One of the things that I have been focused on for many years is the ability to update a Windows PC with the latest software to make the system run great and help keep it secure. While automation has really always been my core dream, we had to start someplace, so back when we first launched Windows Update it was really just about having a single place to find the bits people need to keep their systems up to date. But, once at the site they still had to do everything manually.
Windows XP Service Pack 2 was certainly an important milestone for Windows Update, primarily because we changed the recommended setting for the Automatic Updates functionality of Windows Update from the option that just downloaded the updates and then notified you that an update was available, to the option that automatically downloaded and installed the updates. In addition, we created a new feature in system shutdown that allowed the system to install the latest updates as a part of the shutdown process.
These changes have had a dramatic increase on the number of people both using Windows Update but also using Automatic Updates. For example, in the case of one of the security updates we released in October of 2003 (before Windows XP SP2), only about one-half of the systems that downloaded the update ever installed it. Only about 9% of those installations were done as part of a scheduled update, the rest were installed manually (with user intervention). In contrast, in September of 2006 (after Windows XP SP2) we had about three times the number of installations of one of our security updates. What is interesting is that of those installs only 20% of them were done manually and 80% (!) were automatically installed through scheduled updates (34%) or at system shutdown (46%). Certainly we helped people to be more protected from attacks.
When I help a friend or family member with their Windows PC, one of the first things I check is to make sure that their PC is up to date. Now, with the widespread use of Automatic Updates, I usually find that they are.
While this was great progress, there were a few additional things we really wanted to get done in Windows Vista. First, while Automatic Updates in Windows XP SP2 did a great job of getting critical security fixes onto your PC, there really was no way for you to automatically keep your PC up-to-date with the non-critical updates that are important to keep your PC current. So for Windows Vista, you now have the ability to include recommended updates when downloading and installing updates. While this is the recommended setting when you install Windows Vista, you have the choice to not take these updates, and of course you can change your mind later.
With Windows Vista, you also have the ability to choose Microsoft Update instead of Windows Update so that you can keep Microsoft products that use Microsoft Update current. In addition, for Microsoft applications that use Microsoft Update (like Office 2007), we give you the opportunity to turn on Microsoft Update as part of the set-up process of the application.
Also for the first time, with Windows Vista, we are using Automatic Updates to help you get drivers that may be missing from your system. While Windows Update has been used to distribute device drivers for some time, with Automatic Updates in Windows Vista, if you choose the recommended setting for Automatic Updates (download and install important and recommended updates), every time that the machine is scanned by Automatic Updates, it will look to see if there are any devices that either don’t have a device driver installed for them or for which a generic driver was used. If a specific (non-generic) driver is now available, then it will be downloaded and automatically installed. As is the case with Windows XP, if you were using a driver that was known to have problems for a lot of customers, when a better driver is available, Automatic Updates will download the newer driver and automatically replace it.
Since updating systems is such an important aspect of keeping PCs healthy, we have always made these services free to licensed users of Microsoft Windows.
At the end of the day this all about two things: 1) my vision for using automation to continuously increase the health and reliability of Windows, and 2) responding to customer feedback that indicated that Microsoft should provide even better and easier-to-use facilities that will keep systems up to date. In both cases I know we have had positive impact on the customer experience.
jim