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This week, Microsoft shipped the Release Candidate 1 (RC1) version of Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3), a near-final look at the last XP service pack. I’ve categorized XP SP3 as a long, final goodbye to an old friend, and booting into XP to install this update certainly brought back some nostalgic memories. But seriously, folks: It’s time to walk away. There’s just nothing compelling here when you compare XP with SP3 to its much newer and improved counterpart, Windows Vista (see my Vista Activity Center).

http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/xpsp3_rc1.asp

Windows Vista
made its biggest leap yet in November — the operating system was in
use on nearly one out of 10 Internet-connected computers last month,
according to a research firm.

Vista’s exact share rose about one percentage point to 9.19% in November, up from 7.94% in October, according to Net Applications. In contrast, Vista’s predecessor, Windows XP,
fell by about one percentage point from 79.41% of all
Internet-connected computers in October to 78.37% in November,
according to Net Applications. Meanwhile, the Mac platform’s share
continued to grow, reaching nearly 7%.

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=windows&articleId=9050498&taxonomyId=125

This white paper introduces Group Policy preferences, a feature new in
Microsoft Windows Server 2008, and describes how you can use Group
Policy preferences to better deploy and manage operating system and
application settings.

Yesterday Microsoft released a reliability update for Windows Server 2003, you should install this microcode update to improve the reliability of systems with intel processors.

The following Intel processors may be affected:

• Mobile: Intel Core 2 Duo mobile processor.
• Desktop: Intel Core 2 Duo desktop processor, Intel Core 2 Quad desktop processor, and Intel Core 2 Extreme processor.
• Server: Intel Xeon processors 3000, 3200, 5100, and 5300 series.

Read more in KB article 936357

Microsoft have released a set of tools, to enable developers to optimize their applications for windows mobile.
The tools will enable the applications to take advantage of windows mobile features, such as; Contacts, Outlook, and media sharing.

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb932386.aspx

Microsoft is getting ready its second update to Windows Home Server, for
delivery to customers on Tuesday, November 27. Microsoft posted notice of its
update plans to the WHS blog on November 20.

“The main benefit of the update is that it will improve the remote
access experience for Windows Home Server users by providing them with a
‘trusted SSL certificate’ for their home servers. That means customers will be
able to access their home server from outside the home more seamlessly, without
any security warnings,” according to the post.

The forthcoming update also will add a new “Delete All” option for users who
want to delete all home computer backups shared on a WHS system. The update
also adds some Shared Folder and Server Storage enhancements, the Softies said.
Microsoft pushed out to users its first update to WHS in September.

Company officials said their plan it to deliver new fixes and updates to
customers on an ongoing basis.