It’s out folks. Windows XP Service Pack 3 is now readily available from Windows Update. Expect bug fixes and even a slight performance boost.

Details of some of the changes can be found here.

It’s a bit light on the feature side, though. It’s too bad they didn’t add at least 1 of the 18 features Windows doesn’t have. Sure some of them are already available via third party apps, but it’d just be nice to have them baked into the OS already.

June 30th, 2008 was the cut off date for Windows XP, but now, thanks to the rise of low cost machines like the Asus EEE PC, Microsoft is allowing its beloved operating system to live for at least another 2 years.

The only catch is, Microsoft wants to restrict sales to low cost machines. I guess people who want to buy Windows XP for their desktops will have to suck it up and hop over to Vista. Come on, it’s not as bad as rabble makes it out be.

Maybe they’re extending the end date til just after Windows 7 releases which could be within the “next year“.

Microsoft’s Steve Balmer, CEO and almighty ruler of Microsoft, announced that it will include Blu-ray support to its Windows platform. No word about an XBOX 360 Blu-ray drive add-on, but he didn’t exactly “rule it out” either.

This is great and all, but how many people are going to install Blu-ray drives in their media PCs this soon? Hey, why complain though? Support for any HD format is a good thing; especially when it’s the standard high definition format.

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is just around the corner (even sooner than you think) and now, so is Windows XP Service Pack 3. Microsoft released Service Pack 3 Release candidate 2 for public testing earlier this week.

Fixes include the usual hotfixes and performance improvements. As for features, here’s a sample:

- Microsoft’s Network Access Protection (NAP) support
- ‘keyless activation’ - Allows IT administrators to install SP3 without entering product keys for each copy

Other than the above, don’t expect Service Pack 3 to be as significant as Service Pack 2.

“I’ll stick with XP.” Words I have heard since Windows Vista’s launch. Are they without merit? No, Windows Vista brings nothing grandiose, but I appreciate the subtle additions and changes. I see it as Windows XP refined. Will I miss Windows XP when Microsoft pulls support on June 30th, 2008? Let’s just say I will not lose sleep over it.

Well there are those who are adamantly against Windows Vista and even started a petition to “Save XP“. Sign it, if you nerdiness demands it.