The Microsoft Update Catalog is live!

as published in the MU Blog, microsoft has announced yesterady that we have released version 1.0 of the Microsoft Update Catalog!  With the new Catalog, you can search for updates available through the Microsoft Update service and download them to your machine (regardless of whether the update is applicable to your machine).  You can also import updates from the Catalog directly into WSUS 3.0, System Center Essentials 2007, or System Center Configuration Manager 2007.

Some key features of the MU Catalog include:

Full-text search:  You can search using a keyword, KB article, MSRC bulletin, driver manufacturer, driver model, driver version, product, and/or classification.

RSS:  Save your searches in RSS and get notified when new updates match your criteria.

Download with BITS:  We use BITS to make the download experience robust and efficient.

“Shopping basket”:  You can select multiple updates (and multiple languages) and download them together.

 Integration with WSUS: You can import updates from your basket into Windows Server Update Services 3.0, System Center Essentials 2007 or System Center Configuration Manager 2007.

- Localization:  The Catalog is localized in all core Windows Vista languages.

Tips for searching the Microsoft Update Catalog (from the Catalog FAQ)
The Microsoft Update Catalog lets you search on a variety of update fields and categories. These include the update title, description, applicable products, classifications, and knowledge base articles (e.g. KB9123456). When searching for hardware updates ("drivers"), you can also search for driver model, manufacturer, class, or a 4-part hardware id (e.g "PCI\VEN_14E4&DEV_1677&SUBSYS_01AD1028"). You can narrow the scope of your search by adding additional search terms.