Vista SP2 beta on the blocks

In Wednesday's IT Blogwatch, Richi Jennings watches bloggers watch Microsoft release the beta of SP2 for Vista and Windows Server 2008. Not to mention a bunch of rocks...

Gregg Keizer reports:

Microsoft Corp. today released the beta of Windows Vista Service Pack 2 to subscribers of its developer services and said it would open the preview to the general public on Thursday.
...
The single service pack ... will update not only Vista, but also Windows Server 2008, the company's corresponding server software. This is the first time that Microsoft has packaged one download that applies to both the client and server editions of the operating system.

As of today, subscribers to TechNet and the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) can download the beta of Vista SP2 and Windows Server 2008 SP2 ... Others will have to wait two days ... it hopes to ship the update sometime in the first half of next year.

Microsoft's Mike Nash pontificates:

In late October I announced the Beta  of Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 - beginning with a small group of Technology Adoption Program customers. This week we're opening up the beta to a broader audience. Starting today, MSDN and TechNet subscribers will have access to the Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 Beta to begin testing.  

Beginning Thursday Dec. 4th, we will be making the Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 Beta available to everyone through a Customer Preview Program (CPP). The CPP will launch on TechNet and be available to anyone interested in trying out this service pack. The CPP is intended for technology enthusiasts, developers, and IT Pros who would like to test Service Pack 2 in their environments and with their applications prior to final release. For most customers, our best advice would be to wait until the final release prior to installing this service pack.

For those of you who choose to test this service pack, we encourage you to install the beta as soon as you can; your feedback will help us to ship a solid and stable service pack for Windows Vista.

"Crazy" Harry McCracken urges caution:

Should you install the preview version of Vista SP2? If you’re sensibly cautious, it’s entirely rational not only to skip the preview but to give the final version a few weeks in the wild before you install it, just so other folks suffer the consequences of any glitches. (Remember, Microsoft was forced to withdraw Vista SP1 after its initial release to fix some unanticipated problems after the fact.)

Me? I’ll probably install the preview right away, but I’m crazy. And my brand-new Lenovo ThinkPad with Vista SP1 just doesn’t work very well; I figure that SP2 can’t make things much worse, and might help. I’ll let you know if I discover anything interesting...

Kevin C. Tofel tried it out:

Although the initial release of Microsoft Windows Vista caused headaches for some, I've found that Service Pack 1 has made life much more enjoyable from a computing perspective. That's why I have high hopes for SP2.
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For my configuration, the installation package was 301MB in size. Vista said that the update could take up to an hour, but on the Lenovo X301, it was completed in around 12 minutes.

Josh Phillips has more deets:

Among the improvements: ... Bluetooth 2.1 feature pack supporting the most recent specification ... Record data on Blu-Ray media ... Windows Connect Now (WCN) Wi-Fi Configuration ... exFAT file system now supports UTC timestamps ... Support for new form factors, such as ICCD/CCID ... Support for the new VIA 64-bit CPU.
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Performance: Resume performance when Wi-Fi connection is no longer available ... Windows Search 4 ... Improvements to the RSS feeds sidebar gadget.
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Administration and Support Improvements: ... Service Pack Clean up tool ... Single installer for both Vista & Server 2008 ...Ability to detect an incompatible driver and block service pack installation or warn users ... Better error handling and providing more descriptive error messages ... Better manageability through logging in system event log ... Componentization for Serviceability of the installer.

Juha Saarinen techsplodes the server additions:

Print Server and Spooler performance improvements ... Hyper-V technology ... Backwards compatibility with Terminal Services licensing keys ... Better manageability features with DFS/FRS console, and Storage Resource Manager ... Improved error reporting in DFSR to help identify incorrectly configured deployments which lead to failed replication ... Updated power policy driving significant Power Management improvements.

The list above looks good ... With a February 2009 release date ... RTM in April ... and holidays coming up, I'd say it's close to the final version.

Lee Mathews wonders if it really matters:

Could SP2 actually take care of some of the irritations that have plagued other Vista users? Perhaps more importantly, does anyone really care? Vista has been taking such a beating in the media that it seems as though no one will. Prevailing sentiment seems to be that Vista should be ignored and left to die while development on Windows 7 continues.

While enhancements like Windows Search 4.0, native Blu-Ray media burning, improved wireless, and Bluetooth 2.1 support are great, I've yet to see any perception-altering features mentioned.

Personally, I've never hated Vista, and I've been able to work through or disable any of the annoyances I've encoutered (like UAC). I recently installed Ultimate x64 and I've been enjoying quite a bit. Photoshop CS4 runs like a dream ... but if SP2 can tweak my system's performance or squeeze a few more minutes of battery life out of my laptop, then I'm all for it.

And finally...

• A Bunch of Rocks

Buffer overflow:

• Greg Kumparak: Apple announces Top 10 iPhone App downloads of 2008
• Locutus, IT Toolbox: Konqueror is losing my conquest
• Groklaw: Analysis on Balance - Standardisation and Patents
• Brian Solis: Pownce Pounced by Six Apart
• Eric Krangel: Microsoft Brags Xbox Beat The PS3 3-to-1 In Black Friday Sales, Pretends The Wii Doesn't Exist
• Tech Trends: Storage Marketing Tips For the Downturn
• Save the Internet Blog: Wanted: FCC Chair Who Can Deliver

Other Computerworld bloggers:

• Eric Lai: Philly-Microsoft's High School of the Future
• Seth Weintraub: Nokia N97 fails as an iPhone competitor
• Preston Gralla: Apple: Ooops! Macs don't need anti-virus software
• Preston Gralla: Apple: We admit it --- Macs need anti-virus software
• SJVN: MySQL 5.1 released with crashing bugs
• Michael R. Farnum: Kiwi hacker trying to clear image
• Dan Tynan: Web of the Living Dead
• Shark Tank: D'ya think?

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Richi Jennings is an independent analyst/adviser/consultant, specializing in blogging, email, and spam. A 23 year, cross-functional IT veteran, he is also an analyst at Ferris Research. You can follow him on Twitter, pretend to be Richi's friend on Facebook, or just use boring old email: blogwatch@richi.co.uk.