Windows XP SP3 in testing, coming in early 2008

These days, most of us are more concerned with the status of Vista SP1 than just about any other software update from Redmond. The latest Windows news, however, has the potential to effect the vast majority of us in a far more  practical sense: Microsoft has announced that a pre-beta of Windows XP Service Pack 3 is now in the testing stages. "A pre-beta build of Windows XP SP3 was released to a select group of testers," a Microsoft spokeswoman told ZDnet. "We're currently planning to deliver SP3 for Windows XP in the first half of CY2008. This date is preliminary, and we don't have any more details to share at this time." What exactly is going to be in XP SP3? According to ZDnet, the service pack contains 991 different security and hot fixes. So if you're waiting on a specific fix, chances are pretty good that it's in XP SP3 somewhere.

For more on the forthcoming service pack:
- see this ZDnet article