For example, while a large team of developers, product managers, and program managers are involved during the ramp-up to any major OS release, Microsoft then pushes the product into its support organization for follow-up development in the form of hot-fixes, service packs, and so on. Why the delay on SP3?Ī: While Microsoft is an enormous company with over 77,000 employees worldwide and over $50 billion in annual revenues, its organizational structure actually constrains which products are actively developed in some cases. Q: Windows XP SP2 was released over three years ago. The latest Windows 2003 service pack is SP2. Instead, that operating system is updated via service packs aimed at Windows Server 2003. Q: What about Windows XP Professional 圆4 Edition?Ī: SP3 does not apply to the 圆4 version of Windows XP. Q: What versions of Windows XP will work with SP3?Ī: You can apply Service Pack 3 to Windows XP Home Edition, Professional Edition, Tablet PC Edition (any version), or Media Center Edition (any version). The company recommends installing SP2 first as well, though that is not required. Q: Does SP3 include everything from SP1 and SP2 or do I need to install those first?Ī: Though XP SP3 aggregates all of the previously-released XP fixes, Microsoft now says that you will need to install at least SP1 on XP before installing SP3. Here's what I know about Windows XP Service Pack 3.Ī: Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) is the final Windows XP service pack, a collection of previously-released fixes and product enhancements, as well as a few new features that are unique to this release. XP SP3 will consolidate all of these fixes into a single package and, surprisingly, add a few new features, including some that-go figure-debuted first in XP's successor, Windows Vista. It can't come a moment too soon: XP SP2 ( see my review) shipped over three years ago at this writing, and the company has since shipped hundreds of hot-fixes for the OS, giving users a painful updating experience, with multiple reboots. Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3), due in the second quarter of 2008, will be the final XP service pack, according to Microsoft.

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