Microsoft to launch Windows XP Release 2

If you thought that Service Pack 2 for Windows XP was the last of the big updates, think again. Speaking yesterday at the Gartner Symposium in Orlando, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said that a number of important security initiatives were underway for Windows, some of which would be part of a pre-Longhorn "Release 2" for Windows XP. Beyond noting this, Ballmer did not disclose any details regarding when we might see R2, or just what it would contain. In fact, he didn't give any time frames for anything, be it Longhorn, Windows Server 2005, Office 12, or when Steinbrenner plans to make his life easier by recruiting Clone War rejects.