Ok, does the word usage in this CNN story about Windows XP SP 2 strike you as ODD?!!

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http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/08/06/microsoft.update.ap/index.html

Microsoft releases free Windows upgrade

Friday, August 6, 2004 Posted: 8:44 PM EDT (0044 GMT)

REDMOND, Washington (AP) -- Almost since the day Microsoft Corp. released its Windows XP computer operating system nearly three years ago, it has been a favorite target of hackers and critics eager to stress its numerous security shortcomings.

Now, more than two years after promising to do something about it, Microsoft is about to release the biggest update ever for Windows. The free upgrade is designed to make users safer from cyberattacks by sealing entries to viruses, better protecting personal data and fending off spyware.

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said the upgrade, dubbed Service Pack 2, revises less than 5 percent of the millions of lines of code that make up Windows XP -- but adds more value than any update the company has ever done.

Some of the nearly $1 billion that's gone into Service Pack 2 also will be used on future versions of Windows. But Gates said it was absolutely necessary to give away the security advances now because of the barrage of attacks plaguing Windows-based computers.

"If we weren't viewing this as such a key priority, then we wouldn't be giving it away as a free thing," Gates said in an interview with The Associated Press.

― Red Panda Sanskrit (ex machina), Monday, 9 August 2004 12:16 (twenty-one years ago)

"If we'd been aware of how many people hate us and how sloppy and draconian our products are then we wouldn't have to give this shit away for free"

― the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Monday, 9 August 2004 12:19 (twenty-one years ago)

http://www.crn.com/sections/breakingnews/breakingnews.jhtml?articleId=23905071

CRN Test Center engineers evaluated a release candidate two (RC2) version of SP2, and upon completion of the install on three out of five systems, the machines blue-screened. A message stated that "winserv" was missing. The blue screen occurred on both Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Intel platforms, and all systems were running Windows XP Pro with Service Pack 1 installed. Every possible avenue to get back into Windows failed.

― Red Panda Sanskrit (ex machina), Monday, 9 August 2004 12:19 (twenty-one years ago)

(er, i am still browsing in Explorer)

― the neurotic awakening of s (blueski), Monday, 9 August 2004 12:19 (twenty-one years ago)

I hate windows updates.

― RJG (RJG), Monday, 9 August 2004 12:23 (twenty-one years ago)

i hate windows.

― cutty (mcutt), Monday, 9 August 2004 12:23 (twenty-one years ago)

i hate

― ken c (ken c), Monday, 9 August 2004 12:24 (twenty-one years ago)

yea, I had a bunch fail in a fairly fresh Vanilla XP install; I think our domain policy might have caused it.

― Red Panda Sanskrit (ex machina), Monday, 9 August 2004 12:24 (twenty-one years ago)

since when has a bug patch been a VALUE ADDING UPGRADE?!?! Your product worked like shit to begin with and fucked over 90% of non techincal users.

― Red Panda Sanskrit (ex machina), Monday, 9 August 2004 12:26 (twenty-one years ago)

does it have a new game on it?

― ken c (ken c), Monday, 9 August 2004 12:26 (twenty-one years ago)

i wonder what the ratio is of non-tech users to techies. computer pedants are the worst!

― cutty (mcutt), Monday, 9 August 2004 12:27 (twenty-one years ago)

i thought the point was that this thing has more than just a bug fix in it

― ken c (ken c), Monday, 9 August 2004 12:27 (twenty-one years ago)

― Red Panda Sanskrit (ex machina), Monday, 9 August 2004 12:27 (twenty-one years ago)

Ken, it does! It looks like it adds a lot of the same features as those personal firewalls ("do wish to allow gator.exe to access the network"), a bit more IE idiot proofing (making it hard to click yes on Bonzai Buddy), pop up blocking, etc

― Red Panda Sanskrit (ex machina), Monday, 9 August 2004 12:29 (twenty-one years ago)

details: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/sp2chngs.mspx

"closing ports except when they are in use" what?

― Red Panda Sanskrit (ex machina), Monday, 9 August 2004 12:30 (twenty-one years ago)

hmm, non executable stack!

― Red Panda Sanskrit (ex machina), Monday, 9 August 2004 12:31 (twenty-one years ago)

Support for Bluetooth wireless technology is included in Windows XP Service Pack 2. This support was not previously available directly from Microsoft. It is included now because customers requested that this technology be added to the core Windows operating system.

― Red Panda Sanskrit (ex machina), Monday, 9 August 2004 12:32 (twenty-one years ago)

Among other updates I believe the most important is a vastly more sophisticated firewall.

Look here for a detail rundown of the beta release: http://arstechnica.com/wankerdesk/04q1/sp2-beta-1.html

― Chewshabadoo (Chewshabadoo), Monday, 9 August 2004 13:48 (twenty-one years ago)

This is like saying recalling the exploding gas tank Pinto was an "upgrade" and added "value"

― Red Panda Sanskrit (ex machina), Monday, 9 August 2004 13:51 (twenty-one years ago)

Microsoft's Bluetooth stack is an even bigger pile of crap than all the others out there.

― Ricardo (RickyT), Monday, 9 August 2004 15:01 (twenty-one years ago)

> since when has a bug patch been a VALUE ADDING UPGRADE?

when it goes over 400M?

― koogs (koogs), Monday, 9 August 2004 15:08 (twenty-one years ago)

This is like giving people airbags and seatbelts 3 years after they buy a car.

― Red Panda Sanskrit (ex machina), Monday, 9 August 2004 15:10 (twenty-one years ago)

http://arstechnica.com/wankerdesk/04q1/sp2-beta-1.html

"wankerdesk"? They don't think much of their readers.

― Markelby (Mark C), Monday, 9 August 2004 15:27 (twenty-one years ago)

I haven't used SP2, don't need it, don't care. However, I strongly suspect it's going to be another set of "options" designed to confuse the user rather than help them. I get the feeling with any MS security patch that what they're really trying to say is, "This is hard, isn't it? You don't really want to mess with this stuff. This security stuff is for geeks. Just trust Daddy Redmond and keep running your shit system and sending viruses around the world."

― Harold Media (kenan), Monday, 9 August 2004 15:42 (twenty-one years ago)

kenan, otm

― Red Panda Sanskrit (ex machina), Monday, 9 August 2004 15:46 (twenty-one years ago)

two months pass...

Should I update to SP2? Are there still problems with it slowing/limiting connections etc?

― Michael F Gill (Michael F Gill), Saturday, 9 October 2004 19:36 (twenty-one years ago)

three years pass...

Who knows about ntuser.dat.LOG and why does it contain every instance of swim's history of tpb data incorporation after DBAN DOD?

― mkcaine, Saturday, 19 April 2008 16:53 (eighteen years ago)

IIRC didn't the Windows XP Firewire stack only run at like 100 megabits until it was patched?

― Catsupppppppppppppp dude 茄蕃, Saturday, 19 April 2008 17:00 (eighteen years ago)

From what I was told

― mkcaine, Saturday, 19 April 2008 17:09 (eighteen years ago)

I think SP2 actually put in this pointless limitation, then you have to specifically seek out that patch to get it work (it's not an automatic/critical update).

― Nhex, Saturday, 19 April 2008 19:31 (eighteen years ago)

Opposite. What is DIRTŸ? After reinstalling Windows even Administrator can't view the file. What is going on?

― mkcaine, Saturday, 19 April 2008 20:12 (eighteen years ago)

except an umlaut instead of the �

― mkcaine, Saturday, 19 April 2008 20:14 (eighteen years ago)

n y duz firfox append .net to evrithing

― mkcaine, Saturday, 19 April 2008 22:48 (eighteen years ago)

microsoft is the damned fool

― mkcaine, Saturday, 19 April 2008 22:49 (eighteen years ago)

tracktion 2 and battery i used that to produce all my gnj0yntz

― mkcaine, Saturday, 19 April 2008 22:51 (eighteen years ago)

on their fucked up os

― mkcaine, Saturday, 19 April 2008 22:51 (eighteen years ago)

designed for datarayp

― mkcaine, Saturday, 19 April 2008 22:51 (eighteen years ago)

np awesome, best os around, too

― mkcaine, Saturday, 19 April 2008 22:52 (eighteen years ago)

i'm a bot

― mkcaine, Saturday, 19 April 2008 22:52 (eighteen years ago)

eugh

― mkcaine, Saturday, 19 April 2008 22:52 (eighteen years ago)

4 real how d you spell uuuh

― mkcaine, Saturday, 19 April 2008 22:52 (eighteen years ago)

it get 'etter

― mkcaine, Saturday, 19 April 2008 22:53 (eighteen years ago)

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