Yes, we want a la carte fixes for security holes. The problem with a mega-patch like XP SP1 is that it changes so much. It may introduce new bugs and security holes, or may just change things so that other software suddenly doesn't work or requires updates. To an admin responsible for systems that _must_ be running for the business to function, that's the stuff of nightmares. Even for a home user, it's something to be avoided. A patch targeted at a specific bug or security hole, OTOH, is much less likely to break large portions of the system, be incompatible with existing software or introduce new bugs and holes.

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