[WinPartners] Update on Windows 8.1 Release Project

[Alexander Kozlov]

Good morning:

Since the release of Windows 8.1 on  October 21, the Windows 8.1 Release Team has continued testing on and off campus and has found several critical applications that are not ready for use with Windows 8.1.

IS&T Recommendation
IS&T strongly recommends that members of the MIT community who rely on TSM 6.4, SAPGui 7.3, and PGP Desktop 10.2 wait to move to Windows 8.1 Enterprise until these business-critical applications are working as expected and supported by their vendors. Departmental users should always check with their local IT support before upgrading software.

Current Known Issues

TSM
TSM 6.4, IS&T's current distributed version, is not vendor-certified for Windows 8.1. As a result, IS&T cannot guarantee TSM's functionality. We are working with the vendor to obtain a Windows 8.1-certified release of TSM. Once IS&T has received the software update we will test the updated TSM application in our environment and release TSM to the community.

SAPgui
While testing of the current IS&T SAPgui 7.3 Patch Level 5 distribution has not revealed any issues, SAP recommends the newer SAPgui 7.3 Patch Level 6 for Windows 8.1. However, IS&T will not begin testing and packaging of this version until early 2014.

PGP Desktop
PGP Desktop version 10.2 is not supported on Windows 8.1 by the vendor.

If you do not use these applications and plan to migrate or purchase a new system with  Windows 8.1, IS&T recommends business-class versions of Windows 8.1:  Windows 8.1 Pro  or Windows 8.1 Enterprise.

How To Obtain
As with previous versions of Windows, MIT departments may install IS&T-provided licenses on all MIT-owned equipment. Additionally, each MIT student is allowed to install Windows 8.1 on one personally owned computer. Windows 8.1 Enterprise can be acquired from the  MIT Software Grid<http://ist.mit.edu/windows/81/enterprise>.

Getting Help
For more details on the Windows 8.1 Release Project, visit the project notebook at https://wikis.mit.edu/confluence/display/SWRT/Windows+8.1+Release+Project [certificates<http://ist.mit.edu/certificates> required].

For assistance, please contact IS&T Help Desk at 617.253.1101, helpdesk at mit.edu<mailto:helpdesk at mit.edu>, or by submitting a request online<http://ist.mit.edu/support#form>.


_____________

Alexander Kozlov
Windows Platform Coordinator
Software Release Team
Information Services and Technology
W92 - 229H
(617) 253-5103