14 DAY TRIAL // The third service pack for Windows XP is missing in development and buried under Windows Vista Service Pack1. Microsoft managed to keep completely mute about the first service pack for Vista since the operating system was introduced initially via the business launch in November 2006 and then through the consumer release in January 2007. It took Microsoft no less than 10 months since Vista was released to manufacturing to go public with details related to the service pack. As you can imagine, all this time managed to build up a consistent amount of information about Vista SP1 all boiling under Sinofsky's Windows Omerta codename Translucency.
Still, on August 29, all that changed, the Windows Omerta was broken and the veil of secrecy lifted. "Now is the time and the time is now: let's talk about Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1)," Nick White, Microsoft Product Manager explained the company's fashionable timing. Consequently, it is currently raining with Windows Vista SP1 information. However, Vista SP1 is not the only service pack under development over at Microsoft. The company is also hammering away at the first refreshes for the Office 2007 System and for Windows XP.
The company only confirmed that Windows XP SP3 will have a parallel development pace with that of Windows Vista SP1. In this regard, XP SP3 Beta will be made available for download via Microsoft Connect by mid September, the date that will see Vista SP1 Beta delivered to MSDN and TechNet subscribers. Still, Microsoft is not breathing a single word on XP SP3. Leaving the rest of details up to the rumor mill.
"Speculation is the result of us erring on the side of being more careful about when we communicate release information. Based on what customers and partners have told us, we know that providing timely guidance on release plans is important, but that it's equally important for us to provide more accurate guidance that they can be confident in as they build their own plans. For Windows Vista SP1, that's meant waiting until we had a higher-level of certainty in our plan, including what was going into it and when we could reasonably expect to meet the quality bar, to share information broadly," explained Jon DeVaan, Senior Vice President of the Windows Core Operating System division at Microsoft.
This means exactly nothing for Windows XP SP3. But it is obvious that Microsoft is yet again focusing on Vista while pushing XP to the background. Currently, XP SP3 is planned for availability in the second half of 2008. "Finding the right balance between communicating earlier and more often versus later and more precisely is something we'll continue to refine by listening to our customers," DeVaan added. It looks like XP SP3 is out of balance... and close to expiration.