Microsoft just released a bunch of patches to fix vulnerabilities in a number of editions of Windows, including several that are deemed "critical", Microsoft's most serious rating.

The at-risk versions of Windows include Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Vista. Windows 7 is not affected by these particular holes, which could be exploited by an attacker if left unpatched.

Those with Windows Update set to automatically download and install patches don't have to do anything; others will need to download and install the patches manually. If you do it manually, I strongly recommend not waiting to download the patches; these vulnerabilities are quite severe.

It took Windows Vista, the forerunner to Windows 7, fully seven months to be in use on 4 percent of computers accessing the Internet. Windows 7, by contrast, has beaten that mark in less than three weeks.

According to data released by web monitoring firm Net Applications, Windows 7 just hit 4 percent usage. It was released on Oct. 22 to the public. Contrast that with Vista, which was made available in November 2006; it didn't reach comparable adoption until June 2007.

This shouldn't be too surprising, since Windows 7 took off blazing out of the starting gate. Consumers are voting with their pocketbooks and PCs; it seems like they're giving Windows 7, at least initially, two big thumbs up.

A key milestone for any brand-new Windows operating system (OS) is Service Pack 1. In the case of Windows 7, that service pack may be coming very quickly -- as early as next summer, according to the technology news site Ars Technica, which uses a Russian website as its source.

Service packs are packages of bug fixes and other improvements to an OS. Given their large size and complexity, they're usually treated as separate products in terms of development and release cycles. Microsoft does not charge for service packs.

New Windows OSes have a reputation for problems, which is why many people don't like to switch to a new OS until at least Service Pack 1. Windows XP and Windows Vista were both bug-ridden, and Vista in particular had serious application compatibility issues at release; in other words, lots of stuff didn't work with it.

Windows 7, being essentially a newer version of Vista, does not seem to suffer from the same number of bugs; certainly some have been reported, but by comparison, it's a stable version 1 product. I can confirm those findings with the two different versions of Windows 7 I've used over numerous months. Still, service packs are good things to have, and the sooner Microsoft ships out Service Pack 1 for Windows 7, the better for us all.

Computerworld is reporting that promised Winows 7 upgrades for some purchasers of Windows Vista are slow in coming.

The issue revolves around consumers who bought new PCs earlier this year (before Windows 7 was released Oct. 22), and were told they would get a free or reduced-price copy of Windows 7. The problem seems to be affecting buyers of Dell and HP computers most acutely.

According to the story, HP admitted that the upgrade copies of Windows 7 are taking longer to get out the door than anticipated, but said they should start going out this week.

Those of you who are waiting for your copy of Windows 7 to arrive should check out some of our coverage of the cool new stuff it has, in anticipation of the upgrade. For instance, learn about some of the ways Windows 7 kicks Vista's butt; how to use User Account Control to lock it down; and how to save time by "Pinning" programs to the Taskbar.