Previously released only for selected Microsoft partners, the SP 2 Beta has now hit the web for all interested parties. Microsoft is still keen on getting as much feedback on the release as it can, and hopes to release the final version of the pack in the summer of 2009.

Microsoft’s Mike Nash writes:

“Windows Vista SP2 includes all of the updates that have been delivered since the release of Windows Vista SP1, and incorporates improvements discovered through automated feedback from the Customer Experience Improvement Program (where users voluntarily opt-in to sending Microsoft error reports from their systems). In addition to these updates, SP2 also includes support for new types of hardware and emerging standards that will grow in importance in the coming months.”

Some of the most important updates in the Service Pack 2 include the following:
– Windows Search 4.0 for faster and improved relevancy in searches
– 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
– Windows Connect Now (WCN) to simplify Wi-Fi Configuration
– Enables the exFAT file system to support UTC timestamps, which allows correct file synchronization across time zones