The first major pack of fixes and updates for Microsoft's Windows
XP operating system is set to be released during the second half of
2002, a Microsoft product manager said.
The release, known as a service pack, is often considered the
turning point for when major enterprise customers would begin
adopting the new operating system widely. It will include all of
the security patches and software updates for tuning the operating
system, said Charmaine Gravning, product manager for Microsoft's
Windows division.
Service Pack 1 for Windows XP will also contain a unique set of
updates compared to service packs for previous versions of Windows.
It will include any changes or alterations to the operating system
imposed upon Microsoft by terms of its proposed antitrust
settlement with the US Department of Justice and nine states.
Terms of the proposed settlement, known legally as a consent
decree, require Microsoft to disclose certain APIs for the
operating system within a year of the deal being approved or in the
first Windows XP service pack; whichever comes first. A judge could
decide whether to approve that settlement as early as next
week.
Microsoft typically releases the first service pack to a product
about six months after the product is launched, Michael Silver, a
research director at Gartner, said recently. With Windows XP
released in October, users could have expected the first service
pack to come out in April.
However, the additional updates that would bring the company into
compliance with terms of the consent decree have delayed the
service pack release by at least a few months, Gravning said.