Windows XP Service Pack 3 is now available again after it was delayed because of issues found with users who have Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System in their computers.

According to Microsoft, the one-file update is 316.4 MB. They are recommending that those who only need to update one computer should just consider using Windows Update as it will be smaller there.

Going back to the bug with DRMS, a hotfix has been released to fix the error and it is recommended that the hotfix is applied before updating to SP3. The funny thing here is that when you click on the hotfix, you get a 404 error, which means that the hotfix is not there. Hopefully, this error has been rectified by the time you read this.

Microsoft has postponed the planned April 29 release of Service Pack 3 for Windows XP because of a reported compatibility issue.

According to the Company, the issue stems from an incompatibility between the new Service Pack and Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System or RMS. The same compatibility issue is also reportedly present with Microsoft Vista Service Pack 1.

RMS is a retail chain management solution that is made available to small and medium-sized customers. What Microsoft has done is to put in place a filtering system that will prevent the update from being downloaded in machines that carry RMS.

Reportedly, a fix is already available and is being tested before deployment.

With the release of Service Pack 3 for Windows XP, there is speculation that it will further slow down the public’s adoption of Microsoft’s new Windows Vista.

The new Service Pack 3 Release Candidate 2 was released last Feb. 19 without much fanfare, maybe as a way to not really give too much of the public’s attention to XP at this point when the company is still trying to sell the advantages of upgrading to the Vista OS. The problem is that with SP3, XP has become more stable and reliable and with a larger installed base, this will make it doubly hard for Microsoft to encourage people to go with vista, which is still considered as having many quirks and instabilities. SP3’s introduction has basically brought a Catch 22 situation for Microsoft. And the company’s decision to stop supporting XP in the near future will only further alienate its customers.

Firefox 3 Beta 3 was released a few days ago. Developers and testers of the new version of Firefox have complained about the memory leaks that have plagued Beta 2. The new version has attempted to plug in the said leaks. To date, about 350 memory leaks were plugged.

In total, about 1300 changes were made to the browser, addressing issues in security, bug fixes, performance improvement as well as changes in the user interface. But security has been the main focus of this particular beta release. For example, a user can now click on a site’s icon in order to find out if the connection if safe and protected from eavesdropping. There is also a new malware protection module that alerts users if they visit a site that installs malware or perform other malicious processes.

Additional features also include a download manager and a tagging function.

Those who want to actually check it out can download the software at this address.

Mac laptop users, take note. Apple has recently released a major security update that aims to patch at least 41 vulnerabilities that affect Mac operating system.

The new update — Security Update 2007 - 009 — corrects multiple critical exploits that could let hackers take control of Mac OS X machines (both Tiger and Leopard).

A separate security update was also made available to patch an information disclosure hole in Safari 3 for Windows Beta.

Based on an advisory released by Apple, the drive-by code execution holes are plugged in such utilities/ applications as Address Book, CFNetwork, ColorSync and CUPS. Other holes plugged are those from Core Foundation, Desktop Services, iChat, Launch Services, Mail, Perl, Python, Quick Look, Ruby, Safari (Mac OS X) and Safari RSS.