Developers concerned with manageability will also be pleased SP4 provides support for distributed component object model (DCOM)-over-HTTP and the Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP).
SP4 includes other programmatic and network configuration enhancements. For example, SP4 provides Microsoft's official Year-2000 fixes, Telephone API (TAPI) 2.1 support, an update to File and Print Services for NetWare (FPNW), and several new accessibility options.
SP4 includes all previous service pack fixes and the previous updates for the NT 4.0 Option Pack and Internet Explorer (IE) 4.01. Together, these files constitute a hefty package. SP3, which was a far less ambitious update than SP4, topped out at more than 18MB, so you will be better off using the CD-ROM version of SP4 rather than trying to download it.
The breadth of the changes involved--several million lines of new code in the enhancements alone--begs the question of whether Microsoft should be including such enhancements in a service pack. This question will be on the minds of many veteran customers who have been eagerly waiting for SP4's incremental hotfixes to the main NT 4.0 code base, but have no need for its incremental enhancements. With SP4, as with all of Microsoft's service packs, these customers will get the whole package, whether they like it or not. This forced feeding is enough to steam even the coolest customers. (For more on NT 4.0 enhancements and how Microsoft might disseminate them, see Mark Minasi, "NT 4.9," June 1998.)
Perhaps the time has come for Microsoft to re-evaluate the service pack program. Microsoft already has a valid medium for disseminating incremental enhancements: option packs. They do what service packs can't: give customers a choice.
Danger, Will Gates, Danger!
The development teams for Microsoft's Office 9x and Internet Explorer (IE) 5.0 are charting new territory--and therein lies a danger. Although the teams' changes to their respective products promise to significantly and positively affect the user community, the internal platform and product inbreeding needed to implement the changes might put Microsoft in hotter water with the US Department of Justice (DOJ).
Changes to IE 5.0's browser platform will be the most controversial. The browser platform will exist as a series of distinct component object model (COM) objects that customers can download and assemble as needed. Microsoft will no longer force Windows users to download the entire IE platform to gain access to the Web browser. More important, developers will be able to leverage specific portions of the platform, such as the rendering engine or search function, without having to include unrelated components. Why include a 4MB Java Virtual Machine (JVM), when all you need is the HTML rendering code?
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