Service Pack 2 for Windows 7?...Not likely

Windows 8 is here, and of course Microsoft wants you and everyone you know to upgrade to its newest operating system. Heck, Microsoft's even taken some of the sting out of upgrading by putting in place several promotions, such as offering Media Center as a free download to Windows 8 Pro users until January 31, 2013. But hey, if you're of the opinion that Microsoft will have to pry the Start menu from your cold, dead installation of Windows 7, then more power to you. Just be aware that you aren't likely to see a second Service Pack, so for all intents and purposes, what you currently see with Windows 7 is what you get.

That's not a bad thing -- Windows 7 is still a great OS -- it's just something to keep in mind. Citing sources close to Microsoft's sustained engineering team, The Register reports that there are no plans to release a Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Windows 7, a decision that breaks precedent with the typical update cycle for Windows.

Microsoft took three years to release SP2 for Windows XP, and now that we're in November, just over three years has passed since Microsoft launched Windows 7 to the general public. SP1 came out in February 2011.

What's the big deal? Not much, for home consumers anyway, but  without another service pack, it does let you know that you will be switching to Windows 8 a lot sooner than later.