Classic British Flight Sim

so its a "fire and forget" prog Dan, does it run in the background all the time sucking memory and CPU cycles?

Yes, No and No ;-)

Cheers Dan I like simple straight to the point answers

BTW, Tony,

I don't think Media Player 11 and IE7 are included in SP3?

I haven't knowingly installed it either as I've read of a few horror stories, especially if you have an AMD processor, or an HP.

I don't want to break anything more than it is already!

Best,
Myles

Bears repeating - wait a few weeks before installing SP3. As mentioned, a problem with some AMD chips has already surfaced so it is smart to wait a while and see if any other problems appear. I was offered SP3 via automatic update last Monday and promptly turned it down. I have my Automatic update set to notify me of updates, but not to download them until I specifically instruct it to download and install.

cheers, I did read that the SP3 was just updates that you most likely already have... does SP3 make any difference??? I have broken things in the past when they were fine...so a bit unsure on SP3..

No IE7 is NOT part of SP3, but it includes security updates to both IE6 and IE7 depending on which you have installed

And no, it will NOT install MM11 either.

Only thing NEW is:
"Black Hole" router Detection is now turned on per default
NAP (Network Access Protection)
CredSSP Security Service Provider: a new SSP than enables an application to delegate the user's credentials from the Client to the target server, and SP3 involves only the client side SSP. Turned OFF per default

and a few more enhancements to the Security part of the OS.

So there you go, It all 'just' an opportunity to get up-to-date on the security on your system.

But if anyone feels unsure take a look here before you decide:

Google News on SP3

"Black Hole" router Detection is now turned on per default
NAP (Network Access Protection)
CredSSP Security Service Provider: a new SSP than enables an application to delegate the user's credentials from the Client to the target server, and SP3 involves only the client side SSP. Turned OFF per default

what does this mean in "basic english for dummies" HELP

Here is Microsoft's fix list for SP3:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/946480/

As Tony points out some of these have already been released. SP3 will also change a few minor things in XP - the address tool bar that you elect to show along the bottom of the screen has been eliminated for some reason. IF you do a google search, you will find several articles about SP3 and various opinions on its merit. There are some reports of slightly faster boot and shutdown times, and several problems with AMD chips that cause constant reboots.

Bottom line, wait until the dust settles!

yes me thinks I will leave well alone until the dust has well and truly settled...been bitten by Bill's O/S in the past!