Microsoft released Release Candidate 1 (RC1) version of Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3). Windows XP SP3 is the last chord of the song so long favorite Windows XP.

For me, XP SP3 has become a kind of farewell greetings to my old friend, and loading XP to install this update was accompanied me for some nostalgic memories. But if you seriously, then it is time to leave. If you are going to compare with XP SP3 and his new and more perfect opponent, Windows Vista, it did not find anything that would have led you to think otherwise.

Release XP SP3 RC1 took place almost a month from the date of a private beta release of 15000 for beta testers. This time, release became public: RC1 available for download MSDN and TechNet subscribers interested in the fact whether SP3 increase life "Great old operating system," Microsoft on black-other. Early experience with this upgrade has shown that this kind of role he can play very well, for "slow" and corporations for some users.

In contrast to the massive SP2, XP SP3 would not enter any new significant features, at least in terms of the end user. It includes several hundred patches, which Microsoft released impressive for the period of time that has passed since the October 2001 appeared XP, almost six years ago. Combination XP SP3 and reaches the maximum possible level of security, which may be ageing XP platform. I must say that this system is quite strong, although it concedes to the security and stability of Vista.

According to some records from the network, XP SP3 increases the speed by about 10 per cent compared with SP2. Personally, I have not noticed any improvement in productivity, although it only has updated the only system of XP SP2, and yet I do not plan to use this configuration, in its daily work. Of course, XP faster Vista on the same hardware, regardless of what service packs installed. But is the nature of the updates, and Vista can fully compensate for its backlog by various Benchmark, providing a significant functional improvement and security system.

XP SP3 supports the installation without necessarily imposing key product, as well as Vista (and Windows Server 2008). I still did not hold "clean" installation on XP SP3, but I must do so at a later date to check this option. However, I know that XP SP3 contains no more new versions of Internet Explorer or Windows Media Player. So if you do the "clean" and the installation of XP SP3, you will have to update IE6 to IE7.

For those few who uses 64 - bit version of XP, XP SP3 interest is not: your OS will be updated through service packs Windows Server 2003. The latest service pack for Windows Server 2003 is SP2.

In fact, XP SP3 is not making any major changes in the process of XP, but all well planned: like Vista SP1, XP SP3 it as a "real" service package updates, which contains everything already vypushennye fixes and adds a few minor new features.