Microsoft will not release a second service pack for
Windows XP until the second half of next year, giving users more
responsibility for applying individual patches and
updates.
Service packs roll in all the security fixes and driver updates
issued since the release of a product or of a previous service
pack. They are intended for customers who do not apply all the
updates as they are released, either because they prefer to do
maintenance on their own schedule or because they are too lazy or
busy to keep up with the stream of updates.
Windows XP was released in October 2001. Service Pack 1 followed
less than a year later on September, 2002. Despite several
high-profile security vulnerabilities, Microsoft is leaving a
two-year gap between the first and the second service pack, which
is planned for the third quarter of 2004, the company said last
week.
"That does seem a long time to wait, given what just happened
this week with Blaster and given the number of patches that are
already out for Windows XP," said Michael Cherry, a lead analyst
with Directions on Microsoft.
Some users prefer service packs over individual patches because
the bundles have been more thoroughly tested. There have been
several instances in which Microsoft has had to pull security
patches because they wreaked havoc on users' computers.
"Patches have to be released in a very time-responsive manner
and are tested to a lesser degree than a service pack. You
certainly don't expect a service pack to ever be pulled," said
Cherry.
However, the service pack delay does not have to mean a crisis
for users, according to Jupiter Research analyst Joe Wilcox.
"Businesses will have to take more aggressive responsibility to use
the tools and information Microsoft provides to ease patch
management woes."
On its Windows Service Pack roadmap page on the web, Microsoft
also announced that the first service pack for Windows Server 2003
should be out in the first quarter of 2004, almost a year after the
initial product release in April.
No release date was set for a Windows 2000 service pack, and no
further update packs are planned for Windows NT Workstation or
Windows NT Server 4.
The roadmap, which replaces a Windows desktop service pack
roadmap issued by Microsoft last year, is online at:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/lifecycle/servicepacks.mspx
The Jupiter Research Microsoft Monitor Web log is at
http://www.microsoftmonitor.com/
Joris Evers writes for IDG News Service