Looks like Microsoft is still on track to deliver Windows Vista SP1 on time: right on schedule, the company has announced that a beta version of the service pack has been released to a select group of testers. In addition to the features that we already know about, it looks like SP1 will include upgrades for the OS’s built-in Disk Defragmenter, improvements to Vista’s “Hibernation” and “Sleep” modes, a faster logon process and possibly, power management updates that could improve battery life for laptop users. Additionally, Microsoft will be using the SP1 guinea pigs to test out a few new “reliability packages” like the ones that we saw before–apparently those will be out prior to Vista SP1’s release in Q1 2008.

For more on the beta:
– head on over to the Windows Vista Team blog