Is Microsoft finally going to get Windows Vista right? Well I for one hope so. Read this article by PC Mag.com, you may find it interesting.
Is Microsoft finally getting Vista right? The recent release of the Service Pack 2 beta is a step in the right direction. This update not only installs cumulative security and compatibility fixes, but also adds a few goodies like simplified wireless network setup, Bluetooth 2.1 support, and the ability to burn Blu-ray discs. It also includes support for more smartcards, such as those using the ICCD and CCID standards. Software incompatibilities, too, have been addressed: Microsoft says, for example, that SpySweeper and ZoneAlarm will now work with POP3 e-mail accounts. Finally, gamers will appreciate performance upgrades that should mean smoother 3D-video performance. The company isn't committing to a date for the final release of SP2 beyond saying that it will be in the first half of 2009, but Internet rumors mention a release candidate in February and full release in April.
The service pack also includes Windows Search 4, which was introduced last June and improves indexing performance and search relevance. In another effort to perk up performance, the SP2 update reduces resources used by the Vista Sidebar, which is scheduled to bite the dust come Windows 7. Laptops should see a 10 percent improvement in power management efficiency, according to Microsoft. Finally, the pack adds support for the new VIA 64-bit CPU and includes a version of the exFAT file system for removable storage that now supports UTC timestamps for file synchronization across time zones.
Installing
Remember that, though it's publicly available, SP2 is still beta, and therefore not recommended for critical systems. If you want to test it, it's advisable to install it in a virtual machine, using Microsoft's free Virtual PC or a similar product that will isolate your system's actual OS. This beta will only be operational until May 1, 2010.
There are a few ways to get SP2. You can use Windows Update, though you'll need to give it some special instructions (detailed below). You can also download and burn a disc image of the update from Microsoft TechNet. Finally, if you're a TechNet subscriber, you can download and burn a full installation containing the service pack. You must have SP1 installed in order to complete the update, and the new upgrader cleans out SP1 bits that are no longer needed to free up space on your hard drive. That's another reason you'll want to install SP2 on a virtual machine, at least initially. Installing the beta also requires that you agree to send info about your setup experience to Microsoft through its Customer Experience Improvement Program. The documentation says the update is about 41MB (60MB for 64-bit). If you down the disc image, however, that's a considerably larger download, at over 300MB. If you download the disc image, however, that's a considerably larger download, at over 300MB. I chose the Windows Update method, as that's how most users will get it.
In order to get the beta through Windows Update, you need to run a command script that sets a registry key telling Windows Update to offer you the Service Pack. You run this as an Administrator to get things going. When the final version is released, this step won't be necessary: the update will occur automatically for users who have enabled automatic updates. I actually had to edit the Registry directly and go through a couple of Update requests before SP2 took hold. On my 64-bit system, despite the file size mentioned above, the update was listed as 490.8MB to 494.0MB, and on a 32-bit system the file showed as 297.5MB.
Unlike most Windows updates, this one has you go through a little setup wizard and agree to a user license. You have to close all programs, and you're warned that the update could take over an hour and restart several times—almost like installing a new OS. On a reasonably fast Toshiba Qosmio laptop with 4MB of RAM and a 2GHz Core2 Duo processor, the whole process took under a half hour. With the newly updated OS installed, the text Windows Vista (TM) Evaluation copy, Build 6002 displayed in the lower right corner of the screen.—Next: Blu-ray Burning
Blu-ray Burning
With SP2, Microsoft officially acknowledges that it bet on the wrong horse with HD DVD. Unfortunately, Windows DVD Maker is not updated by the current beta of SP2 to work with Blu-ray. When I tried to burn a video compilation with a Blu-ray burner, I got the message "DVD is not recordable," though it was a freshly opened BD-R media. Nor is Windows Help yet updated to make any mention of Blu-ray, and the Burn option in Picture and Video Windows Explorer folders doesn't offer Blue-ray drives as an option. When I tried to burn a video file to a BD-R disc using an LG burner, I got an error saying the file system wasn't compatible.
To prove Vista SP2's support for Blu-ray, I decided to choose Format from the drive's right-click context menu. This gave me a choice of UDF as the file system. Finally, I chose Options when trying to burn a file onto a Blu-ray disk. Choosing Mastered instead of the default Live File did the trick. I was soon burning BDs with no problem. With BD-RE media, I could even drag and drop files to and from the drive's Explorer window, and choose to erase the disc with right-menu option. I assume the options will be tweaked to make the process simpler.—Next: Wireless Networking News
Wireless Networking News
Service Pack 2 includes three wireless improvements: Better Wi-Fi resumption after sleep mode, support for Bluetooth version 2.1, and the Windows Connect Now simplified Wi-Fi router wireless networking setup process. Using the Wi-Fi Alliance's Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) standard, Connect Now lets you set up a wireless router and wirelessly networked PCs without having to enter a long security code in each, or even transfer one with a USB key, while still maintaining security. WPS routers have a button you can press to let a new PC join the network.
The new process means you don't have to plug any cable into your PC from your new wireless router. Instead, you just enter the device's security PIN in Vista's network setup wizard. I tried this with a Netgear Wireless N Router WNR2000 and the process is indeed smoother than going through an individual manufacturer's setup. The router features a big WPS (WiFi Protected Setup) button on the front that makes configuration a snap using Windows Vista SP2's support for that wireless, secure setup standard.
Using Bluetooth within Windows has been less than ideal, since several pairing methods were used for devices, and Windows would have to check through a long list of new Bluetooth devices before showing a user the device was recognized. Bluetooth Version 2.1 fixes these problems, with Secure Simple Pairing, which, as the name suggest, makes pairing simpler while still secure. Another technology in version 2.1, Extended Inquiry Response lets devices share their friendly name with the PC and vice versa without waiting for the specific name of the device to be determined.
That all sounds good in theory, but I ran into snags on the Toshiba laptop I mentioned before, which is a reasonably new machine. The Windows Bluetooth Devices control panel would not find any devices when I had headset nearby. And a couple of times while I was trying to get this to work, Windows Explorer shut down and restarted. On another system, the feature worked smoothly, and I was able to find and install the headset. Despite the beta glitches, I found the experience much improved under Secure Simple Pairing.—Next: Performance Improvements
Performance Improvements
Another Microsoft claim about SP2 is that it allows the Windows Sidebar to use fewer resources. In my testing, I was able to verify that on my test system, the sidebar indeed used 1MB less memory than before the upgrade—a 4 percent drop. The company's previews of its next operating system version, Windows 7, show that it plans to ditch the sidebar in that OS completely. Not everyone loves the sidebar, but I wish they'd make dropping it optional, as it seems perfectly suited to today's wide-screen monitors.
One much appreciated new addition in SP2 is Compcln.exe, a cleanup tool that removes obsolete OS software. Before I performed the upgrade, my Windows directory weighed in at 16.5GB, 69775 files. After installing SP2, the size increased to 19.6GB. Running the cleanup app shaved off a gig and a half, leaving me with 18.1GB. That's still bigger than the folder was before the update, but adding the new wireless and Blu-ray support doesn't come free.
DirectX is another area in which Microsoft touts improvements, specifically better reliability and an improved gaming experience. To test graphics performance, I ran Futuremark's 3Dmark 2006 benchmark before and after the update on a Dell XPS M1530. I ran the test several times and averaged the results. At native 1200x800 resolution with 4x anisotropic filtering, my un-upgraded system scored 3738. After the upgrade it scored 4130—a higher score is better. This is just one synthetic benchmark, but it does point to an improvement in 3D performance. That should equal faster frame rates and smoother play in your favorite games.
The enhancements that Vista SP2 brings to the party will be a boon for hardware that technoholics will surely own in the not-too-distant future—Bluetooth 2.1 phones, Blu-ray burners, and Wi-Fi routers that support WPS. This support will make the OS more useful as these devices gain in popularity, and welcome too will be the improved hardware support, security, and performance improvements. But this SP2 for Vista at this point, however, is really still beta, and though it was for the most part stable in my testing, I'd advise users to hold off and wait for the full release next spring.
Windows Vista SP2 Beta
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