began carrying SP2 in early October.
Go to Page 2 to Read What Other PC Makers Are Doing
("PC Makers Blaze Their Own SP2 Trails" Page 2)
Microsoft said on Wednesday that it had distributed 106 million copies of SP2. T(here are an estimated 300 million Windows XP customers in total.) The vast majority of copies, 90 million, were pushed to users via Microsoft's Automatic Update service. And 16 million Windows XP SP2 CDs were used to distribute the rest. So far, virtually no SP2 copies have been distributed via retail and/or preloaded on new systems.
At this point, according to Microsoft, nearly all the major PC makers, including Dell, Gateway, HP, IBM, Sony and Toshiba, are shipping in the U.S. all new PCs, notebooks and tablets with SP2 as the default operating system. (They are expected to offer SP2 on new machines worldwide within the next 30 to 60 days.)
Gateway began preloading SP2 on both its consumer and business PCs starting August 13. By November, all Gateway machines sold in retail stores will have SP2 preloaded, said Chris Homeister, vice president of software for Gateway.
Like HP, Gateway is preloading Norton Antivirus alongside SP2. But unlike HP, Gateway isn't replacing any elements of SP2 with third-party offerings. Nor is Gateway supplementing SP2 with preloaded third-party anti-spyware, Homeister said.
Dell Computer also is looking to beef up its consumer desktops with offerings that complememnt SP2, a spokeswoman said. Currently, Dell offers customers a choice of Symantec or McAfee antivirus software, as well as the Norton Security Center as preload options.
But Dell also is working with partners to create a bundle of antivirus, anti-spyware, firewall and anti-spam products that it plans to offer to customers for free for three months (the way it currently does with the aforementioned antivirus options). After three months, customers will have the option to pay to continue these services, the Dell spokeswoman said. She said to expect Dell to unveil such a bundle "before the holidays."
"People desperately need this kind of (security) solution," she said.
Sony, for its part, is expected to replace Windows Security Center with Norton Security Center, according to a source claiming familiarity with Sony's PC strategy, but who requested anonymity.
One Microsoft watcher said he isn't surprised that PC makers are going their own way.
Microsoft's Windows Security Center "doesn't always report accurate status," acknowledged Michael Cherry, a senior analyst with Directions on Microsoft, based in Kirkland, Wash.
"It (the Windows Security Center) still doesn't report the status of my antivirus software," Cherry said, as it cannot detect the status of the signature files. "So if I could get (such a status-monitor product) that was essentially more accurate with my system's antivirus software, firewall status and auto-update configuration (information), that would be better for me. Seeing it continually warning me about something I know doesn't need a warning lessens its impact and value."
Cherry added that he expects to see more PC makers preloading additional security software and perhaps replacing the Windows Security Center and/or Windows Firewall in order to better differentiate their SP2 PCs.
(Editor's note: This story was updated to include comments from Dell Computer.)
