Vista - What's new in Windows Vista SP2?

December 4, 2008
What's new in Windows Vista SP2?

New Service Pack features explained

JR Raphael
Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2) is set to be released as a public beta today. Many will be asking "Should I upgrade to Vista SP2?".

However, it's a fairly significant upgrade and is not for everyone. Here's what you need to know before making the upgrade.
SP2 beta is, as the name suggests, a product still under development. Microsoft is recommending only "technology enthusiasts, developers, and IT pros" willing to test the software take on the upgrade.
General users are advised to wait until the final release, which is set for the first half of 2009. Some unofficial reports indicate it is being targeted for an April completion.

Windows Vista SP2 includes numerous changes to the Vista operating system. Here are some of the highlights of what it'll do for you if you upgrade to Vista SP2:

• Let you record data onto Blu-ray discs

• Add into your system Vista Feature Pack For Wireless, which provides support for the latest Bluetooth technology - Bluetooth v2.1 - as well as for the Windows Connect Now (WCN) Wi-Fi protocol

• Give you better Wi-Fi performance when you're exiting Vista's sleep mode

• Make your RSS feeds sidebar gadget work faster and better

• Give you the latest desktop search engine, Windows Search 4

• Cut down the resources it takes to run your various sidebar gadgets

• It'll give your OS an overall tune-up, too.

The Vista Service Pack 2 upgrade will also deliver some under-the-hood improvements, which will:

• Give your computer support for VIA Technologies' new 64-bit CPU

• Let your system support exFAT, which can handle larger files and can also use UTC timestamps so you can synchronise files across different time zones

• Boost your power management efficiency by as much as 10 percent

Rest of article at:

What's new in Windows Vista SP2? News - PC Advisor

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Needless to say, I'm waiting for a while before I consider d/l this.

I never trust Beta version though.
But i will still wait for the final release. until then, vista sp1 is just fine for me. But Thanks for the info frizzie...

I've been running the beta release here since it was first available without a problem. I'll simply roll Vista back here once the final is out to see that go on then.

Good article. I've been running SP@ Beta for months now, no problems, everything works great.

Norm

Prior to seeing the beta release go on I had recently reinstalled Windows fresh and then saw the annoucement of it being available. It went on without any problem and sees a build number in the lower right corner of the desktop.



The only problem noticed in Windows is probably unrelated with the task manager remaining an icon in the system tray instead of being seen in window form when pressing the ctrl-alt-del combo.