Microsoft Updates Windows 7 Beta and Vista Service Pack

With users still hostile to Vista, Microsoft has announced updates to the forthcoming Windows 7, and delivered a more-or-less-finished Service Pack 2 for Vista.

Microsoft officially announced updates to Windows 7 Beta – but these will not actually change anything about the operating syste. Meanwhile, several Web sites reported delivery of a Release Candidate Build of Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.

The updates to Windows 7 Beta will begin on the 24th February. Five are planned. However, the updates will not deliver any new features, nor fix any existing issues or change the user experience.

“We do typically verify update scenarios during a beta, and releasing these test updates will help ensure that when we need to release real updates, the process will run smoothly,” said a post on the Microsoft Update Product Team Blog. “These updates test the Windows 7 servicing infrastructure.”

Microsoft has been busily tweaking Windows 7 Beta, including a number of security fixes.

The new operating system has been trumpeted as an improvement over the much-maligned Vista, and includes new features that will likely appeal to enterprise users, including BranchCache file caching and DirectAccess VPN-replacement technology.

At the same time, numerous Web sites are reporting that Windows has issued, to Microsoft Connect testers, the Release Candidate Build 6002.16670.090130of Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.

According to the Web site Ars Technica, Service Pack 2 will enhance certain aspects of the hardware ecosystem, including Wi-Fi performance and the ability to record data to Blu-Ray. It will also update the operating-system experience with features such as the addition of a registry key that allows the user to adjust the number of open TCP connections.

For the enterprise, Server Pack 2 will offer a handful of tweaks, including a boost in authentication options for WebDAV redirector, and Hyper-V integrated into Windows Server 2008.

In addition, Service Pack 2 reportedly encompasses 691 hotfixes.