, 2004-07-08
Microsoft should make SP2 available to all users and backport the changes to older operating systems, or they risk putting profits ahead of security yet again.
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Microsoft's responsibilities....
2004-07-12
Anonymous (4 replies)
Anonymous (4 replies)
Should Microsoft back port security updates to legal users of say Windows 2000 (a.k.a. Win 5.0) and not just Windows XP (a.k.a. Win 5.1)?
Of course. To use the overworked car analogy, it would be as if all post 1999 Ford Explorers were discovered to have certain tires that had a tendency to explode while driving and the Ford dealer telling you that the only way they'd replace it is if you bought a 2004 model Explorer.
With cars, you could always go to someone else to get your tires replaced. Using Windows it's more like the following;
It has recently been discovered that the radio installed in Ford Explorers may cause the car to operate erratically, accelerate or decelerate arbitrarily, steer the occupants to destinations not of their choosing, or cause the vehicle to explode without warning. Ford has stated the the stock radio is an integral part of the engine and cannot be removed or tampered with. Disabling the radio will cause the engine not to start. Some owners have started to carry a portable radio believing that if they never turn on the installed radio it will make them safer. Unfortunately the radio (a.k.a. Internet Explorer), being such an integral part of the Ford Explorer experience is never completely off. Even when the user turns the radio off it is still capable of causing all of the above mentioned woes.
Ford has recently announced that it is about to release
"service pack 2" (I bet you weren't even aware of service pack 1 were you?) for the 2004 model year Explorer, that it claims is a vast improvement, correcting many of the radio induces problems, as well as other problems with the brakes, windshield wipers, and cigarette lighter. When asked if this "fix" would be made available to owners of previous Explorer models, the Ford spokesman was quoted as saying that Ford believed if users wanted to be driving a safe car then they should "upgrade" to the current model year. After all Ford can't be spending money supporting people who are driving 3 and 4 year old cars, now can they?
Just my $0.02 (Canadian, before taxes)
someone247356
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Link to this comment: http://www.securityfocus.com/comments/columns/254/27457#27457