Microsoft Releases Windows Vista SP2 Beta

By: Sara Smith
Staff Writer
Published: Oct 24, 2008

Windows Vista will offer a new beta next week for SP2. The beta will offer support for Blu-ray drives and an update to Bluetooth. Windows Vista beta SP2 will also include Windows Search 4 which is the latest version of the Microsoft desktop search technology.

Microsoft Corp on Wednesday announced plans to release a new Windows Vista update for Service Pack 2. The beta will be tested next week with a public release date to follow.

Windows Vista SP2 beta will offer several enhancements to the Windows operating system. It will address all fixes since Vista SP1 and offers support for Blu-ray drives and Wi-Fi.

The beta will include a Bluetooth 2.1 Feature Pack, added ability to record data to Blu-ray discs directly within Windows Vista and an improved WiFi setup with changes to Windows Connect Now.

"Because we've adopted a single serviceability model, these improvements are integrated into a single service pack covering both Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 versions," Windows executive Mike Nash said in a statement.

The new Windows Vista Service Pack 2 will use zone-safe file synchronization with added support for the exFAT file system. The file system allows for UTC time stamps.

While a final release date has not been determined, Microsoft hopes to announce a release date within a couple of weeks.