XP SP3: TechNet and MSDN subscribers to get beta in two weeks
Microsoft provided an update on the timing for Windows XP Service Pack (SP) 3 on August 29.
Company officials said on Wednesday that the Windows team plans to deliver a near-public beta of XP SP3 (it's going to all TechNet and Microsoft Developer Network subscribers) by mid-September.
The final version of XP SP3 is slated to hit some time in the first half of calendar 2008, officials said. (That's the same date the Softies have been promising officially for a while now. Microsoft won't be any more specific on XP SP3 timing.)
Company officials did not release a feature set for XP SP3 on August 29. The only new piece of information available was the public-beta due date.
Microsoft made available to a set of private testers a preview of XP SP3 earlier in August. I saw an alleged fix list at that time: It consisted of nearly 1,000 items.
The last time Microsoft provided a cumulative update to Windows XP was in 2004, when it released XP SP2.