by Microsoft. Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1) is an important update that includes previously released security, performance, and stability updates for Windows 7. SP1 also includes new improvements to features and services in Windows 7, such as improved reliability when connecting to HDMI audio devices, printing using the XPS Viewer, and restoring previous folders in Windows Explorer after restarting.

For more information on this release, have a look at the following links:

Deployment Guide for Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1 and Windows 7 with SP1.doc – click here.

Hotfixes and Security Updates included in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1.xls – click here.

Notable Changes in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1.doc – click here.

Release Notes for Windows 7 with Service Pack 1.doc – click here.

There are a couple of ways to download and install Windows 7 SP1. You can download it through Windows Update, or you can obtain the full install package from Microsoft’s website:

To download the Windows 7 SP1 32-bit version (x86), click here (537.81 MB).

To download the Windows 7 SP1 64-bit version (x64), click here (903.2 MB).

Joann asks us via our contact page for a recommendation on a media player that can play many different video formats as well as audio.

To answer your question Joann, we really like VLC from VideoLAN.

Not only is VLC free, but it can play many different media formats without the need for bulky third party codec packs. Codec packs can often cause more issues than they’re worth. The versatile VLC contains just about every codec you will need to play your favorite video and music files.

In addition to being a great multimedia player, VLC is also an encoder and streamer. VLC can play CDs, video CDs and DVDs as well. Its cross-platform supporting Windows, MAC OS X, GNU/Linux and many others.

If you don’t like the default VLC interface, there are plenty of other nice looking skins to choose from.

Unlike some free media players, VLC is spyware and ad free. VLC can be downloaded here.

Happy computing, Joann!