Service Pack 2 (SP2) is a cumulative service pack that includes Service Pack 1 (SP1) functionality in addition to fixes for server issues that were previously available as Microsoft Quick Fix Engineering (QFE) patches. SP2 also includes a number of feature enhancements and utility updates.
You should download and install on all servers running Exchange 2000. Exchange 2000 SP2 does not require an update to the Microsoft Active Directory schema, except for the Lotus Notes and Novell GroupWise Calendar Connectors that can be installed through a separate installation program. For a complete list of QFE patches that are included in SP2, see article Q311456, "Exchange SP2 Release Notes," in the Microsoft Knowledge Base.
Microsoft on Thursday will call out its big gun, Chairman Bill Gates, to pitch a select group of European advertising executives on the software titan's ambitious online media efforts. In its evolving strategy to overtake America Online as the global online media leader, Microsoft has been forging closer ties with the advertising decision makers just as the industry is experiencing the worst ad slump in recent memory.
Despite the downturn, the software giant remains committed to a new two-pronged initiative: Market its .Net markup language technology for designing online advertisements to ad agencies, then sell them space for ads on its MSN Internet service and across its Web sites.
Microsoft issued an update Wednesday for its widely used Exchange Server 2000 e-mail system, with new features for Outlook and administrative tools for managers of the software. Microsoft occasionally updates its software with so-called service packs that are intended to plug holes in software or otherwise offer small improvements on an ongoing basis.
New features for Outlook include additional views for the Web-based version of the e-mail program's calendar feature and support for pop-up window reminders for things like meetings. For network administrators, Microsoft has added new migration tools, improved communication with the company's Active Directory technology, and implemented better e-mail message tracking.
They just do not know when to quit, idiots
A group of nine states plans to propose stiff sanctions against Microsoft that could include further opening the Windows source code and could extend to technologies not directly covered by the landmark antitrust case, sources say.
The remedy, if accepted, could go well beyond last month's settlement between the company and the government, which includes the Justice Department and half the states that were co-plaintiffs with the federal agency.
Microsoft recently has made a number of gains in the antitrust cases against it. Less than three weeks after reaching its settlement with the Justice Department, it cut a deal that would dismiss more than 100 private class-action antitrust cases with donations to public schools valued as high as $1 billion. In both the federal and private cases, the proposed settlements still have to be approved by a judge.
A malicious new computer virus is making the rounds this week, just a week after the W32/BadTrans-B propagated through the Inboxes of unsuspecting users. And like last week's outbreak, the new worm, dubbed Goner, is targeted at unsophisticated Outlook users who lack basic security knowledge. But Goner is a bit more nefarious than other worms, as it deletes files on the user's computer, including those that might otherwise protect the system from attack. By some estimates, there are already hundreds of thousands of infected machines out there, a number that is expected to grow as the week progresses.
Microsoft MSFT.O, the world's leading software maker, is preparing to launch a new web applications platform called Visual Studio.NET early next year, Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates said on Wednesday. "The product is in its final stages and will be officially released within the next 30 days," Gates said at a Microsoft forum for software developers held in Prague. The company's Web site says the product will be launched February 13 in San Francisco. Microsoft is hoping its new platform, open for other software firms, will bring businesses huge time and cost savings.
MicronPC has leapt back into the server fray, announcing Tuesday a machine designed for storing and sharing files inside small and medium-sized businesses and government organizations. The new Pentium III-based NetFrame 3500 will be capable of housing up to two 1GHz Pentium III chips, 4GB of synchronous dynamic RAM, and up to 720GB of storage space, divided into 10 hard drives, the PC maker said. MicronPC previously offered servers under a contract deal with Hewlett-Packard. HP manufactured the servers, which were sold under the NetServer brand name.
AT&T on Tuesday withdrew its $307 million bid to purchase the cable assets of Excite@Home. As earlier reported, the move essentially snuffs the brightest star of the late 1990s Internet stock boom and means the transfer of millions of customers of the 3-year-old broadband network to established cable companies.
"Excite@Home will be moving from an asset purchase with AT&T to transitioning services" to the cable companies with which Excite@Home partnered, a source close to the broadband company said.
AT&T, which controls a 79 percent voting interest in Excite@Home, had been the only bidder for its assets since Excite@Home declared bankruptcy Oct. 1.
The software giant Microsoft and Spanish-language telecommunications multinational Telefonica have agreed to develop technological and commercial initiatives jointly, the companies said Tuesday. The agreement will allow Microsoft to use Telefonica communication services in its countries of operation as well as improve Telefonica's information systems, the companies said in a statement.
The companies said they would also develop wireless services, such as one that would allow Hotmail users to send e-mail messages from mobile phones, and try to increase the broadband market, which offers faster access to the Internet.
Microsoft has lined up another partner for its .Net technology, with CMGI's uBid auction network agreeing to use the software giant's Passport authentication service and other Internet services. uBid will become the "premier provider" of content and products on a new auction channel that will debut on MSN later this month, Microsoft said.
The uBid deal is not exclusive. Microsoft signed an agreement with auction powerhouse eBay in March, which involved sharing technology, including eBay's support of Microsoft's .Net Web services. Microsoft's "Web services" refers to a series of protocols designed to help different software applications communicate with one another.