At last the moment you've been waiting for. Microsoft wants to hit your version of Windows with an update, and this time you don't have to go rummaging around the internet to find it: just fire up Windows Update and let Microsoft do all the work. After a few false starts XP users get the much-anticipated SP3 update, which promises speed boosts and some of the fancy security features found in Vista. If you're a Vista user you're also in luck, since Microsoft has restarted its Vista SP1 distribution after some compatibility problems with Microsoft Dynamics RMS. Sounds like a party.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Attention XP'ers -- your wildest fantasies are coming to fruition. Word on the street is that Service Pack 3 is now available for download all over the World Wide Web. When we say "all over" what we really mean is via Windows Update and the Microsoft Download Center, though we doubt it will stay in one place for too long. Apparently, the new pack offers 1,100 hotfixes and patches, so maybe your obscure, cheapo soundcard will now function in stereo.

Update: Apparently due to a "glitch" in the latest SP, Microsoft has delayed the release of the update, now aiming for a May 2nd street date. Thanks commenters and tipsters, and no thanks to you, Microsoft.

It's not nearly as big a deal as Vista SP1, but it looks like Windows XP SP3 will be out in just eight short days -- Microsoft just confirmed that it's been released to manufacturing, and that it'll be in Windows Update and the Microsoft Download Center on April 29th. No word on if OEMs and devs got access today like we'd heard, but it shouldn't be long now -- here's hoping that rumored 10 percent speed boost is for real.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Though we originally expected (read: hoped) that Microsoft would dish out Service Pack 3 for Windows XP late last month, it seems the deed may actually get done before May dawns. According to an "internal schedule" fetched over at Neowin, OEMs, volume license, Connect, MSDN and TechNet subscribers will have access to the update on April 21st, while most average joes / janes won't notice it until April 29th when it hits the Microsoft / Windows Update download center. For folks too busy carrying on to worry over which SP their XP is running, they could very well overlook the automatic update scheduled to land on June 10th. (Re)mark your calendars, won't you?

[Via InformationWeek]

XP may not EOL until this June, but that doesn't mean it's not in need of the same kind of tender lovin' update packs as OSes of every variety occasionally receive. And according to CRN, the long awaited XP SP3 could be due out as early as tomorrow, or possibly later this week. We'll keep an eye out -- we know it's hard to let XP go.

[Thanks, Khattab]

Update: We hate to be the bearers of bad news but we've already heard that things might not be so optimistic for such an early release. Sources tell us that there still might be some show-stopping issues with SP3 that could prevent it from staying stable (and thus seeing immediate rollout). We'll be watching, as always.

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?

We're always a little wary of unconfirmed speed reports derived from beta software -- especially when no build number is given -- but a Florida shop called Devil Mountain Systems is claiming that Windows XP SP3 will offer a 10 percent speed increase over SP2, going so far as to call it a "must-have update." On the flip side of the coin, it looks like Vista SP1 won't offer much in the way of noticeable fixes, and certainly won't speed things up. Of course, it's not at all unexpected that the finely-tuned XP would run faster than the relatively new Vista, but analysts are having a field day, with Forrester's Benjamin Gray saying "Vista's biggest competition isn't Apple or Novell or Red Hat; it's Microsoft itself, it's XP." That seems a little hysterical to us, actually -- Microsoft deserves major props for continuing to improve XP even as it tries to speed up the transition to Vista, even if that means cannibalizing some sales. That said, let's try to get a little speed out of SP2, mkay?