Windows XP SP2 Goes Gold 485
writertype writes "PC Magazine reports that Microsoft has released Windows XP SP2 to PC OEMs after a two-day delay. A package of stories, complete with an exploration of the new update, is here. The best way for users to get the update, according to Microsoft, is to have Windows Update turned on; a CD version will be made available." Reader Critical_ writes "With all the news of SP2 being delayed, it seems like Microsoft may have pulled a rabbit out of its hat by releasing RTM on its WindowsBeta site. Neowin has a screenshot of the download page and MSFN has the release information. The final build is 2180. For those who can't download it for whatever reason, Microsoft is giving away free CDs here. Happy installing."
So (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm a sysadmin mulling over exactly when 'enough people' will have tested it to deploy and roll out myself.
Jabba the Lawyer
So who pays, (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:So (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:Holy Crap! (Score:2, Interesting)
Close is such a relative word.
Wasn't the very original deadline sometime mid-last year?
Re:Is it really golden? (Score:1, Interesting)
What about Win2K SP5? (Score:2, Interesting)
Erm.. (Score:3, Interesting)
Since version 5 of windows update refuses to let anyone with a corporate key download this, does anybody have any legitimate mirrors for SP2?
Also, apparently, neowin reports [neowin.net] SP2 accepts those evil keys [microsoft.com].
It makes one wonder.. why allow SP2 to install on pirated copies, but refuse to let people update via the windows update site?
Torrents---which one is "right" ?? (Score:3, Interesting)
RC2 (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Hmmm (Score:3, Interesting)
I bet a lot more than 3 out of 5 home users machines are full of spyware too.
Oh dear....
Meh... (Score:2, Interesting)
Trickle-down downloads (Score:4, Interesting)
"Microsoft will use metered downloads to update users steadily without bogging down the entire Internet."
*Strokes chin* How do they do this, exactly? By IP? By Product Key? What determines when someone will get it?
Hopefully we'll see SP2 on Torrents soon.
Re:So (Score:4, Interesting)
The Firewall (Score:4, Interesting)
I agree with PCMag on this. Microsoft still doesn't get it. To continue the Microsoft analogy, they gave the bad guys a key to the deadbolt.
Looks like I'll be continuing to ignore the built in firewall in favor of a real one.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1631256,00.as p [pcmag.com]
interesting cultural differences (Score:2, Interesting)
When Windows comes out with a new releases (Windows 2000, Windows XP, etc.), people tend to 'hold back' and wait to see if it breaks things. Even with point releases (SP1, SP2, etc.) there seems to be a fair amount of trepidation when considering to upgrade even a personal machine - after all, not only do you need to reinstall Windows, you also have to reinstall every fucking application, and likely delete or move files around that are in the wrong part of the fs tree that you want saved, or what have you. It can take a long, long time to do all this, particularly if the machine is a personal machine and hasn't been reinstalled in years.
Linux is quite the opposite, for the most part. New beta release? People hit the download servers like a rugby player hits the after-game party. Some folks (debian stable fans) might hold back a bit, but it seems like, for the majority of desktop users, they want the latest, greatest thing. Installing all the applications is, for the most part, trivial: set everything up to install, and click "Next", then come back an hour later and you're ready to go (once again, for the most part). The time investment is significantly lower to get the needed software installed (knowledge of how to do it not withstanding).
I recently had to reinstall a Windows desktop machine from scratch (full format). The whole process, from the insertion of the Windows disk into the drive, to the "fuck, I'm finally done. I need (another) drink," took nearly 4 hours due to having to constantly insert various software disks, continual reboots for software updates and driver finickyness, and this was a fairly modern machine (installing win2k, axp 2000+, 512M, 7200rpm 80G).
IMO, the best thing MS could do for Longhorn, now that they've supposedly fixed their security underpinning problems, would be to make a 'universal' install mechanism so that reinstallation of a system would be relatively trivial. Make a 'network install' wizard which would install the core OS, and then query a server on the network (or a local disk) which would contain directories (or disk images, I guess) of applications or games - whatever. It would then install the software without prompting for the serial, name, or what have you.
As a result, I would imagine that all software written for longhorn would then be required to use a specific 'installation api', so MS could have more control over security and other such things, in addition to simply being able to install it via this method. This whole process would, IMO, make reinstallation of Windows much, much more geek friendly, more friendly for repair shops (copy all the CDs the person has to the drive, enter their registration codes into a text file in the root 'software-to-install' dir, reboot the system and wait for it to come back up after a dozen or so reboots with a fully functional OS), or even corporations. It'd probably take a healthy chunk out of the reimaging software markets, as well as the 3rd party installation software (Install Shield or what have you), but IMO, it would be worth it if it makes windows somewhat less shitty in the useability dept.
I've got a Windows machine that I've got to fix this weekend - seemably broken by a virus which is possibly still resident, but none of the virus scanning packages are able to find it. Copy/paste doesn't work, a lot of control panel applets don't work, etc. I don't relish having to do each item independently.
Hmph (Score:4, Interesting)
on one of my laptops, it worked fine. Done.
On my desktop, I can no longer see the contents of my second NTFS drive. Uninstalling SP2 leaves me still unable to see it.
Ugh, and it seemed like a decent upgrade besides that.
Re:Hmmm (Score:3, Interesting)
Try telling that to the company president after they've installed enough spyware/adware to effectively cripple their machines. Any admin worth their pay is going to have automated tools to take care of just about anything that comes up for installs and system changes. If someone needs something, all I have to do is push out the package and it's installed in the background while they're still working. When the little blinky thing disappears from their system tray, they know they can use it.
Giving the average user admin privileges on their machine is a foolish act, and is asking for all sorts of extra hours cleaning up preventable problems. Hell, my own account doesn't even have admin, I have to log in with a separate one for that.