Microsoft To Provide IE Patches for Windows XP Only

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Microsoft To Provide IE Patches for Windows XP Only

Posted by michael on Thursday September 23, 2004 @02:24AM from the lucy-pulls-football-away-again-from-windows-users dept.

Fortunato_NC writes "Microsoft has decided that future IE updates, including those related to security, will only be available to customers using Windows XP. This news.com article has the complete scoop. A choice quote: 'Microsoft may be turning the lemons of its browser's security reputation into the lemonade of a powerful upgrade selling point.' This should provide a huge boost to Mozilla and other alternative browser backers."

20 of 610 comments (clear)

Metaphorically speaking... by kahei · 2004-09-23 02:28 · Score: 5, Funny

This article tries to turn the sow's ear of an overstretched metaphor into the silk purse of a pithy comment, but winds up counting it's chickens in a castle built on sand as the skeletons in the closet come home to roost.

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Whence? Hence. Whither? Thither.
Re:Not security updates but security enhancements by Anonymous Coward · 2004-09-23 02:29 · Score: 2, Funny

Thank you! Someone who RTFA!
no firefox!? by Anonymous Coward · 2004-09-23 02:32 · Score: 1, Funny

... what, no firefox link? here you go you lazy slashdot editors:

Firefox, the greatest browser EVER!
Re:XP only ? by narsiman · 2004-09-23 02:34 · Score: 5, Funny

What they mean is Windows 2000 is completely secure. It does not need anymore fixes. You should be happy that you selected W2K for all your 5000 employees.
Re:And my car? by sebol · 2004-09-23 02:36 · Score: 2, Funny

So, if there's a safety problem with my 1998 Ford Contour, do I have to upgrade to a 2004 Ford in order to have it corrected?

No, You have to upgrade to a Jaguar with Cosworth Engine, withdraw from Formula One.

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-- Hasbullah bin Pit (sebol)
Re:the door is still open by Anonymous Coward · 2004-09-23 02:37 · Score: 2, Funny

your backdoor is still just as wide open.

You must be the guy that hosts the goatse server
MY favourite quote by ggvaidya · 2004-09-23 02:40 · Score: 2, Funny

"I've always wondered what the problem is with the IE team," one respondent wrote in a feedback thread on IE evangelist Dave Massy's blog. "I mean, it's just a browser. You need to render a page based on well-documented standards...and that's it! You've opted to not have tabbed browsing or any other personalization. It's just a window shell and the browser content...I wonder if there are only like four people who work on IE or something? I seriously don't get it."
That many? :) And I like Dave's blog's subtitle ... "Internet Explorer moving forward!". Looks like this bugger might have some competition ...
They're just trying to 'save' money. by samberdoo · 2004-09-23 02:41 · Score: 2, Funny

Billy - "We don't have enough people to fix all the bugs in all our products. What can we do?" Well if our corporate customers complain then, hire a city in China to handle all products other than XP.
Re:And my car? by Adam9 · 2004-09-23 02:42 · Score: 4, Funny

Microsoft's definition of "SP2 enhancements" is quite vague. They're referring to securtiy features. These "security features" could easily translate to bug fixes.

From TFA: "It's a problem that people should have to pay for a whole OS upgrade to get a safe browser..."

This implies that the older versions of MSIE won't be considered "safe" anymore.
Found Letter by The-Bus · 2004-09-23 02:46 · Score: 3, Funny

Dear Microsoft,

Damn you! You shot me!

Sincerely,

Your Foot

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Small potatoes make the steak look bigger.
Re:Good by linsys · 2004-09-23 02:50 · Score: 4, Funny

Try turning it on!

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-=Linsys=-
http://www.intrusionsec.com
Re:Classic M$ by deantallica · 2004-09-23 02:58 · Score: 5, Funny

What are you all complaining about? The 640 previous patches ought to be enough for anyone.
Re:XP only ? by kfg · 2004-09-23 03:00 · Score: 5, Funny

You have been paying for Software Protection. . .

Yeah, youse wouldn't want anything to 'happen' to yer software, now would you?

KFG
Re:Classic M$ by Anonymous Coward · 2004-09-23 03:09 · Score: 2, Funny

There are lots of them with unusable desktop envionrments, though.
Re:XP only ? by LiquidCoooled · 2004-09-23 03:16 · Score: 2, Funny

I'll have it!!

How much is the shipping to England? ;)

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liqbase :: faster than paper
Re:Classic M$ by 14erCleaner · 2004-09-23 03:22 · Score: 5, Funny

Nobody will ever need more than 640 patches.

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Have you read my blog lately?
Re:just like them by Seehund · 2004-09-23 03:22 · Score: 3, Funny

... Powerhouse are the ones I've tried in the past week or two that have Mozilla problems.

"Welcome to Powerhouse Online
You may be experiencing difficulty in accessing our site because your Internet Browser needs to meet the following criteria:

* IE 5 +

If you wish to use our site you will need to update your browser accordingly."

That's not a Mozilla problem.
It's a powerhouse.co.uk problem.

I will not "need to update" iBrowse/Voyager/Galeon/Firefox/Safari/whatever to IE5, thankyouverymuch. It's Mr Mongoloid Webmaster at Powerhouse who needs to get a clue.

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Help savingAmigaOS and a free PowerPC market
Oh by Safety+Cap · 2004-09-23 03:25 · Score: 1, Funny

You're new here, aren't you?

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Yeah, right.
Re:XP only ? by BlackHawk-666 · 2004-09-23 03:37 · Score: 2, Funny

...and the French just called, they want that Freedom Statue (tm) back again, so please box it up with the bridge.

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All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.
Re:XP only ? by Epsillon · 2004-09-23 04:22 · Score: 2, Funny

You have been paying for Software Protection, haven't you?

No? Oh, dear. I'm very disappointed in your "business practice". Perhaps we'd better send our consultant, Knuckles, over to give you a hand with your "decision process". After all, you wouldn't want anything "bad" to happen to your machines, would you?

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Resistance is futile. Reactance buggers it up.