Microsoft isn't saying when, but in an apparent slip of the tongue during an earnings call with analysts, Paul Otellini, president and CEO of Intel, said the first Windows Vista Service Pack is scheduled for release in October or November.

Among the questions Otellini was asked on Tuesday following the release of Intel's first-quarter financial results was what impact Vista would have on Intel financially in the second half of the year. In his answer, Otellini slipped in the timetable, while giving the expected response that companies were waiting to deploy Vista.

"In the corporate space, I believe most companies will act like Intel and do some pilots and testing today, but the deployment will actually happen when the service pack gets released in the fourth-quarter timeframe -- probably the October, November timeframe," Otellini said.

Microsoft wasn't immediately available for comment on Thursday, but a senior company official has said that the software maker doesn't plan to issue a major service pack for the operating system, which is "high quality right out of the gate."

Michael Sievert, corporate VP for Windows marketing, also said that Windows Update, which enables the software maker to make fixes when needed over the Internet, has made "big bang" service packs unnecessary.

Microsoft shipped Windows Vista, a major upgrade from Windows XP, to consumers in January. The OS has been available to businesses since last November.