http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=17659
Rumored to be available for download August 5th, Microsoft delayed SP2 again....?
Rumored to be available for download August 5th, Microsoft delayed SP2 again....?
Microsoft pulls XP Service Pack at last moment
No date given for release
By INQUIRER staff: Thursday 05 August 2004, 07:08
SERVICE PACK two for Windows XP was supposed to be released to manufacturing yesterday but Microsoft pulled it at the last moment, without giving a reason for the move.
So far, it hasn't given another date for the release, designed to provide rather more security than previous versions of Windows.
The only thing Microsoft said was that it needed to make sure that Service Pack Two met quality standards.
However, you can only polish a piece of software so much. By introducing additional features and fixing previous bugs, software developers always stand the risk of creating fresh bugs and opening up more holes.
That's particularly true for large pieces of software cobbled together over years and worked on by large numbers of developers. Quality control in such cases is practically impossible. However good XP SP2 is, there are bound to be further fixes needed in the future and other problems introduced.
Microsoft made the decision to concentrate on filling in holes in its premier operating system last year, and that has meant that other projects - future operating systems such as "Longhorn" and a 64-bit version of Windows XP - are also suffering delays. µ