Windows XP

Windows XP SP3 and Vista SP1 Just Around the Corner in February 2008?

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows XP Service Pack 3 are in their respective final stages of development. Starting with December 2007, Microsoft moved both service packs into Release Candidate phase. As far as development milestones go, Release Candidate is among the last steps before a software product goes gold. And in this context, the Release Candidates for Vista SP1 and XP SP3 are indeed near-final versions of the service packs due this year. And although Microsoft has failed to reveal the release to manufacturing date of XP SP3 and Vista SP1, the service packs could be RTM in February along with Windows Server 2008.
The Redmond company, despite having set the official launch event – Heroes – happen Here – on February 27, 2008 in Los Angeles, for Windows Server 2008, has not indicated the RTM deadline for its last 32-bit server operating system. At the beginning of January 2008, Microsoft moved Windows Server 2008 out of Release Candidate stage and into the Escrow phase, according to Bink.nu. Now, the Redmond company has officially confirmed to InformationWeek that Windows Server 2008 will indeed be released to manufacturing in February 2008. Escrow is a development milestone reserved for the final testing of a software product before RTM.
Windows Server 2008 was initially planned for RTM by the end of 2007, but Microsoft postponed the finalization of the code to the first quarter of 2008. New reports indicate that the server operating system could go gold as early as the first weeks in February, but no later than the official launch at the end of the month. Bill Laing, general manager of Windows Server development, revealed that in a few weeks Windows Server 2008 would evolve into its final stage before RTM, a moment referred to as "break glass in case of emergency." Starting with that, RTM will be just a maximum of a couple of weeks away.
Why is this detail relevant to Vista SP1 and XP SP3? Well, because Microsoft has all but completely synchronized the development milestone releases of Vista SP1, XP SP3 and Windows Server 2008. In December 2007, for example, the Redmond company made available Release Candidates for both the service packs as well as for the server operating system. In this context, February might just be the month for the RTM of Vista SP1 and XP SP3.

source- Softpedia

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Windows XP SP3 to Include Some Vista Features

A Web site that leaked details of Windows XP Service Pack 3 over the weekend claimed that the update includes several new features, including some borrowed from Windows Vista.

According to NeoSmart Technologies, Windows XP SP3 build 3205, which was released to beta testers on Sunday, includes four new features among the 1,000-plus individual hot fixes and patches that have been issued since XP2’s debut three years ago.

Features backported from Vista, said NeoSmart, include Network Access Protection (NAP), an enterprise policy enforcement technology that inspects client PCs before they access a corporate network, then updates the machines if necessary or blocks them if they don’t meet specified security criteria.

Other additions range from a kernel module containing several encryption algorithms that can be accessed by third-party developers, to a new Windows activation model that doesn’t require users to enter a product key.

Microsoft had previously announced SP3 support for NAP, which is part of Windows Vista and will be included in the not-yet-finalized Windows Server 2008.

Windows XP SP3, which Microsoft has said will be released early in 2008, will be one more move by the developer to extend the lifespan of the six-year-old operating system. Last month, for example, Microsoft gave Windows XP a five-month reprieve by pushing back the end of retail sales and sales of XP-powered PCs by large resellers to June 30, 2008.

Source: www.pcworld.com

Lenovo says “no thanks” to Vista for 2008 Olympics

Poor Vista, you really can’t buy a break. First you’ve got legions of users angrily awaiting a decent

update for a whole slew of problems, then there’s the CEOs taking pot-shots at you, and now, Lenovo, supplier of the 2008 Olympic Games’ computer systems says it’s sticking with XP. Word on the street is that all vital computing tasks for the Games will be handled on XP-enabled PCs, while some internet lounges used by athletes will be equipped with Vista systems. According to Yang Yuanqing, chairman of Lenovo, “the Olympic Games require mature, stable technologies and it’s not a place to try new technologies.” Yang, we’re pretty sure a legion of Vista users feel similarly about their desktops. You can almost hear Microsoft’s sharp intake of breath from here.

Source Technoworld

Windows XP Service Pack 3 Leaked Details!

Not only is Windows XP Service Pack 3 alive and kicking, but Microsoft also managed to leak details about what the refresh will contain. The Redmond Company’s policy when it comes down to future releases of the Windows platform is to gag all details. Windows

XP SP3 is old news for Microsoft. And with the general availability of Windows Vista it was pushed to the background. But in all fairness, Microsoft never confirmed the cancellation of the third service pack for Windows XP. The company only scrapped it out of sight and under the rug with repeated delays.
The availability date for the first beta of Windows Vista SP1 was revealed by a U.S. Justice Department legal filling. Microsoft plans to deliver Vista SP1 beta by the end of 2007, but the date is of course nothing more than an estimation. By comparison, SP3 for Windows XP is cu rrently planned for the first half of 2008. But Microsoft initially planned to deliver the third service pack for Windows XP in 2006, only to postpone the release to 2007 and then again to 2008.
Windows XP SP3, despite its collection of delays, will make it to the market, and Microsoft plans in integrate changes to Internet Explorer and to Windows Media Player into the refresh. “Microsoft has agreed to make changes to Windows XP, two Middleware Products, and Windows Live Messenger. The Windows Live Messenger changes have been delivered in the Windows Live Messenger 8.5 beta and will be included in the public release. Changes for Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player will be made available to users in August 2007 and Microsoft is discussing with the TC the delivery mechanism for those changes. The Windows XP changes will be incorporated into Service Pack 3 for Windows XP,” revealed the U.S. Justice department in its filing.

Source: Softpedia

Windows XP Embedded SP2 Feature Preview 2008 available

If you’ve been wanting to try out Windows Media Player 11, Internet Explorer 7, .NET 3.0 Framework, Remote Desktop Protocol 6.0, or User-Mode Driver Framework (UMDF) on Windows XP Embedded, here is your chance!

In addition to the new features included in Feature Preview 2008 there have also been some bug fixes and functional enhancements made to File Based Write Filter ( additional disk size reporting option) and to USB Boot (Improved power management).

Windows XP Embedded SP2 “Feature Preview 2008″ is now available for download at Connect