Vista SP2 Public Beta Ready For Download

While the official and final version of Vista Service Pack 2 won't be ready until around April of 2009, Microsoft is ready to start offering their SP2 to "technology enthusiasts, developers, and IT pros." Or anyone willing to download and try it. Whichever comes first.

While the normal bug fixes and such are all a part of this release, some interesting features are also being touted:

• Let you record data onto Blu-ray discs
• Add into your system Vista Feature Pack For Wireless, which provides support for the latest Bluetooth technology -- Bluetooth v2.1 -- as well as for the Windows Connect Now (WCN) Wi-Fi protocol
• Give you better Wi-Fi performance when you're exiting Vista's sleep mode
• Make your RSS feeds sidebar gadget work faster and better
• Give you the latest desktop search engine, Windows Search 4
• Cut down the resources it takes to run your various sidebar gadgets

If you're brave, or if you simply want a better performing Vista experience, go ahead and download it now. Personally, I'll be waiting for a few more reports of actual users before I download it. You should also know that you'll eventually have to uninstall this version once the official version releases