and the picture is the vista logo because......

316.4mb for those about to download it!

Windows? What's that?

I'll wait and see the reports before I download it.

@sharmanova:

Haha! I feel the same way. I haven't turned on my PC in a loooooooong time. Too busy making music on my Mac.

I could never go back to XP after Vista

I will never go back to VISTA after using VISTA.

@dead_red_eyes: I makes Musics on my Macs /so cool!!

I've got a project scheduled for the summer to make the SP3 updates on few dozen computers... maybe three...
I will also watch out for the reports and feed on the update.

I've had the RC of SP3 for months now. Is there any difference?

Am I missing something? 'cause I've had my XP SP3 installed for about a month now, I just installed it last month when windows told me there were new updates. Says I have SP3 v.3311

@genexrocket: Thats the release candidate 2, this is the final build

d000d just use ur c64, screw windows, nobody smart uses it!

@kavendano14:

Hey, what can I say ... loooove making music on my MBP. I only turn on my PC these days to play a game off of Steam, or some Max Payne for old times.

@xint: - "I will never go back to VISTA after using VISTA."

Yeah, it didn't impress me at all when it first came out, which is the main reason why I finally jumped ship over to a Mac. After building my own PCs for the last 10 years, and using Windows ... I just couldn't take it anymore. I needed a change, and Vista wasn't what I was expecting.

@dead_red_eyes: Thats fine, I would understand if I had a Mac, but they're so goddamn expensive. Damn you Apple!!

I'll just wait thank you. Jumping the gun with windows related updates has never seemed to pay off.

hahahaha Apple sucks........... jk

@Sir Gibler:
he he he

@bobide: If SP3 is anything like SP2 was, I'm prepared to be frustrated to no end.

Lets get this out of the way:

Mac sucks because it shows how stupid people are into believing that the hardware is superior when its NOT. Its the same CPU, GPU, RAM, HDD, DVD, SCREEN, WEBCAM and WIRELESS. The only difference is its trendy casing. Other than that, I'm not going to spend 1100 bucks on a gimped Macbook when I can get a lot more for the same price and only making the laptop weigh a 1/4 pound more and 1/2 inch thicker. MBP are ripoffs too. 2000 bucks for a 15"? 2800 for a 17"? Sorry, I'd much rather use Leopard on a PC.

PC sucks because they are running Windows and because of stupid Microsoft's monopolistic mentality they'll never fix the features. Unfortunately Linux, though improving, isn't for those not decent at some form of programming nor does it have enough of the one major thing that makes dealing with Windows worth it: GAMES. Yes Linux makes drivers but not nearly enough. Linux needs more compatibility to be deemed the number one choice. I (and probably most people) don't want to deal with multiple OS's. I want one that does it all, and unfortunately that OS happens to be Windows.

@daftrok:

Toshiba sells laptops that cost $2000+ (as well as many other companies), so your argument has been SHOT DOWN right there. Yes, yes ... it's the same hardware ... but you forgot to mention the most important part of owning a Mac ... The OS itself.

I was just thinking today about learning how to use that Puppy Linux.

@dead_red_eyes: Solution: Buy your computer from another retailer OTHER than Toshiba or other expensive companies. There's tons of manufacturers out there.

Pwn.

Oh, and on the part about the OS itself: Ummmm... VMWare will give me Leopard, or any version of OS X that i like without paying out the ass for a Mac. It's been done before.

@SomeoneUKno: Give me the chance to install is what I meant... I really should try reading what I write before I post it up.

So, with the rumored 30% speed increase with SP3, I can finally run Crysis full detail on my trusty Pentium 4?

@Ssscorpion: You should give Ubuntu a spin it has a huge community to help you through your woes and it's been my fav distro thus far.

@pipper: BAHAHAHAHAHA Not unless they've developed PCP for computers.

lol! I'm tempted to try it...

@dead_red_eyes:
Yeah dude, there are also $10,000 DVD players but I'm pretty sure you get that "sore anus" feeling after you bought it just like you do after slamming $2800 for a laptop. And not to mention, the OS has a value: its $129. Not $1000.

Forget sp3, i gave up on microsoft and went to ubuntu

@pipper: I thought it was a 10% speed increase.

@daftrok:
Let the Kool-Aid fans think they're cool by spending extra money on the same hardware and a locked down OS called OSX.

Me... well, I'll use Windows XP (like 90% of the people out there) because of the number of productivy software available, very wide selection of hardware selection, and lots of games available on the market.

For me, Windows just works. Then again I've been using and custom building computers for the last 20 years. My neophyte parents don't seem to have trouble using their Windows XP computer for daily tasks using a limited user account (they're not having any issues with spyware or viruses).

@dead_red_eyes: Buy an OpenMac then.

So, is it any good?

Any bugs in this?

Grabbing it at 10MBps. Was going to download RC2 (or 3?) a few days back but decided to wait. We'll see if it's worth all the hype.

Currently dual-booting Vista and XP so best of both worlds...that is until Ubuntu 8 becomes final. Mac? eh...maybe on my laptop.

Seems to be working OK over here. I installed it on a VM so I could get a chance to test it out before I stuck it on the main installation of XP. I do have to say that it is booting faster now.

@ Ssscorpion
Puppy linux isn't bad as an intro. It was the first distro I used (recovered files from a corrupt XP comp). Comfortable for Win users, NTFS support, active community, and lots of versions for various needs (the official versions should suit most, though).

I'm undecided on whether to install this so some help would be nice.

I genuinely like Vista. If you've purchased a laptop anytime in the past year with new hardware on it (I've bought two) and you have at least half a brain, it works quite well.

That said, I find myself able to do LESS with Vista than I used to be able to using XP SP2. The only reason I've been sticking with it is the security - one year and not a single virus, spyware bot or worm.

So here's my question to those who have tried out both - does SP3 give XP the same level of security as Vista has now?

I read somewhere that MS might have included some of those features in it, but those who are running the thing would be able to confirm whether this is true or not.

Thanks!

@jackfrost132:
"If SP3 is anything like SP2 was, I'm prepared to be frustrated to no end."

It's not. SP2 had many major OS changes (added a firewall & enabled by default, added a popup blocker, added DEP, etc.). SP3 is just a large hotfix. Nothing that should really cause any major problems.

@daftrok:

Somewhat...many of the parts are similar, but they claim to use more enterprise-class parts. Personally, I see a much lower percentage of hardware failures in Macs than PCs. I could be wrong. Also, Apple does use some proprietary parts, so you definitely won't have them in other laptops.

Personally, I won't get a Mac because of the price. Of coarse, that's a major concern for me. For people that care less about the price and more about usability and reliability, I can definitely see Macs as a good option.

@geowrian:
If they open up their OS to other PCs, have a LOT more computability with PC games, and cut down the prices significantly on their products then they wouldn't suck. In other words...they SUCK.

Wuh oh. I just applied the patch and was greeted with this upon reboot:
STOP:c0000139 entry Point Not Found
the procedure entry point GdiGetBitmapBitssize could ot be located in the dynamic link library GDI32.dll
At least two other people are posting about the same problem on Technet already ([forums.microsoft.com]).

Any help would be appreciated.

Vista to save the day!

I booted into Vista, replaced gdi32.dll with the latest, previous version. Reboot into XP. Voila! :)

Got the same GDI32.DLL issue and got a copy of an earlier version from within the service pack itself as I'd fortunately extracted the main EXE manually, and the previous version on my XP partition didn't work.

However, I'm thinking this "leak" is actually "RC2" as the KB in the file name, KB936929 and the link all are RC2.

Would the release version have a new KB number?

Ahem...

[download.microsoft.com]

people still use windows?

@kavendano14:

Are they really though? After you pound for beautiful pound plus comparable software from iLife? Really? Me thinkith not.

I gave Vista and Vista SP1 very negative reviews because of painfully bad performance - and it deserves it. But I'm now running Windows 2008 on my workstation and I have to say it runs GREAT. It runs as fast as XP for just about everything! That isn't a reason to pay to switch from XP bot 2008 but at least it is in theory possible for the new MS OS to be good.

I have the aero interface turned on, gadgets/sidebar running - lots of bells and whistles turned on and so far all my DX10 games run grate and all my old apps run great even my sonicwall runs as well as all my printers and scanner.

So far I've only got two things I can't run - HALO2 (LOL- seriously - yet COD4, Q4, UT3, Bioshock, Crysis, MOHA etc all run great). And I'm still hoping someone figures a way to get media center on 2008 - seems like you can run everything else that comes with VIsta but on an OS that actually runs fast!