Microsoft has recently announced that it won’t release Service Pack 2 for Windows XP (XP SP2) until Q3 of this year. However, if you go to here you can download a public beta of the software that’s fully functional and doesn’t appear to be time limited. The fact that Microsoft isn’t releasing SP2 for another few months indicates that it either has bugs to fix or features to add, but to our eye this beta of SP2 appears to fully justify its status as Release Candidate 1 (RC1).

The download is a hefty 273MB so this is strictly of interest for Broadband users at present. In the past, Microsoft has been loath to allow its software to be distributed by any method other than a download from its website. This is intended to avoid the possibility of Microsoft’s customers getting access to outdated software, but the result has been that many Windows users don’t fully update their PCs and workstations. As a first step, Microsoft has recently released a security update CD-ROM that includes SP1, DirectX 9 and Windows Media Player 9 which you can order free of charge from http://support.microsoft.com. This positive move by Microsoft makes us optimistic that SP2 will also be available on CD-ROM.

SECURITY ISSUES

While XP SP1 added a few new features to Windows, including support for USB 2.0 as well as 24-bit/192KHz audio, XP SP2 is all about security, and that is the thrust
of the new features that it adds. Naturally, XP SP2 includes all of the post-SP1 security updates, but we would hope that current installations of Windows are fully patched, so that aspect of SP2 is of most interest if you are patching a new Windows installation.

The most obvious new feature for users is that the Control Panel has sprouted a Security Center. There are three parts to the Security Center: Firewall, automatic Windows Updates and a Virus Protection Warning, using red, amber and green symbols to advise you whether or not your PC is secure. Of course, Windows XP already includes a rudimentary Firewall, so the Firewall part of Security Center is really just a flag to alert you if the Firewall isn’t activated. Similarly, you can currently choose whether Windows should automatically download Critical Updates from Microsoft whenever they become available, or to simply advise you that they are available. If you choose to manually download and install updates on a daily basis, you could have a fully-patched PC that still blinks its red warning light at you because you haven’t chosen to leave this task to Microsoft. The Virus Protection warning flashes ‘Not Found’ if it doesn’t detect any AV (anti-virus) software on your PC. You don’t have the option of clicking a ‘Yes I know, stop up installing AV software just to stop the nagging. This is a little vexing, but you can’t deny that it’s the right thing to do. From Microsoft’s viewpoint, if everyone updated Windows regularly and ran AV and Firewall software, its problems would diminish hugely.

Once we had installed SP on our test laptop, we ran Windows Update and were surprised to see that the web page looks rather different. Essentially, Critical and High Priority updates relate to security matters, while Optional updates are extras.

There are one or two other points of interest in SP2. Laptop users should be interested in WirelessProvisioning Services (WPS), which extends the wireless client software included with Windows XP, and the Internet Authentication Service (IAS) included with Windows Server 2003. This is a grandly titled piece of software that makes it easier to connect and reconnect to public wireless hotspots and also private wireless networks to gain access to the Internet.

Tablet PC users get a free update known as XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 (formerly know as Lonestar), which increases the number of stylus options you have within Tablet Input Panel (TIP). It also works better with Office 2003 and OneNote, allowing you to annotate every type of document. Most Windows XP users will be relatively under whelmed by SP2, particularly if they already run a Firewall and AV software. However, it’s free of charge and seems to show that Microsoft is finally taking security seriously – and that has to be a good thing.

RATING 9
PRICE FREE OF CHARGE
KEY FEATURES roll-up of post-SP1 patches for XP, new Security Centre, Lonestar update for Tablet PCs
OS COMPATIBILITY Windows XP Home, Pro and Tablet Editions
CONTACT
www.microsoft.com/uk  
0870 601 0100