Windows XP SP3 - The Final Frontier

Link: Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows: Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows: Windows XP Service Pack 3 FAQ. This page is a complete FAQ for the new SP3 for Windows XP. Since XPSP3 is a compilation of the hundreds of updates to XP since SP2, and is likely the final update to our favorite OS, it may become an important release. Since a lot of lawyers are bypassing Windows Vista, and staying with machines in the office that run XP, you need to be aware of what is, and isn't, in this release. If you have been running Windows Update on a regular basis, you likely don't need it. However, there are a few additions to the code that come with Windows Vista. Install with care. There are some rumors out there that Windows 7 will not be backwards compatible with previous Windows programs in many cases. I find that hard to believe; but, with Microsoft, who knows? So, you may be living with XP for a while. Get it up to date.

Comments

[Norcross]

I wouldn't be suprised if Windows 7 isn't backwards compatible, at least not as far back as the legacy drivers that XP uses. That's one of the reasons for the 'bloat' in Vista: it has setups for printers that are 10 years old.

Each new release of a Mac OS are only backwards compatible to a certain point, usually 1 or maybe 2 levels back. But hey, they can afford it, right?