Office 2003 Mainstream Support Ends April 2009

Along with Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 SP1, Microsoft is ending mainstream (free) support for Office 2003 on April 14, 2009. Full details.

Strange when you consider WinXP Home is still being pre-loaded on most new netbooks. I would think also that Access 2003 is still the version of choice for Office developers.

Windows XP SP3 Available for Download

Windows XP SP3 is available for download from Windows Update.

Release Schedule for Windows XP SP3

Neowin.net says it has procured the release schedule for Windows XP SP3:

• April 14, 2008: Support is available for the release version of Service Pack 3 for Windows XP
  
  
• April 21, 2008: Original Equipment Manufacturers, Volume License, Connect, and MSDN and TechNet subscribers
  
  
• April 29, 2008: Microsoft Update, Windows Update, Download Center
  
  
• June 10, 2008: Automatic Updates

NEW v1.2 Ezy StartBar for Windows
A faster more versatile Start Menu for your Desktop



Ezy StartBar for Windows v1.2 is now available. After feedback from users, I have updated this very popular download, which has been listed by many software sites.

Ezy StartBar adds a supplemental Start Menu SideBar to your Windows Taskbar, and provides quick access to groups of menu items. It offers more flexibility than the standard Windows Start Menu, and the number of links is virtually unlimited. You can manage Ezy StartBar exclusively using your mouse.

Ezy StartBar behaves like the standard Start Menu, but also allows you to create groups of shortcuts, which can be added, edited and deleted on the fly, with full drag and drop functionality. You can drag shortcuts onto any group in the SideBar when Ezy StartBar is pinned to your Desktop.

A link to any program, file, folder, shortcut, or URL can be added to the Ezy StartBar SideBar by either pinning the SideBar and dragging and dropping a file or a shortcut onto a group, or by using the SideBar's File Open dialog whether the SideBar is pinned or un-pinned.

A group or an item can be renamed, edited, or removed from the SideBar by right-clicking the SideBar and using the commands available from the popup menu. The order of the items in a group can be arranged by dragging and dropping them to the preferred position within a group or from one group to another.

Unlike the standard Windows Start Menu, a SideBar link item created from a shortcut that is subsequently moved or deleted will still work, as the Ezy StartBar link points to the actual file location not the shortcut.

Download (500kb)

New features and fixes include:

• System-wide Hot Key
• Default skin is now the user's Windows scheme - custom skin option removed
• URL link source not lost when source shortcut is deleted
• Launch bar now fully repositions and resizes with Taskbar position and size
• Launch bar now visible when Taskbar is set to auto-hide
• Menubar replaced by graphical toolbar

NEW Ezy StartBar for Windows
A faster more versatile Start Menu for your Desktop



I have just launched my latest freeware application: Ezy StartBar for Windows.

Ezy StartBar adds a supplemental Start Menu SideBar to your Windows Taskbar, and provides quick access to groups of menu items. It offers more flexibility than the standard Windows Start Menu, and the number of links is virtually unlimited. You can manage Ezy StartBar exclusively using your mouse.

Ezy StartBar behaves like the standard Start Menu, but also allows you to create groups of shortcuts, which can be added, edited and deleted on the fly, with full drag and drop functionality. You can drag shortcuts onto any group in the SideBar when Ezy StartBar is pinned to your Desktop.

A link to any program, file, shortcut, or URL can be added to the Ezy StartBar SideBar by either pinning the SideBar and dragging and dropping a file or a shortcut onto a group, or by using the SideBar's File Open dialog whether the SideBar is pinned or un-pinned.

A group or an item can be renamed, edited, or removed from the SideBar by right-clicking the SideBar and using the commands available from the popup menu. The order of the items in a group can be arranged by dragging and dropping them to the preferred position within a group or from one group to another.

Unlike the standard Windows Start Menu, a SideBar link item created from a shortcut that is subsequently moved or deleted will still work, as the Ezy StartBar link points to the actual file location not the shortcut.

Download (500kb)