Windows XP Service Pack 3 Released Today
Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) will be made available for download from Microsoft’s web site today and will be pushed out to XP users via the Windows Automatic Update in the coming weeks/months. The update includes all patches and fixes released since SP2 in 2004, but does not include Internet Explorer 7.
The update is likely to be deployed quickly in enterprises, as it enables IT departments to ensure client systems are fully patched, without having to roll out a myriad of separate fixes.
It also brings extra security in the form of support for Network Access Protection (NAP), a technology introduced in Vista. NAP is a policy enforcement mechanism to ensure systems comply with security requirements.
SP3 may, however, convince some IT leaders that staying on XP is preferable to a potentially costly Vista migration.
Considering the take-up of Vista is very slow, it seems strange that Microsoft has opted to release SP3. It’s almost like they are trying to extend the life of XP.
Steve Sutton, vice president of the Technology Services division at Capgemini, said that Vista adoption is minimal among its enterprise customers. “No clients have been talking to me about Vista rollouts,” he said.
Enterprise buyers have been put off Vista by its steep hardware requirements compared with XP, plus reports of poor performance and stability issues from users. The IT director of a UK charity told IT Week it planned to stay on XP “as long as possible. We simply cannot afford to change hardware just to implement Vista.”
Reader Comments
It’s a bit disappointing for me to, having reported that it will be released on a certain day and then Microsoft not following through! It is however available to MSDN subscribers which the majority of us are most likely not.
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well its april 29, 2008 right now and i’m pretty sure it is the 29th everywhere else in the world…yet it’s no where to be found or downloadable…it just annoys me because i figure a release date means the day of when any product gets released. but nooooooooo its still not available to download.