RE: RE: WinXP SP2 RTM

Hi Taylor,

I see that on the 16th of August is when Microsoft is releasing SP2 to automatic updates (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/sp2aumng.mspx#XSLTsection122121120120). Has that date slipped to the 24th?

Thanks,

John

John E. Weber
Central Computing Services - IS&T
CalNet Active Directory
University of California, Berkeley
MCSA 2003
johnweber@berkeley.edu
285 Evans Hall
(510) 642-7638
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-micronet-list@lists.berkeley.edu [mailto:owner-micronet-list@lists.berkeley.edu] On Behalf Of Taylor Kao (by way of Micronet mailing list administrator)
Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 2004 2:20 PM
To: micronet-list@lists.berkeley.edu
Subject: [Micronet] RE: WinXP SP2 RTM

David,
Sorry about the delay. I have forwarded your email to my management team
and have requested that we set up a conference call to discuss your
concerns. I am waiting to hear back from them.

I completely understand your concerns since they are the same concerns
from my other higher education customers. The education group at
Microsoft has been trying to get policy changed since our policy does
not address the needs of our higher education customer.

We just released SP2 to manufacturing. The release to the Windows Update
Service will not take place until August 24th therefore end users cannot
download it until then. Please visit
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/winxpsp2/

I do understand that two weeks is a short time for testing SP2. I have
escalated your concerns to management.

Once I hear back from my management team, we will schedule a telephone
call. Thanks for providing the feedback, it does make my job a little
easier when I have customer emails or voicemails to forward to mymanagement team.

Regards,
Taylor

-----Original Message-----
From: David JL Rieger [mailto:drieger@socrates.Berkeley.EDU]
Sent: Wednesday, August 04, 2004 9:34 AM
To: Taylor Kao
Cc: micronet-list@listlink.berkeley.edu; Bright Mail Anti Spam 148
Subject: WinXP SP2 RTM

Good day Taylor,

I left a message with you this morning and am sending this email to you
as
a way of giving you an idea what I would like to discuss with you when
you
return my phone call. I have received a forwarded message from you and
would like to obtain some clarification and offer an observation
regarding
your organization's deployment of your WinXP SP2 binaries.

First, please allow me to say that you and your organization have
graciously demonstrated empathy for your customers in this message. This

represents a positive step to maintaining and, perhaps, growing your
customer base by proactively addressing both security issues as well as
"feeling our pain" of dealing with the innumerable exploits inherent to
complex code and shepherding our user base through the process of
securing
our information infrastructure.

So, thank you.

Speaking as a "unmanaged PC user organization", however, along with the
message of empathy your organization has unfortunately imposed a real
burden on IT organizations and staff. It is inherently misguided to
release
WinXP SP2 into the automatic windows update realm. First, here at UC
Berkeley, those with unmanaged clients are receiving less than 48-hours
to
"educate our users to ignore windows update" (and surely you must
realize
that a lot of the effort expended so far advancing and supporting
Microsoft
products have been educating users to be proactive about updates). I
firmly
believe you must have many unmanaged clients out there.

I am well aware that the easiest solution in popular opinion would be to

leverage our investment in your products by also buying into your Active

Directory model. However by deploying SP2 in this manner, the message
your
organization is sending the messages that it is too expensive NOT to buy

into AD technologies. I am not too sure is a viable strategy for your
organization. Would you not concur with me that actually this seems like
an
efficient way of alienating your current and future clients?

Please allow me to shift this email away from business models for now.

Irrespective of AD penetration in the enterprise within organizations, I
am
induced to believe that you must have plenty of corporate, education and

government customers that have unmanaged computers like myself and some
of
my peers. Would you be inclined to agree with me that your organization
would be far better served by not including SP2 in the automatic update
realm - to give your corporate, education and governmental clients the
opportunity to digest, test and rationally disseminate your better
product?

The approach your organization has adopted will serve only alienate
those
people who make strategic as well as purchasing decisions within this
and
other organizations. Please allow me to gently remind you this approach,

while it is truly to be commended for its advancement of security, also
reinforces a perception of arrogance and greatly increases TCO.

It is this hubris and cost that may very well induce organizations and
decision makers within those organizations to seek alternatives that
offer
more of a win-win value added proposition because those products
incorporate the customer into their strategic thinking and business
generation activities.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to your phone call to hear
your
perspectives.

David Rieger
Information Architect
University of California, Berkeley
510.643.9666

> These views are purely my own and do not necessarily reflect the
views
or opinions of the University of California, peers, or the Regents of
the
University of California.>

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Received on Tue Aug 10 16:31:40 2004