This post is titled Windows XP Service Pack 2 by author SoulJah. So, have you guys downloaded and installed the latest release from Microsoft yet? I have to say, I'm quite happy with this Service Pack than I am of the first one.

First off, let's download this behemoth of a software. This link will download it for you automagically through Automatic Update, while this are for deploying to multiple numbers of PCs. Some might like it to download while they're sleeping (while it downloads using Automatic Update's scheduling functionality), but me, I'll just download the second link using a download manager so I have the ability to resume, and that 272391 KB exe can be used to update my system back up to SP2 if say, I have to reinstall Windows fresh. The Network Installation Package for IT Professionals and Developers is actually a cumulative security update, whereby it encompasses all security related releases since Windows XP was released.

After I rebooted from the install process, I hunt and pecked around for the differences, and the most notable thing is that the Wireless Connectivity set up is much, much easier now. I still remembered how hard it was to connect to the wireless network at school. Now at my workplace, it's a snap. Switch on your wireless card, double click the wireless link, and neatly a list of APs and their respective signal strength is displayed. Quite nifty I say.

The Security Center is also another aspect I should highlight. Now the firewall is turned on by default. It alerts if programs are trying to connect to the Internet, but doesn't constantly bother you with some ping attempt or ICMP signals by some machine, like most other Firewalls do. Here you can also set up the Automatic Updates functionality, and the Virus Protection functionality. But what surprises me the most is that it detects that AVG Anti Virus is up to date. That's a nice feature to have. But this Security Center thing, I don't think you'll be seeing much of. Just set your settings one time, and it's out of your hair.

As you know, IE is prone to attacks by embedded code on websites. The script blocking functionality blocks out most if not all of this type of nuisance. The pop up blocker is another nice addition to Internet Explorer. Just another level of protection from maliciously coded pop ups. On that sidenote, it also blocks Download Druid, which is a mass downloader that resides as a sidebar in IE.

The last of the "Oh cool!" functionality I discovered is the built in support for Bluetooth devices. Which was really surprising, as a few months ago, all I get from installing the Bluetooth drivers on this machine is that the drivers are not digitally signed, or something to that effect. This was an accidental discovery anyway. When I tried using the Bluetooth device to communicate with the N-Gage QD, it was not working, so I uninstalled the device driver and the program for it and used an older driver. But everytime I restart, it's already trying to install a new hardware, which can be seen by that USB plug icon in the taskbar. But the drivers supplied by Microsoft was not that good, as I was getting disconnected during transfers. So, I uninstalled that one, looked for an .inf file that was in the Bluetooth installation package I downloaded off of Clevo.com.tw (this is for my machine by the way, for your respective drivers, go to your manufacturer's website.) After that, it's working like a charm, without needing to have a bloated program running in the systray all the time.

So that's it from me. In all, I'm getting a better functionality out of SP2, with the added security and device support. Go download it now! I assure you, you'd get less and less irritated with Windows, and you'd get less and less problems operating it, too.

Posted by SoulJah at 1:08:00 AM

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