Windows XP
Microsoft extends support life of XP
MICROSOFT HAS PROMISED to provide support services for its soon-to-be-retired Windows XP until 2014 because too many of its key business users are still running the ageing OS.
This will mean that Vole will be continuing to support the software 13 years after it first appeared on the shelf.
Microsoft senior VP Bill Veghte wrote to users this week saying that Vole will provide security patches "and other critical updates" for Windows XP until April, 2014.
The communication admitted that the reason Microsoft had to extend the service of XP was because "people keep their Windows-based PCs for many years".
Until now, Microsoft’s policy has been to kill off any support for an OS a decade after its first release. Windows 2000 is going to be scrapped in 2010.
What is more likely is that many of Microsoft’s enterprise customers have been leaning on the company to extend the time. Most of them do not want to upgrade to the lacklustre Vista and are still shelling out fortunes for XP.
Microsoft has also been offering a downgrade programme from Vista which will need to be serviced
Source- The Inquirer
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Windows XP SP3 includes vulnerable Flash Player
Microsoft Corp.’s Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) ships with an out-of-date version of Adobe’s Flash Player that’s vulnerable to recently-spotted attacks, according to Microsoft’s support documentation. Windows XP SP3 includes Flash Player 9.0.115.0, a version released by Adobe Systems Inc. in December 2007. That version of Flash Player, however, was superseded by version 9.0.124.0 on April 8, nearly two weeks before Microsoft decided SP3 was done by giving it a Release To Manufacturing (RTM) label and sending it out for distribution.
The older version that shipped with XP SP3, however, harbors a bug that hackers have been exploiting since last week; that’s when security researchers, including those at Symantec Corp., reported what they at first thought was a zero-day vulnerability in the most current edition of Flash, 9.0.124.0. A few days later, however, Symantec retracted that claim, and said that only the older 9.0.115.0 was at risk.
Adobe has confirmed that version 9.0.115.0, included with XP SP3, is vulnerable to the ongoing attacks, which have originated from Chinese servers. Users have been attacked after visiting legitimate Web sites that had been hacked using now-common SQL-injection attacks. Users running XP SP3 can determine which version of Flash Player is installed by calling up this Adobe page in their browser. Adobe has recommended that all users update to version 9.0.124.0.
Source: ComputerWorld
Another Windows XP SP3 issue surfaces
While many people have found Service Pack 3 to be a painless update for Windows XP, the list of issues experienced by some users continues to grow. One of the most recently reported issues is affecting some users of Windows Home Server (WHS), one of the most recent additions to Microsoft’s operating systems family.
The symptom is that they cannot establish a remote access connection to WHS from a PC with XP SP3, even after (re)adding the server to the list of trusted sites, fuelling more SP3 angst. The problem is said to be that SP3 disables the Terminal Services ActiveX control. Instructions for enabling the control have been posted to Microsoft’s Windows Home Server forums by someone with the username ColinWH.
It seems it may be necessary to edit the registry if Internet Explorer 7 is installed. While old hands may be comfortable with that process, less experienced users may feel the need to call in potentially expensive assistance from one of the growing number of in-home tech support services.
Source: IT Wire
Windows XP Service Pack 3 Deployment Tools
This is an updated version of the System Preparation tool (Sysprep.exe) for Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 3, as contained within the file deploy.cab.
The System Preparation tool
The Windows XP System Preparation tool enables administrators to prepare Windows XP system images as part of an automated deployment. You can use the System Preparation tool to perform the following tasks in a manner that is supported by Microsoft:
• Prepare Windows for duplication from one computer to another computer.
• Change security identifiers (SIDs) and other system and configuration settings to make them unique.
• Configure user-specific information to be customized by the end-user when Windows starts the first time.
• Create images of operating systems.
• Duplicate disks.
• Automate the Windows mini-Setup program.
• Perform auditing tasks.
The Sysprep.inf file
The Sysprep.inf file is the answer file for the Sysprep.exe program. To build the Sysprep.inf file, run the Setup Manager Wizard. Select the Sysprep Answer file option.
The Deploy.cab folder
The Support\Tools\Deploy.cab folder includes detailed documentation that describes the latest features of the deployment tools and how to use them. The documentation includes the Sysprep.exe program.
fonts for Windows XP
Fonts shipped with Windows XP use embedded bitmaps to provide legibility at small sizes on the screen. Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) does not display these bitmaps but instead renders the outlines. These outlines are not instructed (hinted) for good legibility and the results are poor. Microsoft YaHei Regular and Bold Version 5.00 have been properly instructed for legibility at 9 point size and above in ClearType environments such as WPF.
Download here-
Simplified Chinese ClearType fonts for Windows XP
Korean ClearType fonts for Windows XP
Japanese ClearType fonts for Windows XP
Symbols Package for Windows XP Service Pack 3
These are debug symbol files that cover the files modified by Windows XP Service Pack 3. Standard requirements for symbols packages in previous releases of Windows XP apply.
Windows Vista SP1 outperforms Windows XP SP2 in file copy
Its interesting that people seem to think that Vista under performs in every area of the system which is quite an incorrect perception. In this demo I show how Vista outperforms Windows XP and I show the under the covers process traces of just how it achieves it.
Demo environment consists of two images. One Vista SP1 and the other Windows XP SP2 both on the same HDD IO and communicating across my home wireless network to a Windows Server 2008 box on my main LAN. Once the two images get going latency gets introduced and things start to slow down….except Vista doesn’t slow down :). Watch and see!
Check out the screencast here
Source- MS Technet
Windows XP Service Pack 3 Available for Download
Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) includes all previously released updates for the operating system. This update also includes a small number of new functionalities, which do not significantly change customers’ experience with the operating system.
Note: Customers running Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System (RMS) are advised to install a hotfix for a Microsoft Dynamics RMS issue prior to installing Windows XP SP3.
This installation package is intended for IT professionals and developers downloading and installing on multiple computers on a network. If you’re updating just one computer, please visit Windows Update.
