Microsoft agreed Tuesday to make changes to the desktop search feature in Windows Vista in an effort to assuage Google and head off a further antitrust battle with U.S. regulators. In a filing made jointly with the Justice Department on Tuesday night, Microsoft said it would change the search feature as part of the first service pack to Windows Vista. In the filing, Microsoft talked for the first time about [b:82e6b1d348]when[/b:82e6b1d348] that service pack would arrive, saying a [b:82e6b1d348]beta version will come by the end of the year[/b:82e6b1d348]. Under the agreement, Microsoft will create a mechanism whereby both computer makers and individuals will be able to choose a default desktop search program, much as they can choose a rival browser or media player, even though those technologies are built into Windows.

As part of the pact, Microsoft is required to do three things in relation to desktop search. First, it has to add the mechanism for computer makers and users to change the default desktop search. Second, that default search program will be launched whenever Windows launches a new top-level window to provide search results. That includes the Start menu, when a user selects to display results in a new window. However, in areas, such as the Windows Explorer, where Microsoft includes a search bar, Vista will continue to display the search results using the internal Vista desktop search functionality. Microsoft, however, must also add a link that, when clicked, will launch the default desktop search program and display that programs results.

Source: ZDnet

.... so now the service packs are going to be rolled out as BETA versions?!  Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose of the service pack?  I can see it now... Microsoft: Hi Buddy, here's our fix for all those bugs.  Test it out for us and let us know if our bug fix has any bugs in it.