Click here to receive your FREE subscription to Campus Technology
News
Update: Windows XP SP3 Available
5/6/2008
Users of Windows XP can now gain access to Service Pack 3 through Windows Update and the Microsoft Download Center, according to an announcement issued by Microsoft Tuesday. Distribution of the service pack through Automatic Updates will be available "in the next few months," the announcement added.
A so-called "slipstream build" of Windows XP SP3 is also currently available to Microsoft TechNet Plus and MSDN (Microsoft Developer Network) subscribers, according to a Microsoft notice that was posted on Friday (May 2). This kind of build contains the complete Windows XP operating system plus SP3, all in one image file. The build is currently available in nine languages, including English.
Microsoft had promised this Windows XP SP3 update to its developer subscribers on April 29. The company set that date after hearing grumblings that manufacturers were getting the update before paid subscribers. Windows XP SP3 was released to manufacturers on April 21.
General access to XP SP3 via Windows Update and Microsoft Download Center was postponed after Microsoft found an incompatibility problem with Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System (RMS).The warning still applies for all users of Microsoft Dynamics RMS, including subscribers accessing the Windows XP SP3 slipstream build. Until a fix is released, Microsoft has advised that Windows XP SP3 not be installed if it will be used with the RMS application. A similar problem exists with Windows Vista Service Pack 1, which is also incompatible with the RMS application.
Microsoft's TechNet blogs identify Windows XP SP3 as "build 5512," which some subscribers already have. Microsoft TechNet blogger Chris Keroack confirmed in response to a question that 5512 is "the final build" for Windows XP SP3. He added that a "separate hotfix" will be issued to address the Microsoft Dynamics RMS compatibility problem, without specifying a date.
If that weren't complicated enough, installers of Windows XP SP3 may have to jump through some hoops if they want to avoid some issues with Internet Explorer when installing this service pack. Users who have IE 7 loaded on Windows XP SP2 will not be able to uninstall that browser version if they immediately apply SP3, according to a Microsoft program manager. One way to avoid that snag is to uninstall IE 7 first before installing the service pack, and then reinstall IE 7 afterward.
Recommended Reading
- Tufts Grants Rights for Mileage-Increasing Transportation Technology to Electric Truck
Tufts University has optioned rights to a technology that can recharge the batteries of any hybrid electric and electric-powered vehicle while it is driven. The Tufts-developed technology could increase by 20 percent to 70 percent the miles per gallon or total driving range performance of vehicles like the Honda Civic, Ford Escape, and Toyota Prius hybrids and the Tesla Motors and Phoenix Motorcars electric vehicles.
- U Florida and Cyntellect Collaborate to Unlock Mysteries of Cancer Stem Cells
The University of Florida has entered into a research agreement with life sciences company Cyntellect. The university's Interdisciplinary Center for Biotechnology Research will work with the company to focus on a variety of research areas including the purification and analysis of cancer stem cells (CSCs), rare cells believed to be directly involved in propagating cancers.
- George Mason U Receives Grant To Deploy Intergraph Apps for Intelligence Curriculum
George Mason University (GMU) in Fairfax, VA has been awarded a grant from Intergraph to enable students enrolled in GMU's Geospatial Intelligence Graduate Certificate program to use the company's geospatial production and exploitation software as part of their core curriculum.
- Institute for Cyber Security at U Texas, San Antonio Opens Incubator
The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Institute for Cyber Security (ICS) has launched a new Internet security incubator. The incubator was developed to commercialize promising technologies that address major cyber security and privacy issues. The first companies to enter the incubator are Denim Labs and SafeMashups.
- ISO/IEC Publishes Office Open XML Standard
ISO/IEC has published the Office Open XML (OOXML) file format standard, formally known as ISO/IEC 29500:2008. It describes file formats originally designed by Microsoft for its Office 2007 productivity suite, which are used in presentation, spreadsheet and word processing applications.
- Dynamics NAV 2009 ERP Coming Next Month
Microsoft exec Kirill Tatarinov Wednesday described some new features to expect in the forthcoming Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 enterprise resource planning solution. He gave the keynote address at Microsoft's Convergence 2008 event in Copenhagen, Denmark.
