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FYI: Windows XP SP1 support ends on October 10, 2006

This from the Microsoft support pages on Windows XP SP1 support ending.

 

If you haven’t updated your system to Windows XP SP2, it’s a must have.

 



Final customer notifications about the end of Windows XP SP1 and SP1a support

Support for Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1) and Service Pack 1a (SP1a) ends on October 10, 2006. Microsoft will end support on this date. This also includes security updates for these service packs. Microsoft is providing final notifications to customers regarding the end of support for these products.


Microsoft is ending support for these products as part of the Microsoft Support Lifecycle Service Pack support policy. We recommend that customers who are still running Windows XP SP1 or SP1a upgrade to Windows XP Service Pack 2 as soon as possible.


To determine whether you are running Windows XP SP1, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties. If “Service Pack 1” appears under System, you are running Windows XP SP1. We do not recommend that you install SP1a if you are already running SP1. We recommend that you install Windows XP SP2 if you are running Windows XP SP1 or SP1a.


Key dates:



  • Windows XP SP2 was released on September 17, 2004. According to the Microsoft Support Lifecycle Service Pack policy, Microsoft provided 24 months of support for Windows XP SP1 following the Windows XP SP2 release.
  • The original support end date for Windows XP SP1 was September 17, 2006.
  • In January 2006, Microsoft announced an adjustment to the Microsoft Support Lifecycle expiration dates, moving the end of support date for Windows XP SP1 to October 10, 2006. Details about this announcement can be found at http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifean17/.

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Huh? Mary Jo Foley quotes corporate user: “Vista will NEVER run on a $1000 PC”

Mary Jo Foley has an article on eweek today



“I think Microsoft may have a tougher time making the business upgrade case than the home one for Vista. Here’s why. One enterprise user, who asked not to be named, recently posed an interesting question to me (via instant messaging), regarding how Microsoft is expecting to make a business case for Vista.



MR. Biz: how are they going to make a business case for Vista?
MJF: that’s a good question…. I’m not really sure
MR. Biz: no matter how much tweaking MS does, it’s still not going to solve the resource requirements issue
MR. Biz: vista will NEVER run on a $1000 PC


Really?


One of our family members just priced a new laptop with a decent processor, >100GB HDD, memory configuration and graphics system that is touted as “Windows Vista Capable” for under $800. (OK, the price included a special $200 “coupon” promoted on the company’s web site.) When I looked today on a couple of major build to order OEM sites, I found “Windows Vista Capable” desktops starting at around $499: that took all of a few minutes to find as they systems are pre-configured.


At home, I have a system I built for, I’m guessing, under $400 that will run Vista.


IMHO, where’s the moderating comment from Mary Jo that calls this out? (All comments on the blog are my own.)


See also…


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Test your Internet Connection Speed on MSN

MSN Tech & Gadgets (in conjunction with CNET) has a page set to test your internet connection on CNET’s Bandwidth Meter.


Go to http://tech.msn.com/products/speedtest.aspx


You can take the speed test and see just how fast your Internet connection is. Mine tests as better than a Full T1 by 5Kbps. ; )