Windows Xp Sp2 Delayed Until Late 2004

[Scarthy © ® ™]

Hi all ;),

In a surprising turn of events, Microsoft has pushed back the release date for the second Windows XP service pack to the third quarter of 2004. SP2 was long expected to debut before the end of 2003, a year after SP1 made the rounds. The change in plans came to light by way of Microsoft's Product Lifecycle Web site, which details future support timelines for the company's products.

"Third quarter next year would put anywhere from 18 to 24 months between the first two service packs," Joe Wilcox, senior analyst for Jupiter Research, told BetaNews. "This is a much longer cycle than between Windows 2000 service pack releases."

The possible implications of the move are far reaching. A yearlong delay gives Microsoft significant time to further its integration strategy with Windows XP – building more components directly into the operating system. "It's possible that Microsoft is preparing a more substantive-than-usual service pack that would add new features to Windows XP or hybrids Media Center and Tablet PC," said Wilcox.

One such potential feature is Microsoft's PC Satisfaction package, currently in beta testing. PC Satisfaction extends the native functionality of Windows XP with services such as an enhanced firewall and virus scanner that give customers a better Windows experience out of the box. Although Microsoft has not yet announced how it plans to issue PC Satisfaction in its final form, the company hinted that a new firewall would be enabled by default in the next Windows XP update.

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[Scarthy © ® ™]

Appologies to Lived Backwards. Just came across your thread after posting this one....

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[Scarthy © ® ™]

Update...

THE RUMOUR IS that Microsoft has got into such a flap about the Blaster worm that it's readying a small service pack called SP1a for Windows XP, which might emerge within the next two weeks. Except it can't be called SP1a as there is one of those already for the Java VM, so maybe it will be SP1X or something. "Tiny", as one of our readers points out, is relative in the case of "modern" operating systems from Microsoft.

According to those rumours, Microsoft wishes to downplay the massive MB accumulation of fixes and the like released during the last 10 months or so. But some end users and channel players would like Microsoft to do something else, and supply them with a trade-in for their original XP install CDs. That would avoid similar problems happening if – unlikely as it seems – people have to re-install Windows XP from scratch or buy new accessories and the like. Will Microsoft do this? It would be a logistics nightmare, we'd hazard to suggest...

Taken from HERE.

Full Story - The Inquirer.

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[Guest LB]

also see.... http://www.windowsforum.org/support/forum/...?showtopic=3841

[Scarthy © ® ™]

Microsoft: Windows XP SP2 Will Ship Before Q3 2004

Late last week, Microsoft posted an interesting document outlining its release plans for various Windows version service packs, prompting reports that Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), originally due late this year, was being delayed until late 2004. That's because the page (URL below) lists "Q3 2004" as the XP SP2 release date. A little fact checking goes a long way, however, and after conferring with various Microsoft representatives, I've confirmed that the Q3 2004 date is, indeed a typo. That's the good news. The bad news is that the service pack is still shipping a lot later than originally expected: It won't be out until the first half of 2004.

"Unfortunately, that Web site is incorrect," a Microsoft representative told me Monday. "Windows XP Service Pack 2 will actually ship by mid-2004, and we announced this date at the annual Financial Analysts Meeting last month." Indeed, Microsoft group vice president Jim Allchin noted that SP2 would ship by mid-2004 at the meeting. "We have Service Pack 2 for Windows XP coming out this fiscal year," he said. "[it will] not [include new] features, but there will be a few things that we're adding to that." Because Microsoft's fiscal year runs from July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2004, "fiscal 2004" refers to that time frame and not calendar year 2004. That schedule, I was told, is still correct.

The Microsoft representative also told me that XP SP2 would include no major new features but would instead consist of all the bug and security fixes Microsoft released since XP was issued in October 2001. That fact makes the schedule nonsensical, however. If XP SP2 is just updates, it should ship immediately, not in six months; XP SP1 shipped almost a year ago. Products such as Windows XP Media Center Edition "V2," Windows XP Tablet PC Edition "V2," and Windows Powered Smart Displays "V2," all due by the end of calendar year 2003, are not reliant on XP SP2, the representative told me.

Found - HERE.

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