[WinPartners] Windows 2000 retirement statement

[Deb Bowser]

Date: Tuesday, 23 November 2004
To:  Members of the MIT Community: itpartners at mit.edu, winpartners at mit.edu, 
sw-release-announce at mit.edu, ed-tech at mit.edu
From: Software Release Team <swrt at mit.edu>
Subject: Windows 2000 retirement statement
Cc: is&t at mit.edu, itag at mit.edu, it-lead at mit.edu


Good morning:

In August, a reminder was sent to the MIT Community that support for 
Windows 2000 would be retired on December 31st, 2004.  At that time, there 
were inquiries about licensing options to ease the cost and procurement 
process for DLCs.  In response to these inquiries and future Microsoft OS 
upgrades, MIT has signed a Campus Agreement for this product.  Recognizing 
the planning and time to upgrade an operating system, IS&T plans to extend 
support for this OS through March 31st, 2005.  This timeline extension 
parallels Microsoft's.  We will not be testing new software releases on 
Windows 2000 after January 1, 2005.

We are pleased to inform you, that Information Services and Technology 
(IS&T) has finalized the Microsoft Campus Agreement with Microsoft.

The Microsoft Campus Agreement (MS CA) grants members of educational 
institutions the right to use various Microsoft products.  MIT IS&T 
negotiated and funded a Microsoft Campus Agreement for Windows Operating 
Systems and Client Access Licenses (CALs).  This agreement grants MIT 
Faculty, Staff, institute-owned workstations and Undergraduate students the 
right to use Windows XP Professional and subsequent OS releases from Microsoft.

For additional information on the Microsoft campus agreement at MIT, please 
visit:
	<http://web.mit.edu/swrt/msagreement/msca.html>

Windows XP Professional upgrades are available via an ISO image or a Zip 
file for download.  Please note you need a personal certificate to access 
this page. If you don't have a personal certificate, you can obtain one at 
https://ca.mit.edu/.

Colleagues preferring a CD should contact their Software Liaison after 
Monday, November 29th.

	Departmental Software Liaison 
<http://web.mit.edu/swrt/msagreement/msca-detail.html>

We recommend users configure their Windows machines to use MIT's Windows 
Automatic Update Service (WAUS) for critical patches and service pack 
deployment.  For more information about and instructions on how to 
configure your machines to use WAUS, see the WAUS documentation at:

         <http://web.mit.edu/ist/topics/windows/updates/>

Keeping pace with current Operating Systems and applications benefits 
everyone. If you are running an aging operating system on equipment with 
sufficient specifications to run the latest operating system, then we will 
help you make the upgrade.  Any workstations targeted for replacement 
during the fiscal year need not be upgraded.  Whatever the nature of the 
assistance you require, please don't hesitate to contact us: Software 
Release Team, <swrt at mit.edu>. We will do our best to direct you to those 
who can best handle your specific needs.

Additional information to consider while making the transition to Windows 
XP is available: <http://web.mit.edu/ist/topics/windows/>.  These 
initiatives align with that goal, and we hope you take advantage of 
resources available to help you.

In closing, our thanks to all IT-Partners who assisted in reviewing vendor 
requirements necessary to set this operating system retirement and planning 
your department's upgrade strategies. Please assist us in sharing within 
your Department, Lab or Center.  Should you have any questions, send e-mail 
to the Software Release team <swrt at mit.edu>.  Please feel free to share 
this announcement with colleagues who may be interested.

Deb Bowser
QA Coordinator - Client Support Services
Information Services and Technology (IS&T)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Room W92-176
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-253-3879
bowser at mit.edu