"Affecting all the XP users who have been avoiding or procrastinating about
installing the Windows XP Service Pack 2 upgrade, Microsoft is about to make
the decision for them.

On April 12, Microsoft Corp. is scheduled to turn on its Automatic Update
service, which will deploy the XP Service Pack 2 to all PCs connected to the
Internet regardless of whether corporate IT departments or individual PC
users have prepared for it.

SP2, developed to fix critical security holes and deploy performance
enhancements, was originally released in September 2004. But in response to
customer complaints, Microsoft suspended the automatic deployment for eight
months to give users time to prepare for the upgrade."

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1783476,00.asp

Also see:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...ow/1071076.cms

and

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/20...nt_2797729.htm

Big brother has you.

As this is a computer NG and this is a computer related notice to the forum
users it is not OT. Besides, I will now mention the
word..................BOAT. ;-)

On Thu, 7 Apr 2005 14:10:30 -0400, "JimH" wrote:

"Affecting all the XP users who have been avoiding or procrastinating about
installing the Windows XP Service Pack 2 upgrade, Microsoft is about to make
the decision for them.

On April 12, Microsoft Corp. is scheduled to turn on its Automatic Update
service, which will deploy the XP Service Pack 2 to all PCs connected to the
Internet regardless of whether corporate IT departments or individual PC
users have prepared for it.

SP2, developed to fix critical security holes and deploy performance
enhancements, was originally released in September 2004. But in response to
customer complaints, Microsoft suspended the automatic deployment for eight
months to give users time to prepare for the upgrade."

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1783476,00.asp

Also see:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...ow/1071076.cms

and

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/20...nt_2797729.htm

Big brother has you.

As this is a computer NG and this is a computer related notice to the forum
users it is not OT. Besides, I will now mention the
word..................BOAT. ;-)

I shut off automatic updates long ago.
--
John H

"All decisions are the result of binary thinking."

"John H" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 7 Apr 2005 14:10:30 -0400, "JimH" wrote:

"Affecting all the XP users who have been avoiding or procrastinating
about
installing the Windows XP Service Pack 2 upgrade, Microsoft is about to
make
the decision for them.

On April 12, Microsoft Corp. is scheduled to turn on its Automatic Update
service, which will deploy the XP Service Pack 2 to all PCs connected to
the
Internet regardless of whether corporate IT departments or individual PC
users have prepared for it.

SP2, developed to fix critical security holes and deploy performance
enhancements, was originally released in September 2004. But in response
to
customer complaints, Microsoft suspended the automatic deployment for
eight
months to give users time to prepare for the upgrade."

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1783476,00.asp

Also see:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...ow/1071076.cms

and

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/20...nt_2797729.htm

Big brother has you.

As this is a computer NG and this is a computer related notice to the
forum
users it is not OT. Besides, I will now mention the
word..................BOAT. ;-)

I shut off automatic updates long ago.
--
John H

"All decisions are the result of binary thinking."

Read it again John. You will get it regardless of what your settings are.

On Thu, 7 Apr 2005 15:53:33 -0400, "JimH" wrote:


"John H" wrote in message
.. .
On Thu, 7 Apr 2005 14:10:30 -0400, "JimH" wrote:

"Affecting all the XP users who have been avoiding or procrastinating
about
installing the Windows XP Service Pack 2 upgrade, Microsoft is about to
make
the decision for them.

On April 12, Microsoft Corp. is scheduled to turn on its Automatic Update
service, which will deploy the XP Service Pack 2 to all PCs connected to
the
Internet regardless of whether corporate IT departments or individual PC
users have prepared for it.

SP2, developed to fix critical security holes and deploy performance
enhancements, was originally released in September 2004. But in response
to
customer complaints, Microsoft suspended the automatic deployment for
eight
months to give users time to prepare for the upgrade."

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1783476,00.asp

Also see:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...ow/1071076.cms

and

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/20...nt_2797729.htm

Big brother has you.

As this is a computer NG and this is a computer related notice to the
forum
users it is not OT. Besides, I will now mention the
word..................BOAT. ;-)

I shut off automatic updates long ago.
--
John H

"All decisions are the result of binary thinking."

Read it again John. You will get it regardless of what your settings are.


From your second reference:

"S to shut SP2 block feature Add to Clippings

AGENCIES[ THURSDAY, APRIL 07, 2005 10:06:29 AM]
Sign into earnIndiatimes points
BEIJING: Microsoft will turn off a feature that allows some enterprises to block
the Microsoft will turn off a feature that allows some enterprises to block the
downloading of its Service Pack 2 (SP2) security update for Windows XP
downloading of its Service Pack 2 (SP2) security update for Windows XP.

This move will start from Tuesday, April 12, which means SP2 will be downloaded
automatically to desktop computers that use Windows' Automatic Update feature."

I don't see how they can automatically install anything without the update
service being 'on'. Unless your second site was wrong, they can't.
--
John H

"All decisions are the result of binary thinking."

On Thu, 07 Apr 2005 14:10:30 -0400, JimH wrote:


Big brother has you.

If you feel that way, perhaps it is time to consider another OS. I've
been using Linux for close to 10 years now, and break out in hives, if I
have to use MS. Linux has many Live CDs now, that can let you get a feel
for the system, without having to alter your existing MS system. Just a
thought.

http://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=cd

http://www.linuxiso.org/

Or, my favorite:

http://www.debian.org/distrib/



As this is a computer NG and this is a computer related notice to the
forum users it is not OT. Besides, I will now mention the
word..................BOAT. ;-)

"thunder" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 07 Apr 2005 14:10:30 -0400, JimH wrote:


Big brother has you.

If you feel that way, perhaps it is time to consider another OS. I've
been using Linux for close to 10 years now, and break out in hives, if I
have to use MS. Linux has many Live CDs now, that can let you get a feel
for the system, without having to alter your existing MS system. Just a
thought.

http://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=cd

http://www.linuxiso.org/

Or, my favorite:

http://www.debian.org/distrib/



As this is a computer NG and this is a computer related notice to the
forum users it is not OT. Besides, I will now mention the
word..................BOAT. ;-)


I have heard nothing but good things about Linux. I might try it as a
second operating system.

On Thu, 07 Apr 2005 15:54:30 -0400, JimH wrote:


"thunder" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 07 Apr 2005 14:10:30 -0400, JimH wrote:


Big brother has you.

If you feel that way, perhaps it is time to consider another OS. I've
been using Linux for close to 10 years now, and break out in hives, if I
have to use MS. Linux has many Live CDs now, that can let you get a
feel for the system, without having to alter your existing MS system.
Just a thought.

http://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=cd

http://www.linuxiso.org/

Or, my favorite:

http://www.debian.org/distrib/



As this is a computer NG and this is a computer related notice to the
forum users it is not OT. Besides, I will now mention the
word..................BOAT. ;-)


I have heard nothing but good things about Linux. I might try it as a
second operating system.

Try a Live CD. It will run the system just from CD. You can get a feel
for Linux, without having to alter your system in any way. It's a
comfortable way to taste Linux before taking the plunge.

KDE desktop:

http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=knoppix

Gnome desktop:

http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=gnoppix

Or, sample a bunch of different distros:

http://www.cheapbytes.com/


One of the other advantages of Linux, is variety. There are two major
desktops. Kde somewhat similar to a Windows desktop and Gnome somewhat
different, but still recognizable. Then there are probably dozens of
window managers. Play around a little, I'm sure you can find something
that suits your tastes and computing style.