Re: Realtime/embedded project to help with employment.

[aek@vib.usr.pu.ru (Alexander Kopilovitch)]

Robert I. Eachus wrote:

> The problem with Microsoft updates is almost an FAQ issue.  The
> Microsoft update program assumes that ANY Microsoft driver is better
> than a driver from some third party.  It doesn't ask, it just installs
> it.  So if you have a device that doesn't have a driver comes from
> Microsoft you WILL have to reinstall the driver after every time you run
> the Microsoft update program.  This applies even if Microsoft includes a
> driver from the third party in their distribution which is crazy.  For
> example, Microsoft WILL install as updates older version of nVidia video
> card drivers.

Exactly.

But I don't see other way for Microsoft, given that it has tremendous quantity
of unskilled users, many third parties involved, and at the same time it
reasonably wants to restrict its responsibility, at least separate itself from
those third parties. How can Microsoft test an update if it do not replace
foreign drivers? Then, if the update installer will ask user, this will mean
that responsibility for subsequent failure (incompatibility) will be somehow
divided. While with current mode of operation the issue of responsibility is
much cleaner - if Windows works properly after update, but fails after subsequent
re-installation of some third-party driver then it is easy to blame the driver
and to defend this position.



Alexander Kopilovitch                      aek@vib.usr.pu.ru
Saint-Petersburg
Russia