Microsoft bulks up Windows with Blu-ray support

Microsoft is to build native Blu-ray support into Windows, as part of a new feature pack.
The feature pack is currently in beta testing, and allows Windows XP, Vista, Server 2003 and Server 2008 users the option of burning Blu-ray discs from the operating system without needing to install a third party application.

Alongside, Blu-ray support the feature pack also introduces the ability to lockdown portable devices such as USB flash drives with a certificate or password, and new smartcard driver support

The feature pack makes Microsoft the first of the major operating system manufacturers to build in Blu-ray support, with Linux and Mac OS X, still dependent on third party tools. The move may surprise some, as Microsoft heavily backed rival HD DVD during the format war.

Microsoft's previous feature pack improved wireless support in Vista, introducing support for Bluetooth 2.1.