eWeek says Microsoft will release a security roll-up for Windows 2000 this week. The roll-up package replaces Windows 2000 SP5, which was recently scrapped. You'll need to have SP4 already installed to apply the rollup. It will be available via Windows Update, SUS, et al.

It's scary how time flies...Windows 2000 is five years old now - wow... Speakimng of which, mainstram support for Windows 2000 ends on June 30th, when the OS goes in to "extended support" mode (which means you pay for support pretty much no matter what).

Information from Microsoft's web site to answer questions people have asked in email and elsewhere:

Windows 2000 Server and Windows 2000 Advanced Server support dates:

• Mainstream Support ends June 30, 2005
• Extended Support ends June 30, 2010

Mainstream support includes:

• Incident support (no-charge incident support, paid incident support, support charged on an hourly basis, support for warranty claims)
• Security update support
• The ability to request non-security hotfixes

Extended support includes:

• Paid support
• Security update support at no additional cost
• Non-security related hotfix support requires a separate Extended Hotfix Support contract to be purchased. Per-fix fees also apply.
• Microsoft will not accept requests for warranty support, design changes, or new features during the Extended support phase.
• Extended support is not available for Consumer, Hardware, Multimedia, and Business Solutions.

Complete Windows lifecycle dates are listed here. Other products also listed here.

Not running on Windows Server 2003 yet? Make the move now and you'll be glad you did - if you haven't tried it, you seriously don't know what you're missing. Not to mention the fact that most every substantial future network security enhancement from Microsoft will rely on the back-end of Windows Server 2003.

And for those still on NT4 - Your version expired long ago, and it's replacement is entering the old folks' home. Time to get with the program and secure your little world.

I use BlogJet to post nearly all my weblog entries - it's a great client-side application that connects to pretty much every blog package you can think of. So, you can write your blog posts locally, include and resize images, format to your heart's content, etc., and then post to your weblog software when you're ready. You can also edit your blog posts. I'm writing this post in BlogJet now - so this would be a BlogJet post about BlogJet.

It'll also record audio, check spelling, and insert "what's playing" info. It creates context menu items that allow you to "BlogJet This" and adds a web browser action button.

Anyhow, BlogJet is cool and awesome. You can get the v6.1 Beta 1 version here.

For complete BlogJet info, go to http://blogjet.com/

Blogging is reaching new heights. While Scoble's blogging from the seat of an airliner with WiFi on a trip to Europe on his way to a geek dinner (sounds like fun), a group of 20 police officers and companion climbers are slowly but steadily audioblogging their way to the rugged summits of Denali in Alaska (20,320 feet) and Humphreys Peak in Arizona (12,634 feet).

Using a satellite phone in Alaska and mobile phones in Arizona, the officers are calling in to a special phone number at audioblog.com, which immediately posts their voice recordings to the Climbers' Weblog at copsontop.com.

Both teams will strive this weekend to summit the mountains as a memorial to honor the lives, service and sacrifices of police officers Eric White and Jason Wolfe, both of the Phoenix, Arizona Police Department. Officers White and Wolfe were killed in the line of duty on August 28, 2004, while searching for a suspect who had just shot another man in the chest.

The officers are members and representatives of Cops on Top, a non-profit organization of police officers and others who execute memorial expeditions to remember peace officers killed in the line of duty. The audioblogging technology enables the teams to document their progress in real time, and to reach the families and friends of those fallen officers who are honored on each expedition.

From The Raw Feed - Apparently they've finally found a way to completely eliminate the Blue Screen of Death in Windows Longhorn:

Make it red.

Now, why didn't someone think of that earlier?

Microsoft just announced that Office 12 files will all be XML-based.

XML: It's not just for InfoPath anymore... From Microsoft Watch:

The new Word, Excel and PowerPoint formats will be designated as .docx, .xlsx and .pptx , respectively. Microsoft is referring to the family of new formats as "Microsoft Office Open XML Formats."

Microsoft is committing to publish the forthcoming XML formats and make them available under the same royalty-free license under which the current Office 2003 file formats are. Licensees will be able to integrate these formats into their servers, applications and business processes "without financial consideration to Microsoft," according to the Redmond software vendor.

Awesome - this is big news, and while some will undoubtedly scoff, this is a great move in a good direction. Integration, integration, integration - EXCELLENT!

Jeremy Zawodny of Yahoo! has posted his company's new corporate employee blogging guidelines. There's a PDF file linked from his post, along with his comments.

Blogging policies are (I think) a good thing for companies to have. Why? Because they set the stage with the proper expectations right up front, before a problem can begin. People often benefit from having the context predefined, so they know what's cool and what's not.

In other words, having a good policy enables people much more than it restricts them. That's why I'm glad my company has a blogging policy, anyhow.

More and more companies are going beyond allowing their employees to blog, and are enabling and encouraging it. What's your company doing?