Microsoft has revised its plans to deliver Windows XP SP2 through
the Automatic Updates (AU) delivery mechanism in Windows to give
customers more time to plan the rollout of this critical update, or
temporarily block the download of Windows XP SP2 to those machines
using AU. Here is the revised delivery schedule of Windows XP SP2:
8/16 - Release to Software Update Services. 8/18 - Release to
Automatic Update for users running Windows XP Home…
Grok Headline matches for Windows XP Delivery Schedule
Executable to Temporarily Block Delivery of Windows XP SP2 to a PC Through Automatic Updates and Windows Update
Executable to Temporarily Block Delivery of Windows XP SP2 to a PC Through Automatic Updates and Windows Update08/11/2004 01:18 AM This Microsoft signed executable creates the registry value and sets
the associated value that temporarily blocks the delivery Windows XP
SP2 to the system via Automatic Updates (AU) or Windows Update (WU).
The key used is
HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate. The executable
creates the key value name ‘DoNotAllowXPSP2’ and sets its value to
‘1’
Please note that the executable has been tested only as a command-line
tool and not in conjunction with other systems management tools or
remote execution mechanisms.
Executable to Un-block Delivery of Windows XP SP2 to a PC Through Automatic Updates and Windows Update
Executable to Un-block Delivery of Windows XP SP2 to a PC Through Automatic Updates and Windows Update08/11/2004 01:18 AM This Microsoft signed executable removes the previously created
registry value that temporarily blocked the delivery Windows XP SP2 to
the system via Automatic Updates (AU) or Windows Update (WU). If the
value does not exist on the system when it is run, no action is taken.
Please note that the executable has been tested only as a command-line
tool and not in conjunction with other systems management tools or
remote execution mechanisms
Toolkit to Temporarily Block Delivery of Windows XP SP2 to a PC Through Automatic Updates and Windows
Toolkit to Temporarily Block Delivery of Windows XP SP2 to a PC Through Automatic Updates and Windows08/11/2004 01:18 AM While recognizing the security benefits of Windows XP SP2, some
organizations have requested the ability to temporarily disable
delivery of this update via Automatic Updates (AU) and Windows Update
(WU). These organizations have populations of PCs, upon which they
have enabled AU. This is done to ensure that these PCs receive all
critical security updates. Since SP2 will start to be delivered to PCs
running Windows XP or Windows XP with SP1 via AU starting on August
16, these customers would like to temporarily block the delivery of
SP2 in order to provide additional time for validation and testing of
the update. In response to these requests, Microsoft is providing this
set of tools.
Please note that the mechanism to temporarily disable delivery of
Windows XP SP2 will be available for a period of 120 days (4 months)
from August 16. At the end of this period, Windows XP SP2 will be
delivered to all Windows XP and Windows XP Service Pack 1 systems.
"As you know, Microsoft recently released Windows XP Service Pack
2 (SP2) to manufacturing on Friday, August 6, 2004. You may also know
that Microsoft will deliver Windows XP SP2 through the Automatic
Update delivery mechanism in Windows as a critical update. This
process began on Tuesday, August 10.
Since some of our customers, such as your organization, utilize
Automatic Update for a collection of your PC’s, and since your
organization may not yet be prepared to deploy Windows XP SP2 onto
those machines, we recently made available a mechanism for temporarily
blocking the download of Windows XP SP2 to those machines using
Automatic Update. Last week, we received feedback from our corporate
customers that they would like more time to put this temporary
blocking mechanism into place. Based on that feedback, we have
altered the delivery schedule of Windows XP SP2. The machines in your
organization using Automatic Update will not receive Windows XP SP2
until Wednesday, August 25 – at the earliest – as long as those
machines are running Windows XP Professional Edition.
Here is a summary of the altered delivery schedule for Windows XP SP2:
8/6 - Release to manufacturing
8/9 - Release to Microsoft Download Center (full network
installation package)
Release to MSDN subscription site (CD ISO image)
8/10 - Release to Automatic Update (for machines running
pre-release versions of Windows XP SP2 only)
8/16 - Release to Software Update Services
8/18 - Release to Automatic Update for users running Windows XP
Home Edition only
8/25 - Release to Automatic Update for all Windows XP users
including those running Windows XP Professional Edition
Release to Windows Update for interactive user
installations
“While recognizing the security benefits of Windows XP SP2,
some organizations have requested the ability to temporarily disable
delivery of this update via Automatic Updates (AU) and Windows Update
(WU). In response to these requests, Microsoft is providing this set
of tools.” Recommended for corporate environments in which XPSP2
might break applications. Use it to install SP2 on *your* terms, not
Microsoft’s….
Toolkit to Temporarily Block Delivery of Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1
Toolkit to Temporarily Block Delivery of Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 106/22/2005 02:52 AM A blocking tool is available for organizations that have AU enabled on
their servers to ensure prompt delivery of critical updates, but would
like to temporarily disable delivery of the Windows Server 2003 SP1
automatic update through AU that is set to take place starting July
26, 2005.
The blocking tool will also prevent the Windows Server 2003 SP1 from
being offered through Windows Update and Microsoft Update.
Please note that the mechanism to temporarily disable delivery of
Windows Server 2003 SP1 will be available till March 30, 2006. At the
end of this period, Windows Server 2003 SP1 will be delivered to all
Windows Server 2003 servers.
Genetronics and Merck Sign Licensing Agreement for MedPulser(R) DNA Delivery System to Support DNA Vaccine Delivery
Critical Update for Windows Media Player (All Versions) for Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 (KB828026)
Critical Update for Windows Media Player (All Versions) for Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 (KB828026)02/11/2004 01:19 AM When a content owner creates an audio or video stream, they can add
script commands (such as URL script commands and custom script
commands) to be encoded in the stream. When the stream is played back,
the script commands can trigger events in an embedded player program,
or they can open your browser and then navigate to a Web page. This
behavior is by design
Windows Media Player (All Versions) for Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 (KB832353)
Windows Media Player (All Versions) for Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 (KB832353)04/22/2004 01:20 AM After applying the Update for Windows Media Player Script Commands
(KB828026), some URL script commands do not fire even though they
would be expected to do so. In addition to the URL script command
issues, this package addresses an issue with the installer that would
cause 100% CPU utilization in certain scenarios.
Who Needs A TV Schedule?
Who Needs A TV Schedule?05/24/2004 03:05 AM This won't be news to anyone with a digital video recorder like a
TiVo, but people are beginning to wake up to the idea that TV schedules won't mean much in the future.
With the combination of a TiVo-style home server system, and the
ability to download any television program you might ever want to see,
the future of television is much more about watching what you want,
when you want, than many people expected. While the idea of "video on
demand" has been around for years - many TV execs expected it to all
be centrally run, and the rise of TiVo-like systems took them by
surprise. It may not be that long until the only thing that really
requires a "TV schedule" will be live events where some people just
can't handle not seeing them live - such as sporting events or awards
shows. However, even then, many people will be perfectly happy
catching up later. News events are a bit trickier to predict, but the
nightly news roundup makes less and less sense when everyone is
getting their news in real-time via the internet already.
NTSC-J, PAL, and SECAM TV Tuner Hotfix for DirectX 9.0b on Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 (KB825116)
NTSC-J, PAL, and SECAM TV Tuner Hotfix for DirectX 9.0b on Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 (KB825116)11/04/2003 11:37 PM DirectX 9.0b was released on 7/23/03 to address the MIDI security
issue identified in bulletin MS03-030. A small number of non-security
fixes were also included in the release. One of these fixes caused
several TV Tuner capture card/driver combinations using video formats
other than NTSC (NTSC-J, PAL, SECAM) to no longer initialize correctly
on Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003. Symptoms include
loss of capture functionality and potential inability to set/retain
device capture settings. This hotfix, documented further in Knowledge
Base article 825116, has been issued to correct the flaw.
11-04-03 update: The English hotfix package has been modified to allow
patching of all language installations supported by the affected
Operating Systems.
Actual Windows Manager v. 2.6 Turns the Classic Windows Formula Upside-Down and Offers a Much Better Way of Working with Windows
Actual Windows Manager v. 2.6 Turns the Classic Windows Formula Upside-Down and Offers a Much Better Way of Working with Windows05/31/2004 02:00 PM Actual Tools announced today the release of version 2.6 of Actual
Windows Manager, a revolutionary windows enhancement application for
Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP. The program dramatically expands Windows
functionality and introduces a new window control system, more native
to human perception. Actual Tools team of software developers and
cognitive analysts tried to bring to life the alternative desktop
organization and control concept with the ultimate goal of creating a
truly anthropocentric computer environment. [PRWEB May 26, 2004]
Hasbro's Schedule07/25/2004 04:07 PM Just got word from our rebelscum reporters in the field at San Diego
Comic Con that they have been informed by Hasbro that they will not be
at Wizard World in Chicago later this summer. So if you had plans on
going just for that, might as well stay home and save your time and
money.
.Mac Maintenance Schedule03/13/2003 10:16 AM Apple has announced .Mac maintenance which will affect .Mac services.
According to the .Mac website:
"All .Mac web-based services will be down for maintenance from 1:00 am
to 2:00 am PST on March 1, 2003. This will affect the .Mac website
and the .Mac related features of our client applications (like iPhoto,
Mac Slides Publisher, Backup, iCal and iSync).
"iDisk, client-based Mail (IMAP and POP) will be unaffected. Published
HomePages will will still be available, but they will not display
counters and password protected and FileSharing pages will be
unavailable."
Work Schedule03/11/2003 01:22 AM Working 5 7s is much fun. Extra hour to goof off!
Save 30% on Schedule-It 1.0
Save 30% on Schedule-It 1.003/22/2005 05:05 PM Acutus Trading today announced that Schedule-It,
desktop automation software for Mac OS X, has been reduced in price by
30%. Schedule-It is immediately available for US $6.79, reduced from
US $8.89.
Schedule-It is a small desktop application that automates the way you
use your Mac. Automatically open documents, launch applications, play
iTunes playlists and set alarms using an easy-to-set schedule. Easily
set multiple events for weekdays, weekends, individual days or any
combination thereof. Schedule-It is available for download and
evaluation prior to purchasing. Activation codes are available from the Kagi Store.
Busy Schedule
Busy Schedule05/16/2004 05:49 PM I have been very busy the last couple of days thus a minor slow down
in posting. Will be back...
My Blogging Schedule01/22/2004 02:11 AM I'm focused on finishing my book at the moment, so if you notice a
reduction in blog postings here it's not your imagination.
Schedule has been Busy11/13/2003 01:52 AM Apologize for my absence the job that puts food on the table has kept
me pretty busy.....
Personal note - my schedule
Personal note - my schedule03/13/2003 10:25 AM I apologize for not posting much here lately. We're getting down to
crunch time on the Mac version of A
bsoluteTrack, so I've been tied up with that.
Expect an announcement here when we release it soon :)
Fedora Core 2 Schedule Up
Fedora Core 2 Schedule Up12/18/2003 07:24 PM An anonymous reader writes "The Fedora website has posted a schedule
for their second release. " Now that the 2.6 Kernel is out, I imagine
all the major ...
Actual marketshare of Firefox is less than the 17.7% because this
statistic does not
distinguish between Mozilla and Firefox. My guestimate for
actual Firefox marketshare
is 12~14%.
News source: 