Some software developers may find their applications no longer work on machines using Microsoft Service Pack 2 for Windows XP, which will be released later this year.
Microsoft has made something of a trade-off with the update, focusing on security improvements at the expense of backward compatibility. The company has called on all software developers to test their code against the beta version of Service Pack 2, or face the possibility that the update will break their handiwork.
Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) is more than the usual roll-up of bug fixes and updates. It is also being used to make significant changes to the software with the aim of improving security. Microsoft has warned these changes could render applications inoperable. "It may surprise some of the developers that we are changing some defaults, and that may affect the way some of the older applications run," said Tony Goodhew, a product manager in Microsoft"s developer group.