Test version of XPSP1 scheduled on Thursday
C|Net | at | by Mike
Microsoft plans to release a long-anticipated test version of an update to Windows XP on Thursday, a company representative said. The update, or Service Pack 1, will ship to about 10,000 testers, according to the representative. As previously reported, it will include features intended to make it easier for consumers to choose third-party software over Microsoft's own products, in compliance with a settlement brokered in Microsoft's 4-year-old antitrust case. The service pack will also introduce support for new technologies--such as Mira "smart" display devices, Tablet PCs and the Freestyle digital media interface--and will radically change how much control consumers or PC makers have over middleware components. Microsoft expects to issue a final version of Windows XP Service Pack 1 sometime in late summer, but the schedule is uncertain depending on testing. Already, the Redmond, Wash.-based company missed its tentative May release date for the service pack test version.