A little news on some good updates for Windows XP users. Microsoft said last Tuesday (19th February 2008) that it is releasing a test version of Windows XP SP3 (Service Pack 3).
A service pack is a large collection of fixes, updates, fixes and sometimes enhancements to a software program or operating system.
The service pack is delivered in one single, installable package. This is different to the individual patches to a given software program or operating system.
It is also worth knowing that besides the fixes they offer, they can bring entirely new features.
According to the Beta (early test versions), Microsoft has 1,073 fixes in SP3. Fixes, updates and enhancements include:
- Better Wi-Fi security with WPA2
- Greater security for delivering Windows Updates, Office Updates, Windows Live Software Updates, and other Microsoft updates
- Windows XP SP3 ensures these PCs have all available updates and allows these PCs to leverage some new Windows Server 2008 capabilities, such as Network Access Protection (NAP)
The expected release date of SP3 will be the end of June 2008. The original expected date was 2006, but this was pushed back many times as Microsoft decided to focus its energy on Windows Vista.
