It took until SP2 until they got it working correctly. SP3 added some more security fixes. It is the most finished version of Windows ever! M$ typically releases an OS, has one team write a service pack, and the rest of the team is working on the next version. By the time the first service pack is published, the OS is already considered (by M$) old and disposable. If Longhorn hadn't been delayed, XP would not have been patched, updated, and FINISHED! The only reason M$ has supported XP for this long is because the public screamed bloody murder!

I don't particularly want to beta test their next OS, or the one after that. I like software that has the bugs worked out. XP will continue being used long after the 2014 deadline because it still works, and works as well or better than other versions before or after. We shouldn't be on this upgrade treadmill.

Add to the OS situation the fact that purchased versions of software sometimes break when the new OS is pre-installed on your new computer, and you find yourself on not one, but many upgrade treadmills at the same time. It is a racket.