Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Why is Microsoft Patching XP?

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the you-wouldn't-believe-me-if-i-told-you dept.

akkarin noted a story about a new Service patch for XP. Dubbed SP2c, the new service patch contains no bug fixes or features. Instead, this exciting patch exists only to add new valid active product registration keys. Oops.

14 of 370 comments (clear)

  1. well... by silverkniveshotmail. · · Score: 5, Funny

    Without a service pack it just doesn't feel like windows.

    1. Re:well... by that+IT+girl · · Score: 5, Funny

      Haha, good point! I like this because it's kind of like they're admitting that nobody likes Vista and that they're still going to have people wanting XP, despite the fact that you can't find a new computer loaded with it anymore. People are willing to go out of their way to get XP versus Vista.

      --
      10 FILL MUG WITH COFFEE
      20 DRINK COFFEE
      30 GOTO 10
    2. Re:well... by Vulva+R.+Thompson,+P · · Score: 5, Funny

      Each Tuesday morning everyone in our office kneels, faces west and screams "Blessed Be Ballmer!" repeatedly. We know He's listening because sometimes the angels reward us with a little icon in our trays.

      We tried it once with the Ubuntu god but it just felt blasphemous and unclean.

    3. Re:well... by antikristian · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The reason for it is easy:

      If they sent it out as a normal update, people could choose to ignore it. As a servicepack they can set it as a requirement for future security updates. This is just what they did with SP1 & 2, only this time without any added features for the user.

      Also: they really have to sell Vista...

      --
      A computer is a tool, but I am not. I use Linux
    4. Re:well... by AndersOSU · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Methinks theres a pattern here:

      Win95 - compelling reason to upgrade
      Win98 - pass
      Win2000 - compelling upgrade
      WinME - hahahaha
      WinXp - compelling upgrade
      WinVista - Jury's still out, but probably pass

  2. NT4 called... by thatskinnyguy · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... and they're kinda nervous about their service release record being broken...

    --
    The game.
  3. Uninstall by sjaguar · · Score: 5, Funny

    I wonder how hard it will be to uninstall when it does not work.

    --
    If at first you don't succeed, call it version 1.0.
  4. Re:I'm so glad ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm glad I stayed with Windows 98 Second Edition so I don't have to deal with all these endless updates and patches.

  5. Re:So.... by improfane · · Score: 5, Insightful

    a large portion of the world uses XP and it is likely a lot of people on Slashdot have to administrate it.

    Why would it not be on the frontpage?

    --
    Slashdot needs Geekcode | Can anyone recommend any good SCIFI? My tastes: Foundation, Startide Rising, CITY, Ringworld,
  6. Re:you can patch in new keys? by sqrt(2) · · Score: 5, Funny

    The coolest MS activation hack I've seen is for vista. They emulate an OEM bios (usually asus) and install a key that allows the OS not to have to be activated via the internet (lest consumers have to deal with that after buying their new Vista machine). Works flawlessly, well from what I've heard it does. How would I know?

    --
    If you build it, nerds will come. Soylentnews.org
  7. Re:So.... by Silver+Sloth · · Score: 5, Insightful
    The story here is not that the patch contains no fixes but that Microsoft are having to release a 'patch' because sales of Vista are not driving down sales of XP as much as was expected. From TFA

    Last month, the company's chief financial officer said that he tweaked the fiscal year 2008 forecast to account for XP's longevity. Rather than count on an 85/15 split in sales between Vista and XP, said Chris Liddell, Microsoft now expects a 78/22 split, an increase of nearly 50% in anticipated XP sales. Whether we like it or not Microsoft is the dominant player in the personal computer market and what they do and why they do it is important to us techies.
    --
    init 11 - for when you need that edge.
  8. Re:This clearly shows... by gstoddart · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Over time, it would be my guess they will slowly "fade" out XP and the forced Vista adoption will be complete.

    Why would you need to guess about something which is already publicly known and their obvious policy?

    XP will eventually become unsupported, they won't have any new patches for it, and they'll expect everyone to upgrade to Vista. Oddly enough, Windows 3.x, 95, 98, and ME have all gone through this.

    Believe it or not, every software company does the exact same thing. Just than when Microsoft does it, it's on a massive scale, and it gets rammed down the throats of everyone no matter what they think.
    Longterm this will be seen as a major mistake made by them, in my opinion....
    Long term, none of our opinions seem to alter what Microsoft does. It just happens.

    Cheers
    --
    Lost at C:>. Found at C.
  9. Re:no rollup? by n0dna · · Score: 5, Informative

    SP3 is in late alpha, scheduled be released later this year with Vista's SP1.

  10. Let's see someone reverse engineer this by initialE · · Score: 5, Interesting

    There are 2 red flags on this that would concern me. One that Microsoft would secretly bundle more rights restrictions into XP (admit it, it's certainly tempting, and it's not like they haven't done it before), and two, that this SP would seemingly make it easier to crack windows keys - I mean, here's all the necessary components, isolated and laid out for you to decipher. Well, that's just my 2 cents.

    --
    Starbucks, Harbuckle of Breath.