“The real surprise with Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 isn’t potential compatibility issues, but the mayhem that can occur when SP2 is downloaded onto a system,” Frank J. Ohlhorst and Vincent A. Randazzese report for CRN.
“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.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: For our Windows-only readers, information about smoothly adding a Mac OS X machine to your computing arsenal can be found here.
This does not surprise me at all. I just spent my 4 hour work day (short saturdays, thank God) doing nothing but scanning customer computers for Spyware and Adwave and Viruses, plus answering tech calls for the same. That SP2 causes more problems, I expect our repair load to nearly double when it comes out. *Sigh* I’m glad I have my iBook and my G5 to come home to.
A “release candidate” at that. Not just a beta. When are people gonna learn that Microsoft can not produce valid sofware. Soon, people might start realizing that Windows is simply not “good enough” anymore and will understand that there are alternatives.
This is an important step in the process of updating to the soon to be released longhorn. Microsoft is a leader in the world of cutting edge inovations… and Longhorn will take the computer to the next level of design and function.
sputnik? do you even use a computer?
not even a windows lover’s comments could be anywhere near as brainless as yours.
I think you are typing all this on a dual G5 or a 17inch powerbook.
and I have to say, your sense of sarcasm is excellent.
i get a laugh out of it every time
Dare I say it yet again!…
WHY DO PEOPLE USE WINDOWS?????
FOR GODS SAKE – USE A MAC!
Why on earth do people put up with all this crap from Microsoft???
I’ve just suffered the ignominy of spending 4 and 1/2 hours simply trying to connect the first PC i ever bought to the internet using a wireless connection. (My wife is forced to use a proprietary app that is Windows only. After 1 and 1/2 years of Virtual PC it’s simply too slow on her iBook- plus, owned by MS now!) I own 5 macs, 3 laptops and 2 desktops. Never has it taken more than 15 minutes to open the box, set up the Mac and be online.
Windows is the most counter-intuitive excuse for a user-interface I’ve ever encountered. Even following the so-called “help” prompts force you into a never ending circle of frustration as if the operating system cannot determine what selection you just made. This says nothing about the chintzy, poorly fitted physical aspects of the CPU, monitor, mouse, and especially the keyboard (it must have 3/4 of an inch of travel- Gates must have a deal with physicians treating carpal tunnel syndrome). What a horrible difference from the “Christmas Morning” experience of unpacking an simply touching a new Mac.
No surprise that their “service pack” is nothing but a pathetic band-aid stretched over a gaping hole filled with crap that passes as an OS.
I think I’ll buy a new Mac just for the catharthic effect.
Hey, that’s job security for all of you tech support personnel. So, I thought you would be happy.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” />
“Why on earth do people put up with all this crap from Microsoft???”
Because most are not aware of alternatives. And most of those that are, remain ignorant to the superiority of at least *one* of the alternatives.
Ya, all the geeks should be happy with this news…it’s the Bill Gates full employment system. Without Windows, geeks would be lining the streets with “will work for food” signs. And sleeping in our parks.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” />
on well, if someone asks about macs, let them know.. but if they’re pointing a gun at their own foot and keep firing.. really.. are they worth saving?
I don’t evangelize to my friends, but get little comments in like, “…of course, I don’t get viruses.. it’s a mac” and they acknowledge..
what they DON’T understand is how quickly and easily i was able to decide that my next computer was going to be a mac. I was a little surprised when someone asked me if I was getting a Dell.. it hadn’t even occured to me to spend the same amount of money on something that I wouldn’t even like using… an ugly black dell box that I spend my hard earned money on? No way. Let the bank have those.
solarflare:
Q: “Why on earth do people put up with all this crap from Microsoft???”
A: so we can laugh at them.
I would like to see the following commercial come out on TV for the months leading up to Christmas sales:
[Open on a couple who is depressed and frustated about their performance… reminiscant of a Cialis commercial.]
Announcer: Most couples who purchase Windows have severe performance problems and a lack of satisfaction. But not Bob, he switched over to Apple’s PowerMac G5 and Mac OS X and look at his smile. Even the misses seems to be happier now that they enjoy a safe and virus free life while putting that certain spark back into their home. Do it for you and do it for your family. Switch to Apple products, you’re family will appreciate it.
NOTE: If this ever gets used, I would appreciate one of those new 30″ inch screens Apple LCDs. Like Cialis, I need to see my screen size reach enormous proportions… and it would make my girlfriend very, very happy.
One of these days all these windows users are gonna finally wakeup and Bill Gates will have a lynch mob of 25 billion people with torches knocking on his door!!
I seriously think Microsoft have lost it.
They are concentrating all their efforts on Longhorn and ignoring everything else.
If Longhorn dosn’t work after god knows how many years and billions of $ indevelopment Microsoft will be finished, dead and buried and it won’t matter how much cash they have in the bank or how many people use windows worldwide!
If I had installed this XP patch on a windows machine and had 3 years of family photos stored on it without backup I think I would have put a gun to my head and pressed the trigger!
THANK GOD I USE A MAC!!
Sputznik says: “Microsoft is a leader in the world of cutting edge inovations… and Longhorn will take the computer to the next level of design and function.”
Unfortunatley, it will still be one level below OS X. Bummer if you’re a PC user huh?
I guess Microsoft’s idea of the “next level of design and function” is the blue screen eh Sputnik?
Good old Sputter’s, always ready with a joke.
Seriously, SP2 sounds bad, very bad.
Does anybody else think Windows software should come with a Parental Advisory label on it, cause it’ll make you swear more than any Eminem track ever could!
I think Sputnik’s sarcasm is hilarious, keep it coming…
I hope none of you think Sputnik is actually a real Microsoft evangelist… I mean, come on, people are stupid, but nobody is THAT stupid. He or She has to be an Apple fan who knows exactly what to say to rile up the boards… It’s all just fun. It’s gotta be.
Anybody I’ve ever talked with about they’re Windows PC, talk about it as just a tool to get things done with… I never hear them talk about how cool it is, how fun it is, it’s beautiful design and amazing engineering, and the endless neato things you can do with it… It’s just a tool to write e-mail with, browse the internet, and other basic junk. The whole Sputnik thing has to be a joke. Right?
I heard that if Microsoft’s Longhorn is a total flop, by the time they could subsidize their company to compensate for losses, they would already be bankrupt. What a crazy turn of events that would be…I can see the headlines now.
“The whole Sputnik thing has to be a joke. Right?”
Tumok,
I pray to Jesus, Allah and Vishnu that Sputnik’s posts are a joke, because no human could be so willfully blind. That is, apart from Mac zealots.
I hate articles like this … let them download SP2, I say, and find out for themselves. What then? Another service call? Another total install? The more they get broadsided by events like this the more likely they’ll throw up their arms and surrender. And get that Mac. From my perspective, SP2 can’t get any better….
I thank my lucky stars that I use a Mac. Instead of wasting time reinstalling Windows, I’ve got more time to pursue other interests: according to ron, these include “fudge packing”, “tree hugging” and “throat sausage”. Oh frabjous day!
Apple even put the time and effort in to make the Kernal Panic screen (the mac blue screen of death) to look pretty. The one time it happened to me, i thought ‘gee – that looks nice’. My windows friend was with me at the time and he was amused that even catastrophic mac error messages can be pretty.
All mumbo jumbo nonsense. Most people have no problems with Windows and updates. Buy a decent computer at a reputable store with new high end stuff and stop complaining about Microsoft. If you like OSX, but it. If you like Windows, buy it. Stop playing this war game. Both are fine platforms.
I think it really says something when MS has all those thousands of development employees and Apple has only a few hundred in development and yet Apple is able to put out stable software and hardware, innovate, and fix whatever problems quickly. Has the machine just gotten too big and the wrench is finally working itself deeper into the gears in Redmond? Oh and I agree with Twilightmoon except when it is family or friend.
I think that one thing that is VERY important is that current windows users need to be told what a Paradigm shift OS X is. When we mention Mac, a lot of times they are recalling their own classic experiences from years and years ago.
My mom liked her 2 previous Macs OK, but now that she is on an eMac and OS X she has become a Mac evangelist herself. She can’t believe all the things she can do now because it is so much easier. If you talk to a Windows User and they say “Yeah, I have tried Macs”, make sure you let them know that it now totally different on OS X.