Want your DST hotfix? Shell out 4k....

Post by **Sabre** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 3:37 pm

* Microsoft products in Mainstream Support Phase

Microsoft will release hotfixes at no charge for DST 2007 through Microsoft Update for products in the Mainstream Support phase of the Microsoft Support Lifecycle. For a list of affected products within Mainstream Support, refer to the Lifecycle support page:

http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifeselect/

* Microsoft products in Extended Support Phase

Customers who are running Microsoft software that is beyond Mainstream Support, but is still in the Extended Support Phase, can confirm whether their product is eligible by visiting the Product Lifecycle page at http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifeselect. If the product is eligible, two options exist for installing the DST 2007 hotfixes on these products.

Option 1: Manual update option

For some products in Extended Support, such as Windows 2000, Microsoft provides instructions about how to manually update the system by using Time Zone Editor and other techniques. Detailed instructions are documented in Microsoft Knowledge Base article 914387 and similar articles for countries outside the U.S. and Canada. You can also direct customers to view the on-demand Support WebCast describing the Windows 2000 update process at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/930688.

Option 2: DST update

For customers who prefer to have a hotfix, Microsoft lets customers purchase all DST 2007 hotfixes for $4,000, for affected Microsoft products in Extended Support by using an Extended Hotfix Support contract. Customers will only be charged a single fee of $4,000 to obtain all hotfixes needed to update their systems for DST 2007.

For more information about Extended Hotfix Support, customers in the U.S. can call (800) 642-7676. Additional international support telephone numbers are available at http://support.microsoft.com. Customers can also contact their Technical Account Manager or Account Representative for additional assistance.

* Microsoft products no longer supported

Products that have ended their Support Lifecycle are not eligible to receive support or a hotfix. Customers who are running versions of products that are no longer supported are encouraged to upgrade to versions that are supported. Customers should also review Microsoft DST Web site for the latest information:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/timezone/dst2007.mspx

moxnix · Post by **moxnix** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 4:41 pm

Post by **complacent** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 5:00 pm

That's if you're running an environment that is still in support.

Got exchange 5.5 and an expired support contract?

try more like $293,000 for that stupid patch.

One, measely little dll.

rat bastards.

Mr Kleen · Post by **Mr Kleen** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 2:14 pm

our lead Engineer came back from the initial DST meeting with Microsoft two months ago and said it was "the most unprofessional meeting I have ever attended, period! Microsoft sure is throwing their very best and brightest at this.

"

now I'm bracing for Monday.

side note: RIM has addressed the issue with an even lower standard of customer support. fortunately they only affect the BBYs...

avriette · Post by **avriette** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 3:09 am

Mr Kleen wrote:our lead Engineer came back from the initial DST meeting with Microsoft two months ago and said it was "the most unprofessional meeting I have ever attended, period! Microsoft sure is throwing their very best and brightest at this. "

now I'm bracing for Monday.

side note: RIM has addressed the issue with an even lower standard of customer support. fortunately they only affect the BBYs...

Just so you know, when I worked at Microsoft, I considered the people I worked with (the do-ers; the management were generally completely retarded, with a few exceptions) to be some of the best I'd ever worked with. While they were Windows-focused (and generally unclued on the Unix side of the world), they both admitted what they didn't know, and were really fucking sharp on what they did know. These are very important characteristics in my book.

Typically the Windows people I've worked with have been just barely breathing, let alone hard-working and knowledgeable. Most of us worked 75-95 hour weeks and managed to not look like shit at meetings, were dedicated to the customers, and everything. I was really stunned at the difference between the people at Microsoft and what I had come to believe was characteristic of Windows people in general.

Out in Redmond, things were a little worse. There's a lot of office-inertia out there. People that sort of get to Microsoft, start watching the stock price, and stop really caring about work. It's that kind of campus (not unlike, might I add, AOL, or the biotech companies I worked at in so-cal). But in general, the consultants (the people who spent their time on-site with the customers) and the TS's (I guess you could call them a "sales engineer"?) and TAMs (technical account managers) were really solid.

I'd happily work for them again if I didn't have to move out to Redmond to do it.

(for what it's worth: if you haven't read minimsft, it's worth a look)

Mr Kleen · Post by **Mr Kleen** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 8:49 am

I wasn't at the meeting so I'm getting this second hand, but Weaver was pretty shocked by the behavior and attitude of the MS reps.

but it's always interesting to get a different perspective on things.

I'm just glad that this thing is nearly over, at least for us here at DoED.

Post by **complacent** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 10:32 am

The Blackberry DST patches were by far MUCH easier to deploy (anything after 4.0 service pack 6 on the BES, any device firmware 4.0 or greater) and FAR better documented than ANY of the M$ stuff, IMHO.

Did you look at the sample Exchange server Outlook Calendar update tool script? Zomg, it's easily three printed pages, GENERIC (read: re-write HALF of it) and not discussed in any detail. M$ even recomends having each individual user run a patch manually against their own Outlook profile... which of course won't be passed easily via SMS *and* it requires the user account to have elevated rights just to run properly (SMS admin account isn't good enough, unless you give the SMS admin account FULL rights to your Exchange site)

CN's: I had to read through one and a half PDF's on Blackberry's site (15 pages MAX), I had to read through AT LEAST 60 pages on M$'s site...

But everyone knows I am somewhat biased... Take it for what it's worth to ya.

( <------- is dreaming about his GLOCK right now...)

chicken n waffles · Post by **chicken n waffles** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 10:59 am

enhance your calm, john spartan.

Post by **complacent** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 11:20 am

Meh, I think I was being a little dramatic...

Whatever, not that big a deal. Guess it was just the morning rush.

Post by **Sabre** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 3:23 pm

Our clocks are still off by an hour here on our phones and our computers and I can't change them b/c I don't have admin rights... yet another reason I have one PC on the business network for e-mail and then the rest of our stuff on a totally separate network where I DO have full admin rights