Windows XP SP3 to be launched in Second Half of April 2008

Microsoft Corp. on 4th of Feb. 2008 has released Windows Vista Service Pack 1 & now its going to release the long awaited Service Pack 3 for a very popular OS, Windows XP.
Windows XP Service Pack 3 would be last and final service pack for the OS before it gets discontinued retail sale on 30th of June 2008.

Details of Windows XP Service Pack 3:

1. Windows XP Service Pack 3 will contain hotfixes and updates released since Windows XP SP2. It will also include an expanded set of product keys for Windows XP Professional that were originally introduced in Windows XP SP2c.
   
2. Microsoft clarified that there will not be any integrated SP3 release for Windows XP Media Center Edition or Windows XP Tablet Edition. That means you won't be able to buy or obtain a complete Windows XP Media Center Edition / Tablet Edition SP3 CD. In addition, users of Windows XP Media Center Edition or Windows XP Tablet Edition will only be able to update to Service Pack 3 through Windows Update.
   
3. All languages will now be released in two waves. Earlier, Microsoft said that languages support for Windows XP Service Pack 3 will be released in three waves. What was previously identified as wave 2 and 3 have now been combined into a single wave 2.
   
4. Microsoft has also delayed RTM for Windows XP Service Pack 3 to provide sufficient time to incorporate feedback from the beta testers. (In other words, they can't make their original deadline!)

Due to the changes in language releases and Windows XP SP3 RTM's release, here's the updated schedule:

Wave	Languages	Planned RTM
1	Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish	Second half of April 2008
2	Arabic, Chinese (Hong Kong), Chinese (Traditional), Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Portuguese (Portugal), Russian, Swedish, and Turkish	Approximately 21 days after Wave 1 RTM

With the exception of Windows XP Media Center Edition and Windows XP Tablet Edition, Windows XP Service Pack 3 will be released in both standalone and integrated formats. It will be available in both CD and DVD formats, except for the Japanese language version which will only be in DVD format.
Source: http://www.techarp.com/