Do you use Microsoft's Dynamics Retail Management System (RMS)?  If so, think twice (and maybe a third time) before upgrading the Windows operating system you run this POS and store management application on top of.  Microsoft announced earlier this week that due to a "compatibility issue" they are delaying the release of Windows XP SP3.  The funny thing is, the official statement is very vague, doesn't explain any risks, and in fact, is insulting to small business owners who are currently risking data loss.  I don't think I'm going out on a limb by saying that if someone were going to delete all of my POS and inventory data I would want more than a two word explanation in order to help repair my trust in that vendor.

The truth is that a Microsoft employee provided details related to the issue in a post to the RMS support forum on April 24.  "The Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System (RMS) development team has identified problems when Windows Vista SP1 is installed," wroter Tom Berger, a Microsoft online support engineer who is probably now looking for a new job.  The post can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/Businesssolutions/Community/NewsGroups/dgbrowser/en-us/default.mspx?dg=
microsoft.public.pos&tid=4ec80029-9e39-43fa-8f4c-39f77fdb9963&cat=&lang=en&cr=US&sloc=en-us&m=1&p=1

Berger goes on further to state that "All users who have applied Windows Vista SP1 will be affected" and "if you have already installed it, you can uninstall it."  Microsoft has remained silent on this issue and has officially not offered any helpful information.

The thing is, service packs are supposed to fix problems, not cause them.  And it's not like they are breaking someone else's application.  They're breaking their own application.