Gizmodo: service pack 3

Windows XP SP3 Final Unofficially Available For Impatient Types

Sean Fallon — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT

The official release is on April 29th, but if you are the impatient sort and enjoy the thrill of downloading unproven software, you can get your hands on it now via MajorGeeks and Softpedia. [Major Geeks and Softpedia via Lifehacker]

Windows XP Service Pack 3 Ships to Manufacturers April 21st, Hits Windows Update April 29th

Adrian Covert — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:40:08 EDT

Windows XP SP3 will start shipping to manufacturers and IT workers next Monday, 4/21. The Following Tuesday, 4/29, it will be made available for download over Windows Update. This is the final version of SP3, following the RC1 and RC2 builds offered earlier in the year, which promises to boost performance by 10% and network access protection. [ComputerWorld]

Microsoft Prepping Service Pack 3 for XP for Next Month

Adam Frucci — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 09:45:53 EDT

Good news for you stubborn, Vista-wary Windows users still rocking XP: Microsoft is prepping Service Pack 3 for your reticent asses for next month. This is almost certainly the last major update for the OS before Microsoft really, officially gives up and hopes and prays that you just upgrade to Vista already, as they won't be selling new copies of it anymore as of the end of June. [The Inquirer]

Windows XP Service Pack 3 RC2 Available Now

Jason Chen — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 16:00:59 EST

Those of you still on Windows XP (quite a few of you) are probably on XP because you don't feel the need to upgrade to Vista. But if you're still into getting some new features and bug fixes for your OS, check out the release candidate of Service Pack 3. RC2 means it's still not quite there, but it's close. [Computerworld]

Windows XP to get 10% Performance Boost

Mark Wilson — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 14:20:46 EST

According to software development firm Devil Mountain Software, Service Pack 3 for Windows XP is a "must have" update. Because when they ran the Office productivity test suite on a preview version of SP3, they found performance boosts of 10%. So in case Windows users needed another performance-oriented reason not to upgrade to Vista, they just got one. [yahoo via lifehacker]