Windows XP SP2 Update: Gentlemen, Start Your Automatic Updates

UPDATE: Microsoft on Monday changed its Windows XP SP2 rollout schedule suddenly. Please refer to this article for the details. Sorry about any confusion this caused. --Paul

Microsoft is unleashing the next wave in the Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) rollout. Today, the company will release the update to XP and Microsoft Software Update Services (SUS) users who have Automatic Updates enabled. Microsoft originally shipped XP SP2 to beta testers and Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) Universal and Professional subscribers. Then the company opened up the full network download version to IT administrators and provided the Automatic Updates version to users who had installed beta or release candidate (RC) versions of the service pack. Now all XP users who have enabled Automatic Updates will begin to receive the XP SP2 download.
  
"On Monday, everyone using Automatic Updates will get SP2," Group Product Manager Barry Goffe told me during a meeting late last week. "We're staging the release of SP2 but it's not just about bandwidth. [The staged release is] for our partners. They need to hit the ground running with support. We won't push SP2 out to millions of people each day from day one; that would result in too many support calls."
  
Microsoft also released a list of 50 applications that might have problems running on XP SP2. Most of these problems are related to Windows Firewall, Microsoft noted. Curiously, some popular Microsoft programs, including Microsoft Office 2003 and Office XP, are on the list. And the list isn't sorted alphabetically, so it's difficult to navigate. You can view the list, along with some vague suggestions for dealing with compatibility problems, on Microsoft's Web site. 
  
I just received the final version of the XP SP2 CD-ROM that Microsoft will ship to customers next month. I'll provide an overview of its contents on the SuperSite for Windows this week.