30/04/2008 by swordfish.

The release of Windows XP SP3 to the web has been delayed due to a bug.

“In the last few days, we have uncovered a compatibility issue between Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System (RMS) and both Windows XP SP3 and Windows Vista Service Pack 1,” says Chris Keroack, release manager of Windows Serviceability, in a statement released on the TechNet forum.

“In order to make sure customers have the best possible experience, we have decided to delay releasing Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) to the web.”

The update to the aging operating system was due to be released to the general public via automatic update and download yesterday, but this has now been put on hold.

Source: PC Pro

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29/04/2008 by swordfish.

A new study by European web metrics firm Xiti has found that the Firefox browser is used more frequently at weekends.

The study claims that Firefox has a 29% share of the European browsing market overall. But that figure exceeds 30% at weekends, suggesting that people are using Internet Explorer at work and opting for Firefox on their machines at home.

Many companies don’t allow employees to install software on their work PC’s, of course, and with Microsoft’s Internet Explorer pre-installed on every Windows machine, the company has a natural advantage.

However, while Firefox continues to grow in popularity in Europe and Australasia, its market share has been dented in North America, where it saw a slip of 1% in March.

Firefox is nearly the dominant player in several European countries, with countries such as Finland and Poland giving the open-source browser a market share of 40% or more.

Source: PC Pro

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24/04/2008 by swordfish.

Microsoft has started to roll out Vista Service Pack 1 via its Automatic Update process.

Until late last night (Wednesday 23/04/2008), Vista owners had to manually download the Service Pack. Now it will be automatically downloaded on machines that have Automatic Updates switched on, with the PC alerting owners when the full patch is ready to install.

However, not all Vista PCs will see SP1 immediately. Microsoft is gradually phasing in the software, while it attempts to overcome problems with third-party device drivers that can cause the operating system to hang.

Source: PC Pro

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22/04/2008 by swordfish.

Microsoft has released the third Service Pack for Windows XP to manufacturing.

Confirming last week’s leaked launch dates, Microsoft will release the Service Pack to the public next week, on 29 April. It will then be rolled out via Microsoft’s Automatic Update system “in early summer”.

Microsoft is desperately trying to play down the benefits of XP SP3, as it attempts to migrate more users to Vista.

The final XP Service Pack arrives just as Microsoft is preparing to withdraw the operating system from sale at the end of June.

Source: PC Pro

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18/04/2008 by swordfish.

Steve Ballmer has admitted that Vista is “a work in progress”, and admitted the company has to learn lessons from its release.

Speaking at the Most Valuable Professional Global Summit in Seattle, Ballmer resisted calls for a slimmed down Windows 7: “Vista is bigger than XP and it’s gonna stay bigger than XP. We have to make sure it doesn’t get bigger still.”

However, Ballmer went on to admit that it had taken too long to get Vista out the door and admitted it had caused problems: “Vista is a very important piece of work, and I think we did a lot of things right, and I think we have a lot of things we need to learn from.

Source: PC Pro

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16/04/2008 by swordfish.

The third and final service pack for Windows XP will be released on 21 April, according to leaked reports.

Neowin claims to have got hold of an internal Microsoft schedule that shows SP3 will be released to OEMs, MSDN and TechNet subscribers on Monday. Just over a week later on 29 April, the Service Pack will be made available on Microsoft Update, Windows Update and Download Centre.

Finally, the Pack will be issued through Microsoft’s Automatic Update service on 10 June. That’s just days before the company controversially plans to withdraw XP from sale across the world on 30 June.

Source: PC Pro

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