[Osiris]

Windows Vista SP2 Beta Next Week

There is a post today on the Windows Vista Team Blog that says a beta of Service Pack 2 for Vista will be in the hands of testers next week. Some of the features to be included with SP2 are native Blu-ray recording in Vista, Windows Search 4.0, a Bluetooth 2.1 feature pack and more.

Following the success of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 last spring, we have been working hard on Windows Vista Service Pack 2. As a part of the development and testing process, we're going to start by providing a small group of Technology Adoption Program customers with Windows Vista SP2 Beta for evaluation next Wednesday, October 29. The final release date for Windows Vista SP2 will be based on quality. So we'll track customer and partner feedback from the beta program before setting a final date for the release.

[Wildside]

oh ya! I cant wait!

EDIT:

question, is it worth entering the beta? What is the possible risks?

[Mak213]

Possible risk:

Data loss, partition loss among the many.

Beta means it is the first step. If you are not a beta tester i would highly suggest you WAIT for the final. There is to much that can and will go wrong with installing a Beta. It may not work with some of your hardware, software and so on. No forum can answer the questions cause you are using a Beta product that isnt fully tested and ready for the world to use. You have to fin dteh answers on your own.

Plus to be accepted you pretty much have to of been a SP1 Ofiicial Beta tester.

[Lexluethar]

Are you one Mak? I've thought about signing up for beta testing. I think it would be fun IMO. I'm a MS partner so I get the new software and OS's twice a year, but haven't tested anything as of yet.

What is the diff with the new Windows Search 4.0?

[Mak213]

Windows Search 4.0 is already out.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/pro...wssearch4.mspx

It can be downloaded and installed on XP and Vista as of right now. Yes i am a official Beta Tester. But i am also not afraid to reinstall my OS everyday if needed for testing. As i have done with the Vista Beta. I have also been Beta testing M$ stuff for around 3 years now. If not longer. Vista and Office 2007 were among my first Betas to test and i only got Vista cause i knew someone at M$ at the time.

You can sign up. But even being a partner there is no guarantee that you will be accepted to the SP2 Beta. They usually go with the same group that tested SP1 and add a few more for the new batch.

[Lexluethar]

Originally Posted by Mak213

Windows Search 4.0 is already out.

Windows Search 4.0

It can be downloaded and installed on XP and Vista as of right now. Yes i am a official Beta Tester. But i am also not afraid to reinstall my OS everyday if needed for testing. As i have done with the Vista Beta. I have also been Beta testing M$ stuff for around 3 years now. If not longer. Vista and Office 2007 were among my first Betas to test and i only got Vista cause i knew someone at M$ at the time.

You can sign up. But even being a partner there is no guarantee that you will be accepted to the SP2 Beta. They usually go with the same group that tested SP1 and add a few more for the new batch.

Gotcha. I was by no means implying since i'm a MS partner that I could be a beta tester. I was just saying that being an MS partner was the only 'involvement' i've had with Microsoft.

Do they give you any 'perks' for giving quality feedback on the OS glitches?

[Mak213]

Yes. With the Vista Beta test we got a free copy of Vista. Home Premium or Ultimate. With Beta Testing WLM i got a WLM Laptop bag. Pics of that below:




But that is only select Betas and teams. The Office 12 team (Office 2007) we didnt get anything like this for our work. The results spoke for themselves with the most stable Office release to date or so they said...

It just depends on the stuff being tested. Each Beta is handled differently and by different teams. So you never know if you might or might not get a present.

[Lexluethar]

Sweet. I realize they can't give away stuff to everyone. I just figured if a 'team' found a glitch and they thought it was a great find they would reward that team.

[Mak213]

Well the thing is each Beta is split up. Not each tester or group of testers. So all of the WLM Beta testers got the bags cause we were all on that "Team". Just like all the Vista Beta Testers that submitted bugs got a copy.

Each Beta is handled by a different team at microsoft. It isnt that the testers themselves are split into a team.

[CntdwnToExtn]

yay sp2.
make or break time for vista imo.
i'd love to try to get my 'foot in the door' for beta testing MS stuff but man i just have no fricken time.

will they be including anything major like xp sp2 was?
or will it be a xp sp3 type of thing?