The new Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2012 Beta 1 has already announced. The good thing is that you can upgrade directly to this new version if you were using MDT 2010 (which was a great free tool, by the way).

What is included in this new version?

Support Configuration Manager 2012 Beta 2 OS deployment

Integrate MDT 2012 Beta 1 into the Configuration Manager 2012 console. Update MDT task sequences to support ConfigMgr 2012. Add support for new ConfigMgr 2012 features.

Add support for new operating systems

Add support for Windows ThinPC and Windows POSReady 7.

Support UEFI deployments

Enable MDT to deploy operating systems to computers that use the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) BIOS replacement.

“Deploy to VHD” support

New task sequence templates have been added to support deploying a Windows 7 image into a VHD that is then configured so that the computer will boot from the VHD.

Improve partitioning logic

Deploy Windows using the Windows AIK-recommended partitioning schemes, while ensuring that any existing scheme continues to work as expected.

Wizard look-and-feel enhancements

Update the Lite Touch wizards to provide an improved appearance.

Improve user state migration logic

Enhance the user state migration process to provide additional flexibility.

You can download it from the Connect web site, meanwhile I’ll test it and let you know.

There is also a new version of Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit, version 6.0 Beta can be downloaded and includes Internet Explorer 9 compatibility assessment. You can sign up for the beta here.