I'm planning to make a new XP installation disk with SP3 integrated, from my existing XP SP2 disk. Things like this are possible for users with the use of slipstreamers, which in my case, I use nLite. This way I can simplify the installation process via automation, removed the unnecessary stuffs, and have the updates installed from the very start. Apart from slipstreaming SP3 into the disk, I've also integrated RyanVM's Post-SP3 Update Pack, Internet Explorer 8, Windows Media Player 11, and a few other nice stuffs.
The XP installation disk originally comes in a CD, so at most the size should be less than 700MB. However, I'm using a DVD, leaving me with a lot of space to put in stuff. So I decided to put in a whole slew of useful softwares into the disk, which I don't integrate to the OS but available to be installed from the same disk.
Looking into my software collection, I realized that most of them are old versions that needs an update. Up I go lurking the Internet, scavenging softwares (mostly freeware and open source). Quite a few new gems I found.
Among them is ThumbView Lite, which allows a number of files - PSD, DDS, TGA, and a few others - to have thumbnails just like JPG files in Windows Explorer. Unfortunately it doesn't work in Vista, but I tested them in XP under Virtual PC 2007 SP1, and it works like a charm. Still, it doesn't allow you to open the files to view them, so it's better coupled with an image viewer like IrfanView (with plugins).
Another one is Chrome Frame. This is actually a plugin for Internet Explorer, but it replaces IE's Trident engine with Google Chrome's WebKit engine. The result: IE with a loading speed of Chrome. Yes, a ninefold speed increase. Kinda neat, although you can just get Google Chrome instead. It's still in early stages, so expect bugs and crashes though.
For most of my stuffs, they were merely updates made possible over this rarely good speeds in this crappy wireless service today. Among them are DirectX August 2009, Pidgin 2.6.2, Rainlendar 2.6, Opera 10, and a quite a list of softwares.
