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IBM Tells Employees To Hold Off WinXP SP2
robpoe writes "As reported by ZDNet, IBM's technology department has warned internal users to not install Windows XP SP2 until IBM can fix some known issues with the way IE6 is updated, and Big Blue can make a customized version of the patch - 'The company's technology department said the delay is 'due to known application problems and incompatibility with IBM workstation applications.''" However, the article also mentions that: "One IBM employee in the company's internal technology department characterized the decision as routine."
Scary headline to read while I'm in the middle of installing it right now!
Never has a first post confused me more than this one. :)
Hey, lots of companies install policies on their IT assets that flat out prevent installing unauthorized patches on corporate systems.
This is a pretty big patch, and people have known for a while that it's going to change the way some things work. It makes sense to show caution before allowing a mass deployment. There's not much news here.
This is very much standard practice here at IBM. We aren't even supposed to use windowsupdate and instead use an internal tool that installs patches.
WinXPServicePackNews.com?
Isn't this sort of decision standard in any large organisation? As with any upgrade, IBM will want to ensure that the upgrade isn't going to break any internal applications. No large organisation is going to want employees installing significant OS upgrades without central verification.
Hehe...maybe slashdotters out there have become so overworked that they just moderate you according to your post title. Time to put that theory into practice.
I just installed it and now my I'm getting the BSOD. Dang it! I went to Linux to get rid of the !@#$ BSOD!
Oh, nevermind... my bad. That was just my screensaver and someone unplugged my mouse.
The only thing necessary for Micro$oft to triumph is for a few good programmers to do nothing". North County Computers
Helpful Deployment Tools Here
IBM's technology department has warned internal users to not install Windows XP SP2 until IBM can fix some known issues
And of course, the first thing that happens is, this internal memo somehow finds its way to ZDNet. Looks like PR FUD to me.
It's good though, at least Microsoft gets a little of its own medicine once in a while...
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
This is especially important for XP SP2, because it does break a lot of stuff. In particular, it breaks the (enterprise class) products we produce in several places (I personally am working on our own hotfixes to be sent out ASAP). This is the sort of problem companies like IBM want to avoid. So, all things considered, this is a total non story.
"One IBM employee in the company's internal technology department characterized the decision as routine."
One Microsoft employee in the company's unspecified division of vaguery was alleged to have characterized a response which resembled "We OWNZ you biatch!".
No really, they did.
"It's not your information. It's information about you" - John Ford, Vice President, Equifax
The reason we're being told to hold off is that the new IE might not be compatible with some internal applications on the intranet (stuff like, payroll, expenses claims etc). There's no wording that SP2 breaks stuff in general, just that some critical IBM apps are effected. So stop scare mongering!
The really funny thing is, I don't think there's a big pressing need to install this patch. Waiting a while is the best move to make.
What does this patch do for you? Well, I've been using RC2 for awhile, and here's what it's done for me:
1) Broken Thief III such that when I load levels, my computer crashes.
2) Screams bloody murder when an app opens a port - except for loopback - but even when I explicitly wanted that port opened it still raises a dialog.
3) Messed up MSN Instant Messenger's hotmail addin so it now links to Outlook and Outlook Express even though I don't even USE Outlook.
4) Messed up my MSN Instant Messenger buddy list by trying to group them into random categories I didn't even want
5) Installed more gooblygook into Windows Media Player that asks for copyright protections etc that I don't want and makes me go through the configuration screen all over again
6) Added a popup blocker I didn't want - that I can't easily turn off - into IE - that conflicts with Google Toolbar - instead of one easy click to get a popup on a site that you were expecting to pop up (such as a separate chat window for customer support), you now need to go into the options to turn popup blocking off, then click the google toolbar... twice the hassle.
And other nice oddities.
I say, wait until this beast has been patched...there's nothing worth running out for.
Tepp
I used to work desktop support for IBM and can tell you that IBM has its own web-based software distribution and installation service that it uses internally. The same thing was done for SP1 - users were told not to install from Windowsupdate.com and were instead told to install from the internal servers after the patches were changed to work better with the IBM internal machines - this is because there are modifications made to the Windows image used in system builds resulting in a custom IBM build of Windows so to speak. No real shocking news here.
A company testing new software before installing it on every system they have? Why I never! Next thing you know they'll be telling us that we should not run every attachment we get in our email.
Specifically it was NOT addressed to clients (note Sam doens't call them customers anymore).
It was a letter on the IBM Intranet addressed to the 300,000+ IBMers (for reference, I am one. I've read the letter. Of course, I do NOT speak for IBM). The letter does not mention specifics, but IBM develops a TON of software for use internally. These applications have to be tested with SP2 before they release SP2 internally.
This is completely routine, and has been done on many patches before this one. It is IBM being cautious and testing a new component with the thousands of other pieces of software that keep IBM moving. I for one, am glad our IT staff takes the time to do this.
Its better to have a system with known quirks than an system with unknown quirks
Rus
Cheap UK and US VPS
The funny thing is the last sentence of the story: "One IBM employee in the company's internal technology department characterized the decision as routine".
So a routine decision makes the front page of Slashdot, clearly advertized as "IBM doesn't trust Microsoft".
The basic anti MS movement is still out there.
Write boring code, not shiny code!
"Sexy Man" is not an moderation option.
Analogies don't equal equalities, they are merely somewhat analogous.
I have WinXP Home SP1 with all the latest updates applied. I downloaded the SP2 .EXE file from microsoft.com's download and attempted to install it.
The installation went fine except that somewhere in the middle of the installation I got "Access is denied." error. The installation program then went and de-installed what was partially installed and restored it to SP1 (Thank Goodness!). This was while logged in (as the only user in the system) with administrative privileges. Windows was rebooted and it booted fine in SP1.
I rebooted SP1 in Safe mode and logged in as the Administrator. I repeated the installation process with exact same error "Access is denied.". Again, reverted to SP1 successfully
I am thankful that it was possible to change back to SP1 and WinXP booted. But, I just can't seem to be able to install SP2. Now, I am scared than earlier about trying it for the third time.
Osho
Every large company has a hold off on SP2 order so their IT staff can hit reload on Slashdot for a week or so to see if any "SP2 sux0rs!!11" stories get posted. If we go 2 weeks without one, expect it to get rolled out.
Another site to check are some of the gaming forums. If it doesn't trash Doom3 and the Slashbots pretending to work don't report problems, it must be OK.
To "fix" Issue#6. Hold down the left-CTRL key when clicking on the link that is being blocked.
What does this patch do for you?
It fixes alot of well known vulnerabilities, adds some great features to the firewall, adds a popup blocker, and the Security Center provides great support for some well-known virus scanners to make sure users are up to date on virus definitions.
Installed more gooblygook into Windows Media Player that asks for copyright protections etc that I don't want and makes me go through the configuration screen all over again
What gooblygook does it install into WMP? Or do you mean it just makes you go through the configuration screen (where you can just hit Next, Next, Finish - must be difficult). It saved all my previous settings and did not reset anything when I first loaded up WMP. You mention both, but really it doesn't appear to install anything new here - just verifies your previous settings.
Added a popup blocker I didn't want - that I can't easily turn off - into IE - that conflicts with Google Toolbar - instead of one easy click to get a popup on a site that you were expecting to pop up (such as a separate chat window for customer support), you now need to go into the options to turn popup blocking off, then click the google toolbar... twice the hassle.
You can't easily turn off the pop-up blocker? I know thats so hard to go to Tools, Internet Options, Privacy, and then uncheck the "Block Pop-Ups" box. I feel for you man!
So if you deployed a Linux on 10000 machines on all your tech, marketing, IT, sales teams computers, and you had developped specific applications, drivers for some specific devices, and all the crap, you would just tell them: Sure, let's upgrate from 2.4 to 2.6 and cross your fingers?
The fact that they are cautious doesn't mean they distrust SP2. Like any major upgrage to a kernel (to any OS), it is going to break some of your specific devs, would it be only slightly.
This would be true for any OS. The fact that this one is Microsoft doesn't make it something against MS.
Write boring code, not shiny code!
This seems to be a valid theory!
Doesn't look like the theory is applicable to all cases. You need to create a special exception for Trolls.
Here @ FedEx we tested some SP2 installs and it broke a bunch of our apps. We are also holding out on deploying this service pack to our machines so we can make a custom SP2. I think alot of companies are doing the same. TE
TerminalEcho
* Disclaimer: I work for Microsoft. You can either moderate at face value, or actually read what I have to say first. *
After working for the company for the past two summers as an intern, I've come to know a bunch of people who actually *gasp* work there. I'd say that 1/2 of them are Linux geeks who understand that while Linux is great and all, it will not cure AIDS, feed the poor, or save the whales/children. Neither will Windows. They're fucking OS's that you can either RUN or NOT RUN. Choose one and leave the preaching to the guys in the Vatican. The company is as evil as any other public company who is responsible to their bottom line and their shareholders (that goes for any company, not just software houses). Beyond that, its just a bunch of people who love to code, love what they do, and whether you believe it or not, are pretty fucking good at it (if you don't believe me, go through the interview/hiring process yourself and let me know how it goes).
It's come to the point where after having sat in both the "Microsoft sucks, everything they do is awful, evil, and will bring about a world dictatorship" camp and the "Eh, I'll work there for a bit and see what its like" camp, the only conclusion I can draw is that those who hate Microsoft with a passion, have some sort of underlying motivation for doing so. My whole life I had used Linux exclusively. My whole life I had coded solely in Linux. However, I decided to give it a shot, because I have a *gasp* open mind, and interviewed there. I went in almost viweing the entire experience as a joke, but I left loving the people, loving the campus, having a great time, and wondering whether or not I should consider this more seriously. So while I was being flown out to Seattle on MS's dime (hey, why not fly out to Seattle, all expenses paid for the weekend, even if I don't take the job) the rest of the kids in my CS program were bitching about how evil Microsoft is while at the same time complaining that they had nowhere to work. Unbeknownst to them, and many of the people here, there is this place called the "real world" and RMS's vision of an IP-unencumbered future is not a part of it. Rent, car payments, tuition, and food, are a _major_ part of it, however. Microsoft takes care of these things. Writing free software, for the vast majority of people, certainly does not.
Microsoft is just a software company. That is it. They are not some evil empire obsessed with world domination. They are not the fucking Third Reich. If you don't like them, don't buy their software. Is there any need to go any further than that? Do we really need to devote a front page article to the fact that IBM advised their employees not to upgrade their internal computers to XPSP2? When the newest Linux kernel comes out, do you honestly think that companies with hundreds of thousands of computers in their enterprise deployments tell all end-users to immediately upgrade? How about OS X users? How about ANY OPERATING SYSTEM ON THE PLANET? Regardless of what OS or software package we're talking about, if you have an internal user base of that many people AND you're running custom apps, you're going to advise people to hold off for a bit. Get over yourself.
I had offers from a bunch of companies, many of whom are much more highly respected by the group-think-drunk Slashdot community than Microsoft. Which full time offer did I take? Microsoft. Did they pay me more? Nope. Were their benefits better as a whole? Maybe. Is it the best company you can work for in the software industry if you can get over the "OMG!@# It's Micro$oft and that's evil" ideology that most 12 year old script kiddies hold? Yep.
I have no problem with you being a fan of Linux. I am too. In fact, I'm typing this message on a years-old IBM Thinkpad 600 running Slackware 10.0. However, I ask that just for one second, you take a step back from your own ideology. You can do one of two things. You can either admit that for all its flaws Microsoft makes a bunch of pr