One of the most obvious things to note when one first takes a look at Thinstall at it's current incarnation is the absolute lack of management tools. I was amazed at the fact that I actually needed to go into a folder in Program Files to find a batch file which I then would need to execute to generate the actual Thinstalled application. Well, as it turns out, I did not just sound like a bad idea to me but to VMware as well. In beta 2 of Project Northstar, a wizard is available to take you through the entire build process, including the creation of the actual Thinstalled application.

The list of new features specific to beta 2 is:

Application Link: This feature allows administrators to dynamically link Thinstall packages to one another, making it possible to create separate packages for interdependent components (such as Java or .NET) and use them across multiple Thinstall packages.
 
Application Sync: This feature allows customers to execute updates to virtual applications through a secure Internet connection, increasing application portability while reducing security and patch risks to offline and out-of-network machines. 

A preview with screenshots of Project Northstar Beta 2 can be found at the blog of Edwin Friessen.