Microsoft to step up SP2 downloads
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com September 21, 2004, 4:05 PM PT. This fourth priority&#39;s main focus has been improving or obtaining CRM and ERP software for the past year and a half.
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Microsoft is accelerating the distribution of Windows XP Service Pack 2 to reach its goal of updating 100 million PCs through Automatic Updates by Oct. 18, and it has released an update to correct a VPN problem.
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Service Pack 2 for XP represents a sea change in Microsoft's security posture. Here's why you should ignore the naysayers and start planning your upgrade.
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Computer giant Microsoft has fully rolled out its crucial security update to computers running its Windows XP. Last week, it &quot;soft launched&quot; Service Pack 2 (SP2) security update, making it available for some
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Windows XP users interested in trying out the release candidate of Service Pack 3 for the operating system should be able to download the software later today. Be forewarned, it weighs in at 580MB.
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IT administrators preparing for the Windows XP SP2 juggernaut may want to catch up on their reading before deploying the service pack.
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Microsoft on Wednesday posted advice for enterprises relying on Software Update Services (SUS) to prevent network slowdowns and server bottlenecks as they update thousands of PCs to Windows XP Service Pack 2 ...
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p2pnet.net News:- An average company using Windows XP will encounter compatibility issues with the SP2 update on 10.3% of its Windows XP-based PCs, says a white paper from Canada&#39;s AssetMetrix on-demand IT asset intelligence service.
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Enterprise developers looking for a guide to test applications against the new Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) are getting some help from Microsoft (Quote, Chart).
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Microsoft is poised to deliver a new interim build of its Windows Server 2003 SP1 (Service Pack 1) to testers. Windows Server 2003 SP1 is the server complement to the recently released Windows XP SP2 (Service
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After a nine-day postponement, Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday plans to start pushing out Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) to PCs running Windows XP Professional Edition.
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InfoWorld - Microsoft continues to tweak its volume licensing programs to make it easier for business customers to purchase the company&#39;s software in bulk.
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Prior to the release of Windows XP Service Pack 2, Microsoft set a goal of having 100 million copies distributed through its automatic update (Windows Update downloads not included).
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Microsoft confirmed Thursday that its invite-only group of about 15,000 testers has had the final version of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) for the past two weeks.Other Vista users, however, will have to wait until March to obtain a legal copy of the release-to-manufacturing (RTM) version of Vista SP1, the company reiterated.According to a Microsoft spokeswoman, the build designated Vista SP1 RC Refresh 2, which was seeded to testers on Jan. 24, is identical to&#160;the code that company developers shipped&#160;out the door on Monday as RTM.&quot;In final stages of a product, Microsoft likes to get as much validation as possible before releasing,&quot; the spokeswoman said in an e-mail. &quot;The release candidate ended up being a high enough quality to be approved to release to manufacturing.&quot;The shift in nomenclature, but not bits, is common. Eventually, a vendor must approve a build as &quot;gold code,&quot; at which point that edition becomes the shipping version. Last November, for example, Apple Inc. issued a test build of Mac OS X 10.5.1 to developers one day, then called it good to go and posted it for download the next.However, users who weren&#39;t part of the SP1 testing group must wait until March to get their hands on the update, the spokeswoman repeated today. In five to six weeks -- mid-March according to Microsoft -- the service pack will be offered via Windows Update as a 65MB optional update and posted to Download Center as a 450MB stand-alone installer that supports five languages. A month later, in mid-April, Windows Update will automatically download and install SP1 on Vista-equipped PCs whose users have set Automatic Updates to do hands-off updating.Subscribers to the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) and TechNet will get a slight jump on the general public. &quot;In early March, MSDN and TechNet subscribers will be able to get the &#39;Windows Vista with SP1&#39; full DVD,&quot; the same spokeswoman said in another e-mail. The updated operating system will be offered to MSDN and TechNet subscribers through their respective download centers.Microsoft is holding SP1 so that it can identify device drivers that won&#39;t reinstall -- as they must -- during the service pack update process. On Monday morning, Mike Nash, vice president of Windows product management, said that while SP1 had met the RTM criteria, it would not be available for several weeks because of the&#160;driver problems.That generated a firestorm of criticism from users, who vented by posting over 200 comments to Nash&#39;s announcement, calling the decision &quot;stupid&quot; and &quot;one of the all-time worst moves&quot; by Microsoft.Judging by the tone of nearly 120 comments left on Microsoft&#39;s official TechNet blog, IT professionals and developers are even angrier. The subscribers called the withholding of SP1 &quot;boneheaded&quot; and a &quot;slap in the face,&quot; or dubbed it &quot;the Vista SP1 RTM Debacle.&quot; Others questioned the value of their TechNet subscriptions, admitted that they had had to download a pirated copy using BitTorrent so that they could start testing, and said they would postpone Vista deployments for months because of the delay.Several wondered why reviewers in the press had the finished bits before they did.But a commenter identified only as Joe put it most succinctly: &quot;This is the lamest decision since Microsoft Bob. I get this the same time as my mom?&quot;The backlash may have gotten through to Microsoft. On Monday night, Kathy Dixon, the TechNet Plus team member who normally writes the blog, said that she was looking into the possibility of moving up the availability date of SP1. But as of Thursday night, she had no solution for users. &quot;I have escalated this and am continuing to push internally for a solution ASAP,&quot; Dixon wrote around 8 p.m. EST. &quot;Please hang in there, I should have something more specific soon.&quot;Computerworld is an InfoWorld affiliate.
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Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Microsoft Windows XP is expected to start showing up on many more desktops today (Wednesday 8/25), as Microsoft starts to deliver it to XP Professional users who have automatic updates turned on, as well as via Windows Update.
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Sep. 08, 2004. Microsoft on Tuesday doubled the time that businesses can block Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) from downloading automatically, giving them until mid-April, 2005, to test the update.
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(InfoWorld) - Microsoft released Service Pack 2 (SP2) for SQL Server 2005 on Tuesday, a free upgrade available for download, in addition to new virtualization licensing for the database. Microsoft said it will allow unlimited virtual instances of the SQL Server SP2 database to run on servers that are fully licensed for SQL Server 2005 Enterprise Edition. Enterprises are exploring virtualization technology -- which allow multiple copies of an OS to run on one piece of hardware -- to reduce the number of physical servers and increase their utilization. The free upgrade for the company's popular database product also includes better interoperability with other vendors. One SQL Server 2005 feature, called Report Builder, can build customized reports drawn on data held in Oracle products and Hyperion Solutions' Essbase database, Microsoft said. SQL Server 2005 SP2 will be the only release of the database thatÂ Microsoft will supportÂ for its Windows Vista OS andÂ upcoming Longhorn server, due for a final release in the second half of this year. Other features of SP2 include: -- Add-ins for Office 2007 programs such as Excel and Visio -- a drawing and diagramming application -- will enable data mining using SQL Server Analysis Services, the database's online analytical processing component. -- SQL Server Reporting Services -- a tool for creating and managing reports -- is integrated with SharePoint, the company's portal building and document-sharing software. -- New management tools include improved database maintenance, enhanced management repots and a new copy database wizard. Microsoft also announced new management reports for SQL Server Express Edition, the free version of the database, and SQL Compact Edition, an embedded database for mobile devices such as tablet PCs and smart phones.