Is this out yet? I saw the release candidate on Microsoft's website, but are they going to release the full version later? The release candidate itself is 336MB.
Yea, they've said that they'll release the final version sometime in the 2nd half of 08...Really, the release candidate is pretty much the final product (minus some minor tweaks depending on feedback), so if for whatever reason you want it right now, try it out. I'd personally be glad to hear how it works if you do.
Well, that's the thing, I waited for a good long while before I upgraded to Service Pack 2. I believe I waited 'till about the point where they were saying if you don't get SP2, we won't give you anymore updates. That would be the same thing I am waiting for right now.
Oh, well, is there a reason why you don't want to update right away, or did I misunderstand?
The reason I waited the first time (for SP2) was because of the fact that I heard about problems that occurred after installing SP2. I'm still leary of installing a service pack before it is released as a full version.
Oh, okay, well, I wouldn't worry about it too much this time. SP3 for XP isn't supposed to include any major updates, but to be safe, I'm not going to install it on my XP machine yet either.
Okay, I read about SP3. It is basically good for if you have to reinstall Windows. What happens is, if you have to reinstall Windows and you have Service Pack 3 already downloaded, just install SP3 and you can skip the 100+ updates on the Microsoft Updates site. It basically just makes things a little more convenient.
Well, when it says reinstall windows...I sure hope it keeps all my files...although, my comp. could use a refresh I guess...
My take on any service pack, especially for a mature OS like xp, is to have a good read of the release notes and see of there is a good bunch of fixes that are applicable for what you use your pc for, and are apparent solutions for problems you've actually been experiencing.
You can even get clever, and get your copy of xp and using nlite, do a rebuild incorporating all the fixes into it.
Basically, if all is working well on your pc, you shouldn't trip over yourself clamoring to get this... things like graphics, sound, and directX drivers are much more likely to be useful to most xp users that ''surf n work n game'' a bit
mtfbywa
I haven't found anything that catches my interest in the release notes, so I'm fairly neutral to the pack. I suppose I'll get it sometime, though it really doesn't sound like something to be all jumping about for.
^Even Microsoft agrees with this point. And I mean, there really isn't ever anything huge to get excited about w/ Service packs. Really, it's MS's attempt to level the playing field by getting as many people as possible to be using the same apps for maximum compatibility.