Articles about Windows XP

Microsoft has packed more of a punch into Windows XP Service Pack 2. Details have emerged indicating that a new "Security Center" will be incorporated into the update to further secure the three year old operating system.

Contrary to some reports, Security Center is not the PC Satisfaction code that Microsoft tested several months ago. Instead, Microsoft drew upon the feedback gained during the trial to introduce a new user interface concept.

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Paul Allen is back in the entrepreneurial spirit. Allen's Vulcan Inc. is demonstrating its new FlipStart "MiniPC" at DEMO 2004 in Seattle, claiming the portable is the world's smallest form factor Windows XP PC.

FlipStart runs full versions of XP Home or Professional, but is engineered to exploit the nascent benefits that the size and flexibility of PDAs have presented to the mobile market.

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From Atkins to South Beach, diets have swept the globe on a monumental scale. This trend has not passed by the rolling lawns of Redmond, Washington, where Microsoft has joined the dieting craze.

In order to participate in the Information, Communications and Technology (ICT) program crafted by the government of Thailand to help low-income earners afford PCs, Microsoft is busy readying a "light" version of its Windows XP operating system - tailored to suit the needs of first-time PC buyers.

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Microsoft is gearing up to release a beta version of Windows XP Service Pack 2. An e-mail sent out Thursday invited testers to install and evaluate the pre-release code when it becomes available within the next several weeks.

The second Windows XP service pack is the first major upgrade to Microsoft's flagship operating system. The package is slated to include a variety of bug fixes, as well as new security features, improved patch distribution and updated Internet technologies.

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Late last week, America Online acknowledged it taken the drastic and unprecedented step of programming its software to silently turn off a Windows service so that it could stem the tide of spam and security vulnerabilities facing its subscribers.

The Windows Messenger service, enabled by default, allegorically leaves the door wide open for pop-up ads to pester Windows XP and 2000 users, while leaving them at risk of security exploits. Now, Microsoft has weighed in and says it will turn off the service in Windows XP.

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To coincide with today's launch of the AMD Athlon 64, Microsoft has issued a beta version of Windows XP designed for the long-awaited new desktop and notebook processor.

Redmond announced its intentions to support the AMD64 platform last April, after it shipped a preview version of the operating system to developers. Dubbed Windows XP 64-Bit Edition for 64-Bit Extended Systems, the beta will also natively support AMD's Opteron processor for servers and workstations.

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Microsoft is hurrying to produce a post Service Pack 1 security rollup package for Windows XP, reversing its August decision to rely solely on Windows Update to deliver individual patches.

Since it came to light that Windows XP SP2 was delayed until at least mid-2004, pressure has mounted for Redmond to tend to customers without broadband connections.

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UPDATE Microsoft has confirmed that Windows XP Service Pack 2 will ship in 2004.

In a surprising turn of events, Microsoft has pushed back the release date for the second Windows XP service pack to the third quarter of 2004. SP2 was long expected to debut before the end of 2003, one year after SP1 made the rounds.

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A stealth distribution on Windows Update let loose the final version of Microsoft's P2P designs for Windows XP this past week. The update has also been released as a standalone download, with the plumbing of a software development kit in close quarters.

The upgrade for Windows XP Service Pack 1 repositions the operating system's Internet underpinnings to the next generation IPv6 networking stack. The download also bridges together legacy network standards through NAT traversal technology known as "Teredo."

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Following up on its winter-themed add-ons for Windows XP released last December, Microsoft on Tuesday issued new XP "Fun Packs" to celebrate the spring season.

The Fun Packs are designed to showcase digital media features in Microsoft's flagship operating system, adding functionality to Windows Media Player 9 and Movie Maker 2. New Power Toys are also available for Windows XP: a video screen saver and automatic desktop wallpaper changer.

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Taking its first steps improve security of wireless networks, Microsoft issued a patch for Windows XP that enables support for Wi-Fi Protected Access.

WPA serves as an interim solution for bolstering security, while the IEEE works to ratify 802.11i, a new wireless networking standard that is slated for completion by the end of the year.

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The 64-bit edition of Windows XP designed for Intel's Itanium 2 processor was released to manufacturing Friday, alongside Windows Server 2003. To emphasize the updated nature of the release, Microsoft has named the desktop operating system Windows XP 64-Bit Edition Version 2003.

Windows Server 2003 Datacenter and Enterprise Editions will also feature 64-bit flavors of Redmond's new server platform.

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UPDATED In order to comply with a preliminary injunction forcing the company to include Sun Microsystems' Java in Windows, Microsoft is preparing two updates to Windows XP Service Pack 1.

An initial update dubbed SP1a was released Monday and is identical to the currently available SP1, but stripped of Microsoft's Java. SP1b will follow in June, featuring Sun's latest Java revision and meeting the timetable imposed by the court.

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To get into the spirit of the holidays, Microsoft has released special "Fun Packs" for Windows XP featuring winter-themed skins, sounds and templates. The three Fun Packs integrate with Windows Media Player 9 Series and Movie Maker 2 betas, along with Internet Explorer 6.

Windows Media Player 9 Series Winter Fun Pack adds new Ginger Man and Ice skins, winter visualizations, and holiday themed Auto Playlists that use the Smart Jukebox feature.

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At the Windows Embedded Developers Conference in Las Vegas Tuesday, Microsoft announced the release of Windows XP Embedded with Service Pack 1, the componentized version of Microsoft's flagship operating system designed for embedded devices. The update includes all security and bug fixes from Windows XP SP1, along with a number of new embedded-specific features.

Most notable is a new Remote Boot feature that enables a server to boot remotely using an image downloaded from a server, without requiring local storage. Windows XP Embedded with SP1 includes support for 20 languages via language packs, in addition to IPv6 and USB 2.0. The full .NET Framework is also supported in the update, but not the smaller .NET Compact Framework.

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