Note
Access to this page requires authorization. You can try signing in or changing directories.
Access to this page requires authorization. You can try changing directories.
The DevDiv Hotfix Public Availability Pilot Program has just been brought to my attention. This pilot gives you access to the most frequently requested VS2005 hotfixes without having to contact Microsoft Developer Support.
I spent a long time working in Developer Support, and I have mixed feelings on this because I know the guys over there are probably recovering from the shock as I write this (who knows, maybe they're a bit more relaxed now. Maybe it was me who made them so uptight. :-)). Applying the wrong hotfix or an inappropriate hotfix can be a serious problem. That's why support was in the chain - saving people from themselves.
You know the situation. Something's broken, you're under pressure, time seems to warp around you and you're looking for a "miracle cure" before you lose the will to live. A hotfix that "sounds about right" can be too good to overlook. So all I'm saying is, be careful out there. Read the small print. Read the details. And if in doubt, give my friends in Developer Support a call and tell them Mike sent you. That'll confuse them...
Technorati tags: microsoft, visual studio, hotfix
Comments
Anonymous
November 24, 2006
I am completely befuddled that anyone could greet this policy change with anything but open arms. The hotfix policy has long been one of the stupidest, most beauracratic wastes of developer time, and perhaps we're finally seeing the righting of long standing wrong. The implication that the hotfix policy was designed to protect developers is laughable. Where was this same concern when Microsoft ignored developer pleas not to release VS2K5 because it was not yet RTM quality? The vast majority of developers, myself included, will be elated that there will be fewer people trying to "save us from ourselves".Anonymous
December 06, 2006
Sure I can see your point of view, and in the case of developers I think your point of view prevails but until now we had a "hotfix" policy that applied across all products. It's a positive thing that developer products have been identified in this was as a "special case". The bureaucratic aspect of the hotfix process should be addressed but that doesn’t necessarily preclude a support professional being involved (much of the “bureaucracy” stems from registration aspects rather than support professional due diligence). Of course, I see things from one perspective and you see them from a very different, and by the sounds of it, altogether more frustrating perspective. So I’m very happy you see this as the righting of a long standing wrong.