Courtesy of our beta insider, Ditto.
Dear Beta Tester,
Currently, many Hotfixes produced by Windows team already include the dependent binaries. The dependent binaries are picked up from the current service pack even though the dependency binaries might have been introduced in the N-1 (or earlier). Before an update is published, the test team must check the bugs fixed for the dependent binaries in the current service pack. This process increases the risk and time it takes to test the extra payload and reported bugs. This also applies to regular Hotfixes where the customer running the latest service pack is put at the same risk as someone running an older service pack.
The purpose of this tool is to relieve both the test team and the end user of this risk by managing the package dependencies automatically. It will not be released to the Windows Update live site.
We have released four beta versions of updates built with this new binaries dependency technology. They are posted on the Windows Update V4 beta site.
Again, these items will not be released to the live site. Please uninstall the updates after the beta testing is done. Titles are as follows:
- Software Update Dependency Management Tool Beta for Crypto Components (KB835719)
- Software Update Dependency Management Tool Beta for Kernel Components (KB835721)
- Software Update Dependency Management Tool Beta for DS Components (KB835722)
- Software Update Dependency Management Tool Beta for Mobile Components (KB835723)
General testing information is located at the bottom of this mail. More testing information is posted at: http://beta.microsoft.com under Test Cases page (log in with your .NET passport)
These beta items are classified as Critical updates and are available through the Consumer site, Catalog site, and AU. They are offered only to Windows 2000 platforms and apply to English only. Other platform users should verify that this update is not offered to them. We need your help getting a lot of test coverage on these items.
Testing Information
Each item has a list of binaries for you to compare against your system binaries before and after you install. You'll find four sets of binary lists posted on the Test Cases page on the BetaPlace site. Please refer to the lists while you are testing.
Important Note
Before installing any of the four updates, please compare the binary files on your system against those in the list. If the file numbers on your system are equal to or greater than the file numbers on the list, those files won't be updated. If they are less, they will update. · With each scenario, please check the list of binaries to ensure all the files have updated. · Use Add or Remove Programs to uninstall this update before installing each subsequent service pack.
Testing Feedback
- Did the program install correctly?
- Which files are updated? What are the post-install binary file version numbers?
- Does the program work properly?
- What happens upon installation? Did any odd behavior occur after installation?
Our goal with this beta release is to evaluate the performance of the detection and installation segments of this content. The system should not crash after you install this update. Please focus your work on verification of how your system functions before and after the installation of this beta driver content.
The project will run for one month (4/14/2004 to 5/14/2004). We'd like to gather the majority of the data within the next two weeks. Please help us by initiating the beta testing as soon as possible.
The customer experience on the Windows Update site is very important to Microsoft. Your beta testing input has been and will continue to be helpful toward the release of an update package that represents the best of what Microsoft has to offer. If your computer is not running one of these operating systems with the specified hardware configurations, please verify this update is not offered to your system.
Bug Reports
Please include the following information when you submit a bug report:
- For tracking purposes, please include the KB###### in the bug report title for bugs related to the beta contents - (KB######)
- Detailed information and repro steps - Required
- The Windows Update.log file - Required (%WINDIR%\)
- The Luhist.xml file - Required (C:\Program Files\WindowsUpdate\V4)
- The Setupapi.log file - Required (%WINDIR%\)
If you encounter any trouble or have questions while testing this package, please send us feedback via a bug report or the Newsgroup.
Thank you very much!
Windows Update Beta Team
Microsoft on Thursday expanded its program to release proprietary data dialects that are used by its software, providing specifications for its Visio charting application. The software giant will provide documentation and royalty-free licenses for the extensible markup language (XML) schema the diagramming and drawing program uses to describe documents.
The Visio move follows the release late last year of XML schemas for three of the main applications in its Office System line: the Excel spreadsheet and InfoPath electronic forms programs, and the word processor, Word.
The crush of millions of Windows users trying to patch their computers overwhelmed Microsoft's update service for several hours after new security fixes were made available, the software giant acknowledged on Wednesday.
Immediately after Tuesday's release of four patches that fixed a score of flaws in the company's operating system, traffic to Microsoft's Windows Update site spiked higher than seen during any previous update, reaching a sustained download rate of more then 50GB per second. Past patches have resulted in 2 million people visiting Microsoft's Windows Update site every hour to download fixes. This time, between 3 million and 4 million users came to the site.
In settling a number of lawsuits, Microsoft is trying to paint itself as a better corporate citizen and to minimize the costs and distractions of its seemingly endless legal battles. Since last year, Microsoft has said it wants to settle antitrust lawsuits if it can do so on what it sees as reasonable terms.
In adopting a less confrontational posture, Microsoft might appear to run the risk of becoming a corporate pinata stuffed with nearly $60 billion, with a long line of litigious competitors waiting to take a whack. Already about 30 patent lawsuits are pending against the company, as well as a score of antitrust cases filed by governments, competitors and private class-action attorneys.
Massachusetts, the lone state left standing among the so-called nonsettling states from Microsoft's US antitrust trial, this week again raised concerns that the software giant has been undeterred by its consent decree. In a filing with the US District Court for the District of Columbia this week, Massachusetts attorney general Thomas Reilly said that Microsoft's November 2002 consent decree with the US government had no restored competition, and thus wasn't working. He also noted that the state was continuing its investigation into Microsoft's search engine moves, in a bid to stop the company from killing Google.com, as it has with countless other competitors, including Netscape in the late 1990's.
Will Microsoft step up its server capacity to meet increasingly heavy user demand for its monthly patches? So what's the problem? Too many users hitting too few servers. The result? Problems connecting to Microsoft's Windows Update site, where the downloadable patches reside.
"Now that more people are aware that updates are due on the second Tuesday . I'm seeing what I thought would happen...Denial of service of Windows Update from their own customers," said one Microsoft customer, systems engineer Rafael Cappas.
RealNetworks made a direct appeal last week to Apple Computer, its Internet music rival, suggesting that the two companies form a common front against Microsoft in the digital music business.
The offer to create a "tactical alliance" was made Friday by Rob Glaser, chief executive of RealNetworks, the Seattle-based Internet music and video service, in an e-mail message to Steve Jobs, Apple's chairman.
The European Commission (EC) said on Thursday that it has paused its antitrust investigation into Oracle's bid to buy rival PeopleSoft because it is seeking more information from Oracle.
The Commission decided to suspend the review on Wednesday, according to an EC spokeswoman for competition issues. A decision on the proposed buy was expected on May 11 but no new deadline has been set to replace it, she said. The EC has requested information on Oracle's market position in human resources and financial management software, the spokeswoman said.
Microsoft on Thursday announced it has released documentation that allows corporate and third-party developers to take full advantage of the XML-based schemas, called DatadiagramML, in its Office Visio diagramming tool.
The move will make it significantly easier for users to access information residing in their Visio diagrams and to share that information with server-based CRM and ERP applications from companies such as SAP and PeopleSoft. This makes it easier for corporate users to integrate that data into their core business processes, company officials believe.
Responding to criticism from U.S. antitrust regulators, Microsoft has extended a program that lets third parties license its Windows communications protocols to cover a broader range of systems.
The licensing program, called the Microsoft Communications Protocol Program (MCPP), now covers use of the protocols for certain server-to-server and server-to-non Windows client communications, according to a filing made with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Wednesday. The type of communications were not specified in the filing.