Aiming to keep its focus on Windows Vista, Microsoft is now targeting 2007 for its next Windows XP service pack update. In a posting to its life cycle Web site, Microsoft set a preliminary date of the second half of next year for the release of Windows XP Service Pack 3 for both home and professional editions. That puts its debut well past the arrival of Vista, which is slated for the second half of this year and later than both outsiders and some insiders had originally predicted. "We will be releasing another service pack for XP over the course of the product life cycle, and we are tentatively targeting the second half of 2007 for release," a Microsoft representative said in an e-mail to CNET News.com. "However, right now our priority is Windows Vista--we'll have more information to share about the next service pack for XP after Windows Vista ships." Microsoft declined to say what features or patches might be included in the service pack update. Speculation over when the update would appear and what it will contain has been ongoing almost since Service Pack 2 debuted in August 2004. SP 2 contained more new features than a typical Microsoft service pack, adding a host of security enhancements, a pop-up ad blocker and improved handling of wireless networks. A Microsoft France executive confirmed in September that a Service Pack 3 was in the works and suggested that it was slated for sometime in 2006, but after Vista's debut. The update to Microsoft's life cycle page was earlier noted by the Microsoft Watch. By Ina Fried Staff Writer, CNET News.com Published: January 17, 2006, 1:05 PM PST So what would you like to see from Service Pack 3? Better Secruity? Better Stability?
To rectify the terror of SP2? That would be a nice start....... I am seriously concedering uninstalling and going back to SP1. I suppose less conflicts with other programs.....
I wouldn't go back to SP1, better to have a more secure system than having all your programs working.
I haven't personally seen any compatibility problems with SP2, although I have heard about them. I have however seen SP2-related BSOD and cyclic rebooting. If anything it messes up wireless networking if you had setup your wireless network pre-SP2. As far as I understand it, the only substantial security improvements in SP2 are: Improved (severely broken!) integrated firewall Nags user if AV or firewall are not functioning... usually NX-bit enabled by default Unfortunately about the NX-bit thing, if you don't have a CPU which supports the NX-bit (Intel calls it 'XD' on their IA-64's but it's the same thing), that function is emulated in software. It can cause all kinds of problems and it slows XP substantially due to emulation overhead. Disable it if your CPU doesn't support it, as realisticly it doesn't work in software anyway.
NX, or No Execute bit. Here you go, Mr. "I'm too special for Google" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NX_Bit Hidden deep and cryptically within the registry, like any other Windows settings you might want to change. You change the way it uses NX under Performance Options, but to disable it entirely requires some registry diving.
I DID do that, then the stupid IT department at school reinstalled SP2. It wasn't as bad the second time around as the first. But till, this makes me slap head and say, "Please, NO" remembering what SP2 orginally did to my computer.
Hehe, very witty AT I don't mind Google, although I do tell all my clients they are gonna get better business by advertising with Yahoo
