Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 1

Service Pack 1 for Windows XP is a consolidation of more than 300 bug fixes, security patches and software compatibility tweaks issued over the past year.

Chucked in for good measure are some new features, including USB2 support, small changes to product activation, patches that'll prevent SP1 from being installed on known pirated copies of Windows XP and the antitrust-compliance features.

Temporarily back from the dead is Microsoft's Java Machine, Java 2 SE v.1.4.0_01, though Bluetooth support remains an XP wishlist item.

Internet Explorer 6.0 has also been updated, and requires nigh-on a complete reinstall as users of other Windows OSs will have noticed.

When you install it, you'll find that the Help and Support section on security and privacy has been revamped. If you download any file from the Internet you'll notice the 'File Save' dialogue now sports a health warning by default.

In the main, you won't be able to detect any visible difference with SP1 installed. The only truly visible component of SP1 is an extra option in the Add or Remove Programs applet, called 'Set Program Access and Defaults'.

This allows you to hide (but not remove) Microsoft applications in Windows XP and make a different browser, mail client, Java VM, IM client or media player your default.

The easiest way to get SP1 is to phone up Microsoft at the number in the details box and get it to send you the CD-Rom - this should be free.

You also have two download options. The 'Express' download is the quickest, at about 30MB.

This installs the files you haven't already got - if you're a regular Windows Update user, there will be relatively little, but it will take over an hour on a 56K connection.

Finally, the Network version includes networking updates and is about 134MB, so will take about five-plus hours to download.

DETAILS
Price: Free to download, SP1 CD-Rom call 0870 60 10 100, free

Contact: Microsoft 0870 601 0100
www.microsoft.com