XtGem.com

Windows XP SP3 to
Include Some Vista
Features A Web site
that leaked details
of Windows XP
Service Pack 3 over
the weekend
claimed that the
update includes
several new
features, including
some borrowed
from Windows Vista.
According to
NeoSmart
Technologies,
Windows XP SP3
build 3205, which
was released to beta
testers, includes four
new features among
the 1000- plus
individual hot fixes
and patches that
have been issued
since XP2 ’s debut
three years ago.
Features backported
from Vista, said
NeoSmart, include
Network Access
Protection (NAP), an
enterprise policy
enforcement
technology that
inspects client PCs
before they access a
corporate network,
then updates the
machines if
necessary or blocks
them if they don ’t
meet specified
security criteria.
Other additions
range from a kernel
module containing
several encryption
algorithms that can
be accessed by third-
party developers, to
a new Windows
activation model
that doesn’t require
users to enter a
product key.
Microsoft had
previously
announced SP3
support for NAP,
which is part of
Windows Vista and
will be included in
the not-yet-finalized
Windows Server
2008. Windows XP
SP3, which Microsoft
has said will be
released early in
2008, will be one
more move by the
developer to extend
the lifespan of the
six-year-old
operating system.
Last month, for
example, Microsoft
gave Windows XP a
five-month reprieve
by pushing back the
end of retail sales
and sales of XP-
powered PCs by
large resellers to
June 30, 2008. And
last week, Microsoft
debuted a new “get-
legal” program that
lets companies
purchase large
quantities of
Windows XP
Professional licenses
through their usual
resellers. Microsoft
was not immediately
available for
comment on the
leak, or the new
features touted by
NeoSmart.