Win XP SP3 Final (Expected this week)
Microsoft is poised to release Windows Vista Service Pack (SP1) to the retail channel this week. And the final release-to-manufacturing (RTM) of Windows XP SP3 is not far behind, according to testing sources.
Amazon.com has published to its site Vista SP1 availability dates of Wednesday March 19. (Thanks to Computerworld for spotting Amazon’s SP1 availability notice.)
Microsoft officials have been saying for the past few weeks to expect Microsoft to release Vista SP1 through retail channels and via Windows Update in mid-March and to PC makers for preloading on new systems in April.
Even though Microsoft released Vista SP1 to manufacturing in early February — and (after user protest) delivered the final SP1 bits to its TechNet and Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) subscribers a couple of weeks after that — company officials said they were holding back on making the service pack more broadly available due to driver-installation problems.
(In late February, Microsoft inadvertently made a build of Vista SP1 available via Windows Update, and pulled it shortly afterward.)
Meanwhile, Microsoft has removed XP SP3 from its private Connect test site, according to testers who requested anonymity, in preparation for the delivery of the final XP SP3 bits.
Over the weekend of March 15, another new test build of XP SP3 leaked out. The latest XP SP3 build, No. 5503, was available on torrent sites over the weekend, testers said.
Said one tester: “A new build of SP3 is floating on the net, build 5503. The last build, the public RC2 was Build 3311 (which Microsoft released in mid-February) so it’s quite a jump between the two.”
The aforementioned tester said that the XP SP3 5503 build didn’t seem to include any noticeable new features or functionality. Other testers wondered whether the new SP3 build was real or fake.
Microsoft officials have said to expect XP SP3 to ship by mid-2008. Web site PCInpact earlier this year said Microsoft planned to ship the final version of XP SP3 the week of March 23, a date Microsoft would neither confirm nor deny when I asked.
Windows XP SP3 RTM Schedule & Updates!
After we broke the story on the release of Windows Vista Service Pack 1, we now have updated news and more details of the long-awaited Service Pack 3 for Windows XP. Microsoft has also made some changes to when and how Windows XP Service Pack 3 will be released. Here are the details...
1. Windows XP Service Pack 3 will contain hotfixes and updates released since Windows XP SP2. It will also include an expanded set of product keys for Windows XP Professional that were originally introduced in Windows XP SP2c.
2. Microsoft clarified that there will not be any integrated SP3 release for Windows XP Media Center Edition or Windows XP Tablet Edition. That means you won't be able to buy or obtain a complete Windows XP Media Center Edition / Tablet Edition SP3 CD. In addition, users of Windows XP Media Center Edition or Windows XP Tablet Edition will only be able to update to Service Pack 3 through Windows Update.
3. All languages will now be released in two waves. Earlier, Microsoft said that languages support for Windows XP Service Pack 3 will be released in three waves. What was previously identified as wave 2 and 3 have now been combined into a single wave 2.
4. Microsoft has also delayed RTM for Windows XP Service Pack 3 to provide sufficient time to incorporate feedback from the beta testers. (In other words, they can't make their original deadline!)
Due to the changes in language releases and Windows XP SP3 RTM's release, here's the updated schedule.
With the exception of Windows XP Media Center Edition and Windows XP Tablet Edition, Windows XP Service Pack 3 will be released in both standalone and integrated formats. It will be available in both CD and DVD formats, except for the Japanese language version which will only be in DVD format.
XP SP3 Build 5503 Clarification
As some of you may have noticed, there was some confusion/concern regarding the validity of the unusual Build 5503 of XP SP3 that made the news a few days ago. Fortunately, Mary Jo Foley received the following update from Microsoft last night:
The XP SP3 5503 build was a minor interim build released to address one specific issue for a subset of private beta testers. This build was not intended for public release and anyone who has that build and is not part of the private beta is working with bits that Microsoft can’t verify the integrity…. The final version of XP SP3 is still on target to be released the first half of calendar year 2008.
Also worth noting is that the build contains an EULA for "Pre-Release" software so it most definitely will not be the final SP3 build.
Microsoft Confirms that the Leaked XP SP3 Build 5503 Is an Official Release:
Microsoft has confirmed that the leaked Windows XP Service Pack 3 Build 5503 is an official release. The Redmond company had been mute on the development of XP SP3 following the delivery of Release Candidate 2 build 3311. In this context, when XP SP3 Build 5503 started to pop out on torrent trackers and on warez websites there was a lot of speculation that the release was in fact a fake. First of all, the jump from build 3311 all the way to 5503 pointed to the fact that the latest build could not come from Microsoft. Especially as the Redmond company said nothing on the matter.
Well, this is no longer the case. I contacted Microsoft and asked whether XP SP3 Build 5503 was an official release. "The XP SP3 5503 build was a minor interim build released to address one specific issue for a subset of private beta testers," revealed a Microsoft spokesperson in an email to Softpedia. And it looks like I wasn't the only one who asked since Mary Jo Foley got the same official response to a similar inquiry (via WinBeta).
But at the same time, although XP SP3 5503 is an official release from Microsoft, I advise you not to touch the downloads on torrent trackers or other sources. As soon as it has left Redmond and ended up being made available for download, despite the fact that it was a private release, there's really no telling what XP SP3 5503 brings to the table. The best thing that you can do is wait for official releases of XP SP3. And from the signals that I'm getting it will not be a long wait.
"This build was not intended for public release and anyone who has that build and is not part of the private beta is working with bits that Microsoft can't verify the integrity-it's possible the bits may have been modified with malware or other bad code that Microsoft hasn't tested. That's why we advise customers to check the Microsoft's download centers for product updates, to ensure they're getting valid code for their systems. The final version of XP SP3 is still on target to be released the first half of calendar year 2008," the Microsoft spokesperson.
Source:
http://blogs.zdnet.com,
www.winbeta.org and
http://www.techarp.com
Win XP SP3 Final (Expected this week)
Linear Mode
