Windows Vista SP2 hits release candidate status

Microsoft has announced that the second service pack for Windows Vista and Server 2008 has finally reached release candidate status. The update is currently available only for MSDN and TechNet members but the company claims it will be broadly available “in the very near future” for anyone to download and test, specifically next week.

Unofficial reports have previously corroborated the February timeframe and hinted at a final release in April. Besides bundling all post-SP1 updates and security fixes, SP2 is expected to add a number of features such as support for Blu-ray disc burning and Bluetooth 2.1 as well as simpler Wi-Fi setup and improved Windows Search 4.0 with better indexing. This is the final major update for Vista before the release of Windows 7, which is expected to debut by late September or early October.