Robin Hood was revered because he stole from the rich and gave to the poor. And while it's not quite the same thing, there isn't a whole lot of sympathy being thrown towards Microsoft when it was heard that a testing release of Windows XP SP3 was leaked and is floating around the internet now. Everyone loved watching Mel Gibson prove he's an idiot. Everyone loved watching Kramer lose his mind. And everyone loves when things don't go as planned for Microsoft. We love when people who seem to have everything together show that they don't. Plus this Windows leak is an hilarious slap in the face to Steven Sinofsky's little attempt at complete secrecy. It's so fitting that he'd be unsuccessful at keeping things secret, since he looks a bit like a really terrible magician (see picture).SP3 was given to a limited pool of testers in July, after being repeatedly delayed. It was originally planned to be release in 2005. Boy, did that ever go well. The leaked version of SP3 is not quite the finished product, or even a completed Beta, but that hasn't stopped it from becoming an incredibly popular torrent download. It comes in at around 340 Mb and can be found pretty much everywhere. But then again, you'd never download something illegally like this, would you?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
8-09-2007 @ 11:24PM
Jim Flim said...
Wow, someones got a chip on their shoulder
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8-09-2007 @ 11:46PM
Mark said...
Have you guys ever considered attempting being more or less neutral and unbiased?
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8-09-2007 @ 11:54PM
Shunnabunich said...
Hate to say it, but SP3 was leaked last year. ;)
And Mark and Jim...ease up a little, a'ight? This is a blog, not a newspaper.
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8-10-2007 @ 12:27AM
David Chartier said...
#2: Mark, Download Squad is a blog, which means we encourage our bloggers to present their opinions out in the open instead of trying to cover them up with the guise 'editorial independence' that the corporate-owned media outlets try to pass as 'news.' While I can understand the desire for an unbiased presentation, we work with the philosophy that a world without bias is more or less impossible to obtain.
That being the case, we prefer to present our opinion at face value, so readers aren't being lured into (unknowingly) taking it any other way.
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8-10-2007 @ 12:32AM
Jinto said...
What I don't get is why someone would want to install that closed beta*, when it would be smarter to wait a couple of months after it is really released, and is semi-bug free.
* I think closed beta is the right term.
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8-10-2007 @ 1:03AM
gojeda said...
By the way, David, your arguement doesn't quite fly. The name of the website is 'downloadsquad.com'. It is not called 'micrsoft-teh-sux.com'. If you are truly interested in being faithful to your intentions, you should probably call, and theme, your site in a more appropriate way befitting the content. In the meantime, these crappy little hit pieces (which do not particularly inform, but preach instead) are showing up too often lately, making downloadsquad.com an increasingly like candidate for "just another blog with an agenda" award.
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8-10-2007 @ 1:09AM
gojeda said...
Oh gee.....more blatant anti-Microsoft bias. What a surprise.
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8-10-2007 @ 1:34AM
David Chartier said...
Guys it's just a few jabs at Microsoft. For what it's worth, I'm pretty sure Peter White (the author) uses Windows, and so does our lead, Grant Robinson. Hell, I even paid for a copy of Vista.
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8-10-2007 @ 1:55AM
Peter White said...
This was written in a very light-hearted tone that perhaps wasn't properly conveyed. I apologize for that. David is right, I do in fact use Windows and am very happy with it. But come on, it's always fun to take some shots at Microsoft. It's all in good fun. Except the magician comment. His picture does really look like it could be a bad magician's headshot.
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8-10-2007 @ 2:19AM
Deckard said...
Taking some shots at Microsoft is not a proper characterization of the over-the-top gleeful hatred dripping from every sentence.
Thank you for helping me clean up my newsreader.
Downloadsquad = deleted.
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8-10-2007 @ 2:51AM
ethana2 said...
Microsoft hate? What is this, the internet?
Creative Commons, GNU FTW!
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8-10-2007 @ 9:19AM
cj said...
wow....defenders of microsoft coming ou of the woodwork....twats....
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8-10-2007 @ 9:19AM
David said...
OK, I agree downloadsquad bloggers have a right to express their own opinions, but assuming everyone thinks like them "Everyone loves..." is just beyond what I want to read.
Compare this post with the neutral, politically correct "Google launches paid plans for increased Gmail and Picasa storage"...
Come on guys, when will you understand Google as a whole is far more dangerous than Microsoft ?
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8-10-2007 @ 9:19AM
dg10050 said...
@14
Go work at Google for a few months and tell me that they're a terrible company. >_>
Now go work at Microsoft for a few months.
Compare.
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8-10-2007 @ 9:48AM
BillyG said...
Since you're so happy to have it, why not make it available so others don't have to wait?
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8-10-2007 @ 12:02PM
ahoier said...
Yea, I dont see the big deal....I never understood downloading "software" from p2p networks....who knows what those EXEs could be littered with. Especially those "custom" XP installs you can download...lol.
And especailly something as serious as a service pack, I think it would be safer to wait for a secured and "legit" release from Microsoft, rather than some beta, and possibly unstable piece of crap...
But who knows, watch Microsoft put in some verification process into the "real" Service Pack 3, which will search out and bring those "early downloaders" systems to their knees or something...
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8-10-2007 @ 12:16PM
Reno582 said...
It'll be funny to see how many idiots complain to Microsoft after downloading and installing the leaked service pack, theres a reason its not released yet, IT WILL FUCK UP YOUR COMPUTER!!!!
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8-10-2007 @ 3:42PM
RP said...
Yeah, I already get my daily Microsoft hate at slashdot.org. I'm saturated.
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8-10-2007 @ 7:20PM
gojeda said...
"Go work at Google for a few months and tell me that they're a terrible company. Now go work at Microsoft for a few months. Compare."
Coming from someone who has worked at neither, I fail to see the point in your statement above.
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8-10-2007 @ 8:07PM
Dorino said...
Lol, someone said google is a dangerous company because you have new premium gmail accounts.
So does hotmail.
But Microsoft charges more for less space, and they also sell Vista ultimate for fucking more then an Xbox360.
Microsoft is gay.
Google, where you probably found this (Either that or Digg) is pwn.
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