Windows XP Update Adds Speed

Windows XP Service Pack 3, due out next year, runs Microsoft Office 10% faster than XP SP2, said a performance testing software developer. "Since SP3 was supposed to be mostly a bug-fix ... the unexpected speed boost comes as a nice bonus," said the company's technology chief, who called it a "'must-have' update," reports Computerworld.

The same company reported last week that Microsoft's upcoming Windows Vista SP1 is not faster than the original Vista. Microsoft has had trouble getting XP users to switch to its newer operating system, and a research group said XP is Vista's chief rival. Surveys show businesses hesitating to adopt Vista, partly because of incompatibility with some applications. (More Microsoft stories.)