The statement made by Rudi Larno that vendors should make fixes is ludicrus, umm the product worked before your SP2 fix so therefore its not the vendors fault but microsofts, I mean come on imagine going and getting an upgrade to your car from the manufacturer and when they are done your car stereo no longer works so you go to Chrysler or whomever and they say not our problem call the manufacturer of your stereo. UMMMMMM no you made it stop working now you fix it!
Or is this all part of the big computer scam so we have to purchase upgrades for all our already too expensive software.
I say with answers like that once again technology specialist's are proving they are out of touch with reality and spend far too much time in front of the old monitor, radiation has effected there brains!

In the example of the car, suppose the auto upgrade was a new engine that required higher octane fuel, would you complain you could no longer use regular?

And why did the software program stop working. Perhaps the program broken by a Microsoft change was because it didn't use Windows operating system as it was designed. Plenty of software has been shown to use obscure undocumented windows behavior and gotten away with it.

But, if that behavior indicates a security that lets 'bad guys' hack into a system, and a software vendor is using the very same hole, what choice did they have?

By Adam R.'s logic, every application that ran on DOS but does not run under Windows is, therefore, evidence of Microsoft's incompetence. Bushwah.

Using Adam's analogy, it is quite likely that a poorly a cheaply designed car stereo could cause wiring probelms for your car, especially if you want to move it into a newer model of the same car.

Lets face it, comsumer computing has been available for what argueably less than 20 years now? Welcome to the autoindustry 1927.

Now lets talk about stereo compatability.

why bother with winDoze at all? linux has everything windoze has and much much more- with nothing more to buy- ever.

i'd recommend any competent computer user that's interested in breaking free from the evil empire try knoppix today. knoppix is a version of linux, that boots from the cd- ie you can have a 'brand new computer' without installing anything!

then if you like it, you can install to hard drive and have a dual-boot system. ie- you can always boot up to windows when necessary, in a few months you may find yourself deleting windows altogether as it's just taking up space ;-)

a knoppix hd install turns into debian linux.... with 8000+ packages of free software to install- there are a few tips and tricks you'll need, but once it's setup, you are good to go for months and months without a single 'freeze' or reboot!

windows.... why????
roflmao

I can tell you that after installing the ENTIRE 200+ mb sp2, I'm underwhelmed. the pop up blocker worked for aprox 48 hrs. i am getting new bugs and perhaps more adware. i reinstalled zone alarm to compensate. i keep checking for new updates but alas....

good thing i installed sp2 before my clients!

Shouldn't it be the software's job to conform with the OS, and not the other way around? From what I know, there's only a few versions of WinXP and a few million programs that are supposed to run on XP. It seems futile to me for anyone to think MS can code its OS around all existing software.

SP2 for Windows Xp finally adds things that have been sorely lacking for over a year. Pop-up blockers are essiential for today's web environment. Having to work with both win/tel and Mac systems I find it annoying to deal with the multitude of pop-ups on the Windows side. Yes - you can get 3rd party 'software' to block pop-ups and some of it is pretty good (I do like the google bar) but much is adware and even the good 3rd party stuff can cause problems (office payroll management system :() So hopefully Microsoft will give its users some peace of mind. Then again - this is Microsoft we are talking about. They have been talking 'trusted computing' for nearly two years. I am sure MS has a long way to go before it really delivers.

Microsoft may have made some ground with respects to other systems, browsers, etc... but I would rather go with Linux or Mac OS X. While they are not perfect, the non Windows are seem a whole lot better.

For any agency - government, corporate or private - to trust their mission critical data to a Microsoft system, well I think this borders on reckless endagerment.

real world: The client wants the machine to work! The tech wants to go home. The software people like to blame each other. The hardware folks want to blame each other. The client wants to blame somebody. I'm standing there.

I keep letting my workstation tell microsoft every time that it freaks out. if they make it work, i'll be happy until it breaks again.

Adam R.'s logic is fine. DOS and Windows were two different operating systems. *Most DOS applications worked under windows. SP2 is a "Service" pack, not a new OS.

The only application that uses *security holes for functionality that I know of has been Internet Explorer. Most of these apps are failing because of Bill's descision to boot up with a full port blocking fire wall. Mcafee did the same thing with their security suite.
Lack of understanding for their customers needs compared to customer ability is what makes microsoft a bumbling giant. Watch out for those big feet.

Jim

XP SP2 is just what we've been waiting for. With all the problems it is causing our department finally has the go-ahead from our 'C-level" executives to start on an official company pilot project that will culminate with migrating the majority of our employees in our offices worldwide to a non-Microsoft operating system. It may be Linux or may even be Macintosh. We are certainly looking at several options. Even our corporate security team is involved. The days of remitting license fees to Microsoft are now numbered.

Sticking with the car analogy... lets say Microsoft makes automobiles. One day, MS realizes they forgot to put locks on the doors of the cars they produce.

Now, MS being the good folks that they are, decide to recall their product to install locks in the cars they have sold.

So, Mrs. Jones picks up her newly secured Microsoft-wagon, drives out of the shop and gets creamed head-on by a teenager driving to fast. A glitch in MS's new door locks causes the airbag to fail to deploy and Mrs. Jones is killed in the accident.

Who is at fault???

It's refreshing to hear all of these acid comments. Music to to the ears of this 73 year old novice (one year)to computers who's fed up with techno-babble from supposedly helpful manufacturer's sources. Thanks to all of you. (signed) Charlie Griffith.

i'll tell you who is at fault, the tech! mostly because the client has a nephew who is 12.5 yrs old and is a "computer whiz" who says that it should work.

i believe that mac os and unix are great, but my clients use windows.

just remember, we could all be using win 9x!

This is one Windows XP user that will NOT be downloading Microsofts latest "fix". I want to have a choice whether or not I want every items on SP2s plate. For instance I much prefer another Firewall to Microsoft's.
Maybe if an when they give me and other users options will I download the program on my laptop and desk top computers.
Arthur Mometer

This is one Windows XP user that will NOT be downloading Microsofts latest "fix". I want to have a choice whether or not I want every items on SP2s plate. For instance I much prefer another Firewall to Microsoft's.
Maybe if an when they give me and other users options will I download the program on my laptop and desk top computers.
Arthur Mometer

Given the low IQ of Microsoft sychophants and quislings, they deserve the OS whose teat they suck at. The rest of us are forced into this because of software not yet available with Linux.

Given that of the 200 Software products listed(and Growing) that can fail under the new XP service pack, are such wonders as XP Office, ( as well as MS Office products), you will forgive for considering this another of Mr Gates arrogant blunders. He creates an OS, people have to upgrade their software and peripherals to survive with , and then because OS is so defective, a fix is made that renders expensive upgraded software inoperative, including MR Gates's inflated ware, and then we are supposed to blame whom?

Obnviously none of you MS Sychophants are programmers, because none of you can follow any line of logic, unless that is, you are yourselves the producers of this heavyweight schlock employed by MS... That would explain the defensiveness of the indefensible

Given the low IQ of Microsoft sychophants and quislings, they deserve the OS whose teat they suck at. The rest of us are forced into this because of software not yet available with Linux.

Given that of the 200 Software products listed(and Growing) that can fail under the new XP service pack, are such wonders as XP Office, ( as well as MS Office products), you will forgive for considering this another of Mr Gates arrogant blunders. He creates an OS, people have to upgrade their software and peripherals to survive with , and then because OS is so defective, a fix is made that renders expensive upgraded software inoperative, including MR Gates's inflated ware, and then we are supposed to blame whom?

Obnviously none of you MS Sychophants are programmers, because none of you can follow any line of logic, unless that is, you are yourselves the producers of this heavyweight schlock employed by MS... That would explain the defensiveness of the indefensible

wow ty, i guess you covered everything pretty succinctly there.
thanks for clearing all that up.

Few manufacturers warranty that after-market products will be compatible ever, let alone indefinitely.

Yep, Microsoft created an open OS that *was* easy to write for. Their mistake. The unintended consequences of that decision are now plain for all to see. Fixing the problem won't be simple or cost free.

As to user who won't be using SP2 because they don't want to accept all of its features, the choice of course is yours. But you should know the SP2 doesn't require you to use MS's firewall. You may turn it off anytime.

It seems that all the conflicts with applications result from the Windows firewall. Since almost all advanced users have licenses for third party firewalls without these conflicts, isn't basic solution to turn off the new Windows firewall. The idea was to provide firewall protection for users without it, not to substitute the Windows product for products that have proven effectiveness and system compatibility.

It seems that all the conflicts with applications result from the Windows firewall. Since almost all advanced users have licenses for third party firewalls without these conflicts, isn't basic solution to turn off the new Windows firewall. The idea was to provide firewall protection for users without it, not to substitute the Windows product for products that have proven effectiveness and system compatibility.

Arthur Mometer:
SP2 defaults the firewall to "on", but you can switch it off if you want. Also, most major 3rd party firewall companies have released a patch that overrides Windows' firewall for its own (Norton Firewall for example).

re steven r diamond post: canon multipass f50 no longer loads after sp2 installation with winxp firewall off. it behaved perfectly before sp2 with a software firewall and resumed loading after uninstallation of sp2. some hardware/software vendors have deeper problems than others and should be strongly encouraged to supply fixes . the alternative is a hobson's choice: either gibve up your perfectly good all in one or forego sp2 security upgrades.

microsoft need to check more weakness spot the sp2 won't damage system and test sp2 hundred time so not effect everything