Yesterday we announced the availability of the Release Candidate of SP2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.  You can get the download via TechNet and MSDN.  SP2 is an update that addresses feedback we have received from customers along with updates that have been posted on Windows Update.  Of course people want to know what the main changes are so they can make educated decisions on deployment.  Well there’s a whole bunch of stuff in this update that you’re going to want to consider.  I’ve picked a few that I think are important.

For Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008

• Better Power Management – SP2 introduces better power management that is up to 10% more efficient than SP1 was.  It also includes the ability to manage these settings via Group Policy.
• SP2 adds the ability to record natively to Blu-Ray Media.  Maybe it’s time to take the plunge on a Blu-Ray drive for the home media center PC.
• SP2 includes Windows Search 4.0 which was a separate download before.

Available only on Vista

• SP2 includes the Windows Vista Feature Pack for Wireless.  This used to be a separate download for SP1 and contains Bluetooth 2.1 support and Windows Connect Now updates.
• Includes improvements to Windows Media Center in content protection for TV.  This I need to investigate more.
• Auto tuning Diagnostics now interprets current network conditions when implementing Windows Scaling.  Netsh is fully supported.

To learn more about all the changes check out the Notable Changes document.

Make sure you share feedback with the Windows team if you find anything strange with this release.

Jeffa