Windows XP SP3 to Include Some
Vista Features
A Web site that leaked details of
Windows XP Service Pack 3 over the
weekend claimed that the update
includes several new features,
including some borrowed from
Windows Vista.According to
NeoSmart Technologies, Windows XP
SP3 build 3205, which was released
to beta testers, includes four new
features among the 1000-plus
individual hot fixes and patches that
have been issued since XP2’s debut
three years ago.Features backported
from Vista, said NeoSmart, include
Network Access Protection (NAP), an
enterprise policy enforcement
technology that inspects client PCs
before they access a corporate
network, then updates the machines
if necessary or blocks them if they
don’t meet specified security
criteria.Other additions range from a
kernel module containing several
encryption algorithms that can be
accessed by third-party developers,
to a new Windows activation model
that doesn’t require users to enter a
product key.Microsoft had previously
announced SP3 support for NAP,
which is part of Windows Vista and
will be included in the not-yet-
finalized Windows Server
2008.Windows XP SP3, which
Microsoft has said will be released
early in 2008, will be one more move
by the developer to extend the
lifespan of the six-year-old operating
system. Last month, for example,
Microsoft gave Windows XP a five-
month reprieve by pushing back the
end of retail sales and sales of XP-
powered PCs by large resellers to
June 30, 2008.And last week,
Microsoft debuted a new “get-legal”
program that lets companies
purchase large quantities of
Windows XP Professional licenses
through their usual
resellers.Microsoft was not
immediately available for comment
on the leak, or the new features
touted by NeoSmart.
Vista Features
A Web site that leaked details of
Windows XP Service Pack 3 over the
weekend claimed that the update
includes several new features,
including some borrowed from
Windows Vista.According to
NeoSmart Technologies, Windows XP
SP3 build 3205, which was released
to beta testers, includes four new
features among the 1000-plus
individual hot fixes and patches that
have been issued since XP2’s debut
three years ago.Features backported
from Vista, said NeoSmart, include
Network Access Protection (NAP), an
enterprise policy enforcement
technology that inspects client PCs
before they access a corporate
network, then updates the machines
if necessary or blocks them if they
don’t meet specified security
criteria.Other additions range from a
kernel module containing several
encryption algorithms that can be
accessed by third-party developers,
to a new Windows activation model
that doesn’t require users to enter a
product key.Microsoft had previously
announced SP3 support for NAP,
which is part of Windows Vista and
will be included in the not-yet-
finalized Windows Server
2008.Windows XP SP3, which
Microsoft has said will be released
early in 2008, will be one more move
by the developer to extend the
lifespan of the six-year-old operating
system. Last month, for example,
Microsoft gave Windows XP a five-
month reprieve by pushing back the
end of retail sales and sales of XP-
powered PCs by large resellers to
June 30, 2008.And last week,
Microsoft debuted a new “get-legal”
program that lets companies
purchase large quantities of
Windows XP Professional licenses
through their usual
resellers.Microsoft was not
immediately available for comment
on the leak, or the new features
touted by NeoSmart.