Windows XP SP 2 RC1

At long last, Internet Explorer gets a pop-up blocker, something that will finally kill the most annoying method of advertising. You can, of course, select sites that you want to allow pop-ups from, and any blocked pop-ups can be viewed using a menu option.
For tablet PC users, there are some significant changes. First of all, the already impressive handwriting recognition engine has been greatly improved. Where many people's scrawl often led to amusing errors, it's now easily recognised. And the interface to the handwriting engine has also been improved, with the input window appearing wherever you tap rather than being fixed to the bottom, and with the recognised word appearing below your handwritten version. Tap on the word, and a pop-up allows you to choose from alternatives.
This isn't a blockbuster release, but neither is it simply a roll-up of patches. Microsoft has taken the opportunity to make some minor updates to existing features, such as the firewall, but also to put new interfaces on parts of Windows in an effort to make them easier to use. This is undoubtedly a good thing, as it encourages and enables users to secure their own computers, closing the kind of holes that virus and worm writers have come to expect and that need not be there. It's not going to mean that Windows is inherently secure, but it does actively tackle many of the more common holes. We look forward to its full release in the summer.

Author: Ian Betteridge