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Microsoft Windows Home Server Power Pack 2 on deck

Microsoft is ready to roll out the second minor update to its Windows Home Server (WHS) release -- Power Pack 2. And if Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Philip Churchill is reading the tea leaves right, Power Pack 2 could be out by March 24.
Written by Mary Jo Foley, Senior Contributing Editor

Microsoft is ready to roll out the second minor update to its Windows Home Server (WHS) release -- Power Pack 2. And if Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Philip Churchill is reading the tea leaves right, Power Pack 2 could be out by March 24.

Power Pack 2, codenamed "Snoqualmie," like its Power Pack 1 predecessor which Microsoft rolled out a year ago, is expected a combination of a service pack and a mini-feature pack. (Power Pack 2 is not the next big release of Windows Home Server; the next full WHS update isn't expected until 2010.)

I haven't heard any news about what kinds of updates will be part of Power Pack 2. Power Pack 1 added  64-bit Vista support, shared-folder backup, remote-access improvements and a fix to the data-corruption bug that had plagued a number of Home Server customers.

Anyone got more info on what to expect in WHS Power Pack 2 -- or the 2010 release, for that matter? (As an aside, some WHS users already are finding ways to combine WHS and Windows 7 to make their netbooks more functional.)

Update (March 24): The tea leaves were not murky. Power Pack 2 is out.  The new features, according to a post on the Windows Home Server Team blog: "Improvements to remote access configuration, enhanced functionality for computers running Windows Media Center, and content streaming support for Windows Media Center Extenders." Microsoft is planning to push the bits to existing WHS users who have Power Pack 1 installed via Windows Update.

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