Words has it that Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) Final will be release on March 24, 2008. The previous Service Pack 2 was released on August 2004 - that’s 3 years plus ago.
We think that we can bet on the release date because on March 21, 2008, Microsoft uploaded a document describing little bits of information on this XP Service Pack 3 at their download section. Take note that the full XP Service Pack 3 is around 580mb which you can deploy onto systems having the SP1 or SP2. SP3 will cover all the updates since then.
A small word of caution though, Service Pack 3 will probably have the Microsoft WGA deployed on your system.
looks like it is not out yet
According to TechArp, Microsoft plans to release it on the second-half of April.
Source: http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=521
That’s good to know. But also a good point about the WGA being installed. I’ve heard of people getting shut down when they did have an authentic and legal version.
The timing for this release is perfect. We’re going to be building new images for our college network over summer break and this will give us a good amount of time to fully test the impact of SP3.
Just doing a quick read over what SP3 will offer, it looks like it will be a nice enhancement to the XP core. But, with all things M$, I’m a bit apprehensive. I’m sure there are some hidden gems in this release that are going to have me using quite a few colorful expletives.