After repeatedly ostracizing the third service pack for Windows XP over a period of three years, Microsoft might actually deliver the refresh by the end of 2007. Officially, the Redmond company's plans as far as Windows XP Service pack 3 is concerned, remain unchanged from the end of the past year. Initially, Microsoft was planning to deliver SP3 in early 2006. Windows Vista managed to interfere with those plans, and as a result, the service pack was pushed to 2007. Then, as it was closing on the finalization of Windows Vista, Microsoft delayed Windows XP SP3 even further all the way to the first half of 2008.

The repeated delays prompted speculations that the Redmond company was only postponing SP3 to the point where it would cancel it completely. Microsoft always denied such a scenario, but thanks to Steve Sinofsky's Windows Omerta, further details were gagged. "SP3 for Windows XP Home Edition is currently planned for 1H CY2008. SP3 for Windows XP Professional is currently planned for 1H CY2008," is all the info that Microsoft is offering for Windows XP SP3.

But there have been the occasional slip-ups from the Redmond company. The first ones in a series of press releases from mid May. Microsoft was committing to XP SP3 and it was also delivering am insight into what it planned to offer with the refresh. Additionally, for the first time since 2006, Microsoft was pointing for the end of 2007 as the availability date for SP3. Subsequently, the company denied the launch date, and revealed that it was nothing more than an error. Still, Microsoft has failed even to this point to correct the alleged typos in the "Juniper Networks and Microsoft Announce Unified Access Control and Network Access Protection to Interoperate" press release.

And now, Mary Jo Foley is reporting that a singular source from within Microsoft has confirmed the fact that Windows XP SP3 will be made available in October 2007. Of course, this date was not further confirmed by Microsoft. Last month, other plans for SP3 were made public by Microsoft.