Details On Windows XP SP3 Leaked

crazyeyes notes the leak of 7 pages of secret Microsoft information on the upcoming Service Pack for Windows XP. Quoting: "We were the first to break the news on the release of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and the final RTM schedule of Windows XP Service Pack 3. Now, we will be the first to release the full details on Microsoft's Windows XP Service Pack 3, which as we know will be available for manual update on April 29, 2008."

Comments

DOJ mandates windows user interface now?!

[gd23ka]

Check this: Address Bar on taskbar missing. This is no longer available at the request of the US Department Of Justice (DOJ)

If those parasites don't like it they should ask for a private build. What's next?!?

Re:DO NOT RTFA

[.orvp]

Oh yes there is...

Modify your Comments Configuration, and place a +2 Redundant reason modifier. I do this as I think Redundant is the second worst mod option (after Overrated on Funny comments)

Re:What we need...

[CastrTroy]

I wonder if we could build a plugin, that would give them so many extra clicks, such that their advertisers wouldn't believe that they actually generated that many hits, and would refuse to pay, on the grounds that they couldn't have possibly gotten so many hits. Basically just reload the page 500 times, possibly deleting any cookies so and making a minor change in the user agent so you look like a different person. Sure it's the same IP address, but I don't think they would really want to only count unique IPs.

Link to direct download from M$

[Anonymous Coward]

I googled the filename (WindowsXP-KB936929-SP3-x86-ENU.exe) from the blog mentioned earlier:
http://blog.hishamrana.com/2008/04/23/windows-xp-sp3-leaked-onto-bittorrent-and-usenet

I came across a Microsoft page that wasn't up anymore, 5th result down linked to a page that isn't up anymore. Using google's cached results I came up with this link:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/3/5/53519680-fcc0-4a00-86e0-e7d5cba84461/WindowsXP-KB936929-SP3-x86-ENU.exe

Re:This big news...

[YaroMan86]

They could make a deal with game developers so that new games would only run on Vista. Hmmm. Might work.

I doubt it. I've written about this before, though I'm far from an authority. Game makers want to develop for the largest platform. You really htink they would shoot themselves in the foot by switching over en-masse to DirectX 10, where gamers haven't really gone? Have you noticed that despite Vista's length of time out (Relatively short compared to XP, but long enough.) the door, the game market is still largely still pointing toward XP and DirectX 9?

I'll consider the fact that more game makers are beginning to add Linux to their operating base, which makes OpenGL, SDL, and other alternative game libraries that aren't tethered down to Windows more of a prospect now. When OpenGL goes 3.0, how do you think even DirectX 11's Graphics API will compare?

But, I get the gist of your post. Microsoft, like with Windows ME, really dropped the ball on Vista. Made a bunch of vaporware promises, made an incompatible, bloated, insecure, unstable system, and started living in a reality distortion field wherein Vista has virtually no problems. That reality distortion field isn't as bad as Apple's, but it is bad enough that Microsoft seems to think that Vista is a crushing success despite documented dwindling install/user base and growing Linux, OS X user bases.

This makes me wonder about Windows 7. I have my doubts it will be an improvement. (Well, maybe over Vista, but it'll uphold the Microsoft tradition of mediocrity.) And news that Microsoft will be trying to release it sooner is an indication that Microsoft is scared to shit of what Vista has done to Windows' reputation. Because Windows 7 is getting rushed now, I imagine it'll be a piece of trash, like all the other rushed Windows versions out there. (Ironically, Vista wasn't rushed, and yet it still managed to be absolute FAIL on so many levels.)

Re:DO NOT RTFA

[el americano]

That's the main reason why I want an adblocker for FF that loads the ads, but doesn't display them. The other reason is that I don't want to be detected blocking ads, although that hasn't been a problem so far.