Adobe’s answer to Apple Aperture was announced only a month ago, but it has already been upgraded to Beta 2 and has some new features and fixes.

It was last month that [1] Adobe Systems announced the beta release of Lightroom, a new application for pro photographers to organize their photo libraries, pitting it fist-to-fist with Apple’s Aperture, which was released last year. I downloaded the Beta 1 version and had hoped to review it soon, but those Adobe guys must keep busy because Beta 2 has already been released. [2] You can download it here.

I had missed this, but [3] The Unofficial Photoshop Weblog saw Beta 2 was coming a week ago, after users of the Adobe Lightroom Forum reported seeing a QuickTime tutorial posted in which Lightroom sported a Crop button, which Beta 1 has never had.

Listed improvements in Lightroom Beta 2 include:

• Now a Universal Binary—this version runs on Apple’s latest Intel-based Macs.
• Crop and straighten your photos with new tools in the Develop module.
• Add music to your slideshows.
• Create nested keyword sets for easier organization.
• Import and export XMP metadata (*please see the Known Issues list for details).
• Try out the improved Edit in Photoshop capabilities.
• Take advantage of better metadata handling.
• Utilize new white balance support for the Nikon D2X, D2Hs, and D50 cameras

Adobe is looking for feedback, so if you have any [4] here is the link.