Service Pack 3 (SP3) for Windows XP is making progress, we hear. Release Candidate 1 is now available from MSDN and also from TechNet.

Windows XP SP3 is expected around about the same time as Windows Vista Service Pack 1. However, it remains true that the installed base is overwhelmingly Windows XP.

Strange then that an XP update is not going to encourage IT organizations to migrate to Vista. Why switch when XP runs well enough and maybe much better with SP3 onboard?

“A public RC will be available at a later date,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement. “Windows XP SP3 is a rollup that includes all previously released updates for Windows XP, including security updates, out-of-band releases, and hotfixes. We are targeting 1H 2008 for the release of XP SP3 RTM, though our timing will always be based on customer feedback as a first priority.”

Pity those of us us who have computers running each version of Windows.