Service Pack 3 for Windows Xp is now available for download on the web and will be rolled out to automatic updates by June 30th. The update adds compatibility between Server 2008 and Vista. There are also some security and network improvements.

Source: PCWorld

Update: It seems that XP SP3 will be delayed for a while longer. Not a Microsoft product being delayed, that’s unheard of. It seems that at the last minute a issue was found with Point of Sale software that Microsoft makes that runs on XP.

Source: The Register

Well not quite, but the software company is loosening the grip on it’s proprietary protocols. These include Exchange/Outlook and SharePoint/Office. How loose you ask, how about a whooping 14,000 pages. These join the around staggering 30,000 pages of other various Windows Server and Client protocols. The additions to the MSDN can be found here. Microsoft said that it will be releasing the finished documentation in June.

The devil is in the details though, even though the documentation is public if Microsoft feels that the protocol is patented any commercial product wanting to implement the protocol will have to pay royalties. The bright side is that noncommercial open source software may implement the protocols without royalties. Many say this effort is from pressure from the EU but this is still a step in the right direction.

Source: Information Week

For those that don’t know Microsoft plans to stop sales of Windows XP, and force everyone into using Vista. Infoworld has a petition for those that don’t want this fate for XP. Apparently this is also the opinion of atleast 75,000 other people as well.

While I’m all for Linux and Open Source software, XP is still a good product that doesn’t deserve to die just yet. I can’t believe I just said that. Compared to the bloat of Vista XP feels downright good. It’s like that friend that really goofy and awkward yet you still hang around with them anyway.

A nice little free utility came to my attention recently, called vLite. Although I have virtually no experience with Vista nor do I want any, this little tool seems to cut out some of the excess that Microsoft insists on installing by default. Taking the installation down from the standard 15 GB, to just 1.4 GB. It can also integrate hot fixes and other patches, then make the whole thing into a burnable ISO making it useful on more than one front.

Download | About

There is also a version for XP called nLite.