Vista Updates Improve Battery Life, Xbox Support And More
Today is patch Tuesday for Windows users and November’s release features not just bug fixes and patches, but some performance boosts and improved multimedia functionality. Three new updates for Windows Vista are available through Windows Update or direct from the Microsoft site.
The first update should be welcome news for those hampered by Vista’s short battery life. Microsoft claims the update extends the battery life for mobile devices and also “improves the stability of portable computers and of desktop computers that use an uninterruptible power supply (UPS).”
Other improvements in that update include better wifi support and faster response times following sleep or hibernation.
The second update addresses some problems with USB ports in Windows Vista. Many people have had problems with Vista crashing when their systems wake from sleep or hibernation. According to Microsoft, the USB issue causes between one and two percent of all reported Vista crashes.
The third update deals is only for Vista Home Premium and Vista Ultimate users and improves the Windows Media Center components — addressing some problems that crop up when the software is used with an Xbox 360.
If you’re not one for applying multiple updates every time they’re released, Microsoft product manager Nick White notes on the Vista Blog that all of these fixes and improvements will be part of Vista SP 1, which thought to be coming early next year, though no release date has been announced yet.
