Windows XP SP3 and Office 2003 Support Ends April 8, 2014

In about 360 from now, Windows XP SP3 and Office 2003 will be End of Support.  To find out more about the below questions , check out http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/endofsupport.aspx  

• Why is Microsoft ending support for Windows XP SP3 and Office 2003?   
• What does end of support mean to customers?  
• How do I begin my migration?

Toolkit to Disable Automatic Delivery of Internet Explorer 10

For those who would like to block automatic delivery of Internet Explorer 10 to machines in environments where Automatic Updates is enabled.  Microsoft has released Toolkit to Disable Automatic Delivery of Internet Explorer 10 to disable automatic delivery of Internet Explorer 10 as an important class update via Automatic Updates (AU) feature of Windows Update (WU).   Download and test out the toolkit if you are not ready for Internet Explore 10 in your environment :)

Toolkit to Disable Automatic Delivery of Internet Explorer 10

For those who would like to block automatic delivery of Internet Explorer 10 to machines in environments where Automatic Updates is enabled  while in-house application compatibility evaluation still in progress.  The Internet Explorer 10 Blocker Toolkit enables users to disable automatic delivery of Internet Explorer 10 as an important class update via Automatic Updates (AU) feature of Windows Update (WU).

Check out Toolkit to Disable Automatic Delivery of Internet Explorer 10 at  http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=36512

Maintenance tasks that improve performance

While busy catching  up & posting Windows 8 news, I came cross a Microsoft write-up which covers Maintenance tasks that improve performance for Windows XP.  Logically and technically speaking, these maintenance tasks should apply to most Windows client platform and I think these tasks come very handy for both user and IT administrators who still supporting Windows XP.  The maintenance tasks suggested are quite simple, easy to carry out and most of us have done it many times.  I am sure it helps to improve the Windows XP performance after applying it, so why not give try now :)

• Remove unused programs
• Install and run antispyware software
• Free up wasted space
• Defragment your hard disk drive
• Disconnect unused network connections

Will you consider perform these tasks to improve your system performance  :)