PCTips Box

Officially, Windows XP Service Pack 3 RTM is not yet available for download. Unofficially however, the story is a tad different. The third and last service pack for Windows XP has been up for grabs from various sources, more or less legitimate since a few days. And now the final bits of XP SP3 can be accessed straight from Microsoft, even though the Redmond company has failed to jump the gun on the previously announced general availability date: April 29, 2008. But failed only in appearance, as Microsoft has been serving the gold version of XP SP3 through its Windows Update infrastructure since the debut of this week.

The fact is that the Redmond company has debuted the preparations for the general release of Windows XP SP3 scheduled for April 29. In this context, the final bits of the service pack have begun making their way on the WU servers and propagating slowly. (more…)

Windows XP Service Pack 3 RTM is finally available for download. Microsoft released the service pack to manufacturing, at the beginning of this week, on April 21, 2008 and is now making headway towards the general availability of XP SP3. Officially, the final version of XP SP3 is scheduled for delivery starting with the end of this month. However, Windows XP SP3 RTM Build 5512 has been leaked and is already up for grabs, ahead of the release timetable outlined by the Redmond company.

At the start of this week, Chris Keroack, Release Program Manager Windows Sustainability Microsoft, announced the RTM of XP SP3, and pointed to April 29 as the date when end users would be able to access the service pack via both Windows Update and the Download Center. The Redmond company planned to serve the gold bits of Windows XP SP3 starting on May 2 to MSDN and TechNet subscribers, following general availability on April 29. (more…)

As momentum grows around its new Windows Home Server line, which is due for release towards the end of this year, Microsoft is looking to keep the love flowing with its hardware partners, software developers and end users alike.

Joel Sider, Senior Program Manager for Windows Home Server, told APC that the company intends to release a software development kit (SDK) for the platform early next month.

While already available to OEMs such as HP, which was the first to sign up to produce a Windows Home Server system, (more…)

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