Windows XP SP3 RC2 publicly available. That's three times the SP!

Look, we sense the Vista hate out there, but frankly we think it's your own dang business what OS you choose to run. If Vista SP1 is rocking your world right now, we say more power to you, if XP is more your pace then you're certainly not alone, and if you're still trying to install Firefox on Haiku we feel your pain. That said, XP users are getting a bit of love this week, since Microsoft just made Service Pack 3 Release Candidate 2 publicly available via Windows Update. You have to download a little registry key to help Windows Update know you're RC2 fodder, and remove any previous version of SP3 from your machine, but it should be smooth sailing from there. How do you like them apples, Vista SP1?

[Jeff @ Feb 20th 2008 10:56AM]

Hrmm

Trying to put my finger on the slightly ironic phrase:
"How do you like them apples, Vista SP1?"

[svetoslav.dankov @ Feb 20th 2008 1:21PM]

The phrase is from "Good Will Hunting" - personally one of my favorites. Matt Damon is the one who says the line.

[eng177 @ Feb 20th 2008 1:51PM]

That phrase existed decades before Good Will Hunting.

[Naveed @ Feb 20th 2008 3:08PM]

lol@goodwillhunting

[jojo @ Feb 20th 2008 4:12PM]

The phrase might have existed before, but Good Will Hunting was the first movie that used it or at least made it famous. Without that movie, no one would have even heard of the phrase.

[ericisshort @ Feb 20th 2008 4:35PM]

just because thats how you learned about it, doesnt mean that it wasnt popular at one time with other groups of people. I for one, heard it all the time growing up because it was one of my grandfather's favorite phrases, and he died a long time before good will hunting came out.

[eng177 @ Feb 20th 2008 4:53PM]

@jojo

I assure you, it was a very well known phrase before Good Will Hunting. Wow.

[teej @ Feb 20th 2008 6:03PM]

Matt Damon has the crappiest Boston accent (see: The Departed) i've ever heard; i don't even care if he's from there, it's horrible.

yeah, it's off-topic, big whoop, wanna e-fight about it?

[ZeroCorpse @ Feb 21st 2008 2:36AM]

Young people are funny.

"The first time I heard it was in 1993, so that must be the first time anyone said it."

You guys must be amazed to discover that rock music is over 50 years old, and rap music is over 30 years old. Yes, there was a world, with music, language, and technology in it, before you were born.

[Jack @ Feb 21st 2008 6:55AM]

applesauce, bitch

[striggity @ Feb 20th 2008 11:00AM]

lol, madonna?

[Fernando @ Feb 20th 2008 11:02AM]

Direct link anyone?

[JohnnyChimpo @ Feb 20th 2008 11:36AM]

I think the reference is to "Ray of Light"?

[AJ in the East Bay @ Feb 20th 2008 11:55AM]

@JohnnyChimpo:

Correct. "Ray Of Light" was the song Microsoft used to promote Windows XP.

BTW, Vista failed because Microsoft didn't use a good hit song to promote it...NOT!!!

[Mark @ Feb 20th 2008 2:36PM]

Oh come on, that David Byrne song was good.

[Dave @ Feb 20th 2008 3:56PM]

Poor Madge, she tries so hard.

[Aaron @ Feb 20th 2008 11:03AM]

Does anyone know exactly what SP3 adds?

[Dextro @ Feb 20th 2008 11:07AM]

Improved stability
Certain bugfixes
Hourly warnings that your system might be unprotected. Telling you to buy Vista, now!

[TomTom2007 @ Feb 20th 2008 11:10AM]

This should provide enough info for you guys:

http://www.winsupersite.com/faq/xp_sp3.asp

[SimsHsia @ Feb 20th 2008 11:11AM]

It's noted in the XP SP3 RC2 Release Notes:

http://download.microsoft.com/download/c/d/8/cd8cc719-7d5a-40d3-a802-e4057aa8c631/relnotes.htm

Dextro has the quick run down of what it adds, bug fixes since SP2. For those who are still running XP SP1, SP3 provides all fixes (and the SP2 added functionality) since then.

[Fernando @ Feb 20th 2008 11:02AM]

Direct download link anyone?

[SimsHsia @ Feb 20th 2008 11:07AM]

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=114f3599-12af-42b2-aab1-b969a62c68a7&DisplayLang=en

[clak @ Feb 20th 2008 11:07AM]

"How do you like them apples, Vista SP1?"

Gosh, Engadget people, why did you have to say anything about apples? Now every Microsoft lover in the universe is going to read Apple bias into this statement. And all five Vista lovers are going to defend it and declare that Vista isn't "that bad" and will explain how it's actually misunderstood and say things like, "yeah, I know you need a super computer to run it, but what's the big deal?" Then they are going to promise never to come back and read Engadget again until a correction is made. And although the views will reach 100,000 just based on the fact that you mentioned Apple in the same sentence with Microsoft, they will punish you with 200 comments, making the article the most popular one on your site all day.

And then, tomorrow, they will come back looking for more examples of Engadget Apple loving, starting the cycle all over again.

[MBN @ Feb 20th 2008 11:10AM]

Wow! Sour grapes?

[w00t @ Feb 20th 2008 11:19AM]

The very fact that people are saying Vista is "not that bad" should alert you to a problem. I mean, if it was great, people would be saying "This is great!"

To quote Jeremy Clarkson, it's like saying "This manure doesn't smell that bad, really!" but it's still manure all the same :)

[tcc3 @ Feb 20th 2008 11:47AM]

OS X's not that bad either.

[Big Wizz @ Feb 20th 2008 12:34PM]

Is that not what most Blogs want? Hits? Makes business sense to me.

[Leor @ Feb 20th 2008 11:09AM]

This is what Microsoft has to say about it:

"Windows® XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) includes all previously released updates for the operating system. This update also includes a small number of new functionalities, which do not significantly change customers’ experience with the operating system. "

Link: http://www.microsoft.com/Downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=68c48dad-bc34-40be-8d85-6bb4f56f5110&displaylang=en

It's basically not worth the time to update. They just added a bunch of stupid, useless, Vista-like security features.

[maveric101 @ Feb 20th 2008 9:43PM]

you're forgetting the 10% speed increase.

[Leor @ Feb 20th 2008 11:17AM]

To be more specific, these are the new useless, crappy features it includes:

- "Black Hole" Router Detection

- Network Access Protection (NAP)

- Descriptive Security Options User Interface

- Enhanced security for Administrator and Service policy entries

- Microsoft Kernel Mode Cryptographic Module

- Windows Product Activation

So much for "a bit of love". What a waste!!

[Abuzar @ Feb 20th 2008 1:58PM]

You forgot the Speed increases over SP2. You're just jealous because Vista SP1 screwed you over.

[T-Bone @ Feb 20th 2008 11:19AM]

"How do you like them apples, Vista SP1?"

What is that supposed to mean? XP has been out far longer than Vista so it would naturally have more Service Packs. Plus, Vista SP1 is finished while XP SP3 isn't.

[melloncollie @ Feb 20th 2008 11:31AM]

It was a joke douche.

[T-Bone @ Feb 20th 2008 11:32AM]

Jokes make sense, this does not, asshole.

[Derbeste @ Feb 20th 2008 11:40AM]

Apples and assholes and douches oh my!

[roger_huston @ Feb 20th 2008 3:19PM]

@Leor,

Oh, I am very much looking forward to SP3. There are so many updates and fixes that when you install SP2 that your computer can be busy for hours. If you are one of those unfortunate people who still have dial-up, your computer would be busy for days.

If nothing else, being able to get WinXP with SP3 will be a HUGE timesaver.

- Roger

[jon @ Feb 20th 2008 12:26PM]

wasn't there something about speed and performance increases somewhere along the lines of 10% mentioned somewhere?
what i would really like to see is an XP2 os aka XP trimmed of all the bloat it has out of the box...

[Bradley @ Feb 20th 2008 11:47AM]

Forget about SP3... Engadget just made a Madonna reference! I'm happy. Maybe you can review her new album on April 29? :)

[Drew @ Feb 20th 2008 12:23PM]

That's the problem w/ Microsoft. They Name their software WIndows XP SP3 RC2. What the hell does that mean? I have 10.5.2. I know that is newer than 10.4.9 & even 10.5.1.
I think this is also why a lot of american car companies do so poorly. They have a thousand different car names while many successful cars have a predictable formula (530, E320, LS430).

[FourStringPhunk @ Feb 20th 2008 12:31PM]

I hope you're being sarcastic

[Abuzar @ Feb 20th 2008 2:00PM]

So you're saying Apple users are dumb and they don't like big names? Or is the Whole of America dumb? Maybe you're just dumb and you don't like the name.

It makes perfect sense. Windows XP Service Pack 3 Release Candidate 2, how much shorter can they make it? It's a release candidate, it's not even made for most consumers.

[GS @ Feb 20th 2008 1:20PM]

While all the CRAPple fanboys screaming their lungs out, Vista came around and bitch-slapped their MacOS SP 1000. Steve Crap-O-jobs is feeding service packs to the "Air"heads since 1983.

[Razor @ Feb 20th 2008 5:19PM]

How does this comment get rated so highly? I don't even know what the hell he is trying to say. I guess it's just me...

[ZeroCorpse @ Feb 21st 2008 2:39AM]

Hey. Wow. That would be SUCH a cool comment if you were back in the schoolyard in 5th grade.

"CRAPple" -- Really? You're going to go with "CRAPple" as your insult du jour?

...And I don't know WHAT to say about such a mature insult as "Steve Crap-o-jobs"

You must be a riot in detention when the principal isn't there.

[Leor @ Feb 20th 2008 2:14PM]

Abuzar,

There are no speed increases. And I don't have and never will have Vista.

Apparently, you don't read English very well. Microsoft stated that there are no improvements that will "significantly change customers’ experience with the operating system."

All of the Windows Updates, up until SP3, included the revisions that helped increase speed and performance. SP3, itself, is just a bunch of additional, useless crap. It would only improve your system if you hadn't performed any of the updates that came prior to it.

[Naveed @ Feb 20th 2008 3:19PM]

I think they meant that no one would have to relearn anything. I dont believe they were speaking of performance enhancements.

Hard to think the sole purpose of this update is not to make vista upgrade process more natural and easier for people, considering they would like to get rid of XP users. Of course that would explain Microsoft's use of the word "significantly" in this quote:

"Windows® XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) includes all previously released updates for the operating system. This update also includes a small number of new functionalities, which do not significantly change customers’ experience with the operating system. "

[Abuzar @ Feb 21st 2008 9:40AM]

Well if you look at the reviews, that have stated about a 10 percent performance increase. I'm pretty sure they kept their computer up to date, and the 10% was because of SP3.

[Leor @ Feb 21st 2008 10:43AM]

As I posted in another comment, these are the NEW features that SP3 will include. You look for yourself and tell me where you see any kind of update that would enhance performance. It's al just a bunch of useless crap. Way to go Microsoft!--

- "Black Hole" Router Detection

- Network Access Protection (NAP)

- Descriptive Security Options User Interface

- Enhanced security for Administrator and Service policy entries

- Microsoft Kernel Mode Cryptographic Module

- Windows Product Activation

[hackman @ Feb 20th 2008 4:50PM]

wow there is really nothing useful here.

[Hookey @ Feb 21st 2008 7:49AM]

If you've been keeping your PC updated is this actually worth downloading right now?