Windows Vista SP2 Beta Due Next Week

In a blog post on Friday, Microsoft said that the beta of Windows Vista SP2 will be made available next week, Oct. 29th to be exact. The beta will only be seeded to a small number of Technology Adoption Program customers, however.

Besides the rollup of fixes typical of a Service Pack, what else will SP2 have? According to the blog post, it'll have the following:

• Windows Vista SP2 adds Windows Search 4.0 for faster and improved relevancy in searches.
  

• Windows Vista SP2 contains the Bluetooth 2.1 Feature Pack supporting the most recent specification for Bluetooth Technology.

• Ability to record data on to Blu-Ray media natively in Windows Vista.

• Adds Windows Connect Now (WCN) to simplify Wi-Fi Configuration.

• Windows Vista SP2 enables the exFAT file system to support UTC timestamps, which allows correct file synchronization across time zones.

Date-wise, the post was pretty vague. It said the release date will be based on the quality of the product:

The final release date for Windows Vista SP2 will be based on quality. So we'll track customer and partner feedback from the beta program before setting a final date for the release.

However, a separate site indicated that SP2 will ship in the first half of 2009. Cutting it close with regards to Windows 7, eh? You won't be able to leapfrog SP1, though. Windows Vista SP1 is a prerequisite for SP2, so you will need to start with an SP1 image before upgrading to SP2.