Microsoft recently announced the "Technology Upgrade Program" (TUP) scheme for purchasers of SBS2003.

The idea is that by buying SBS2003 today, the purchaser will get the right to SBS2003 R2 when it ships.

Unfortunately, only OEM purchasers are protected. This is not only lunacy, it's discriminatory, and favours the large OEMs like HP and Dell.

That's right, the same HP and Dell whose OEM builds of SBS2003 have caused so much trouble with patches and updates.

This Technology Update Program Sucks!

I'm so ticked I'm considering becoming a Sun Microsystems reseller.

Please, please, please, if you're looking to buy SBS2003, do *NOT* buy it via OEM. Buy it retail, or via Open Licence (or Open Value/Subscription).