Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft Delays Windows XP Service Pack 2
Rinisari writes "DesignTechnica, among some others
, explains that Microsoft has once again delayed its release of Service Pack 2 for Windows XP, though only until August. Microsoft has declined to comment on the reason for the delay. Windows Update v5, however, is online and operational (and works with Service Pack 1!), although not officially so. I know many smaller education institutions are chomping at the bit with the looming release, as they are worried about compatibility with some of the new features in Service Pack 2."
If nothing else, at least Microsoft is trying much, much harder at security nowadays.
As I understood, it means that a bulk of IE users (the ones that don't download small "security updates", but only full SPs) will be vulnerable to well-known bug till (hopefully) August?
Well, now that just shouldn't even be compared to Mozilla's bugfixes.
(because who would be able to compare 24 hours with 24 days and not laugh to death?)
Hey, this means that Longhorn would likely get pushed back as well (if it ships at all). This gives us an extra month to make Linux a mainstream desktop OS before the NGSCB DRM (the RIAA's wet dream) ensures Microsoft forevermore. Hurry people!!
Unknown host pong.
Personally, since Microsoft doesn't seem to be releasing any more updates for NT4, I'd sure like to see them put out a Service Pack 7 so I don't have to go thru the steps SP6a - Post 6a SRP - Windows Updates every time I have to install a new component on an old NT4 system.
Give me my freedom, and I'll take care of my own security, thank you.
There is also the possibility that microsoft is having a hard time dealing with fixing all the vulnerabilities.
I wonder to what extent they find that fixing one vulnerability just break, and I mean mangles horribly, some functionality in Excel or Word that everybody has to have (like VBA or sum'thin).
It's like the domines are falling at microsoft, and that they are starting to realize that a rewrite from the ground up does not look to bad (at least you can start with a sound concept).
Of course, I doubt they could pull that off, so the next couple years are going to be really interesting.
"Piter, too, is dead."
In 2002 - product activation was the biggest punishment I have ever seen for a paid customer
In 2003 - security and hotfix galore
In 2004 - SP2 compatibility problems and more browser disaster.
In 2005 - ???
It is always embarrassing when you have to compete against your own products.
Microsoft are sort-of obliged to keep rolling out security fixes for 2K, but is a popup blocker a fix or a feature? They surely would love to have a lever to get us all moved onto XP.
Here we see one of the major disadvantages of monopolies, when your biggest competition is from your previous released it becomes very tempting to hold back on things like popup blocking and all these fixes for IE from current releases to save them for a future release. If it wasn't for mozilla suddenly becoming a threat I'm sure we wouldn't of seen these fixes to IE until Longhorn, no matter how bad it got, in fact the worse it got the better because that's simply a motivation to buy the new product. Now they have to try it earlier than they want and put it in XP because of competition from Mozilla but I'm sure we're not going to see these fixes backported to previous versions of windows, it would take away to incentive to upgrade.
I stole this Sig
It's a fairly well-known strategy to hype a product well before it's introduction in order to prevent a competitor from gaining ground. I don't think SP2 has been delayed at all, Microsoft's project planners would have to be completely incompetant to have delayed the patch for so long without a good reason. No, they want to string people along with the promise of a miracle cure-all for as long as possible.
Having trouble with popups? SP2 is coming soon! Need more security? SP2!! Want your computer to wash the dishes and feed the dog too? Good news, SP2!!