So good they made it twice
With Microsoft's PDC (professional developers conference) 2008 due to kick off today, Microsoft has decided this is a good time to start beta testing the second service pack for Vista. The first one was released last February, but we can only assume that sufficient unaddressed issues have emerged since then to necessitate another one.
Microsoft made this announcement through its Windows blog. The author was Windows product management VP Mike Nash and he used some questionable logic to explain why SP2 was coming out so soon. "Following the success of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 last spring, we have been working hard on Windows Vista Service Pack 2," he said.
Now maybe we're missing something here, but service packs are meant fix problems and add enhancements to the piece of software they're designed for. A successful one should leave the piece of software in a pretty optimal state - i.e. not in need of further fixing - so citing the success of a previous fix as the reason for issuing a further one is a tad counter-intuitive.
Anyway, here's what Nash says SP2 sorts out:
Windows Vista SP2 contains changes focused on supporting new types of hardware and adding support for several emerging standards:
- 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.
It will be released to some "Technology Adoption Program" customers next Wednesday, but no final release date for SP2 has been announced.
