Finally Microsoft Relieves Some of the Pain of Patching

Previously, the recommendation was to install first foundation, then server, then project if you had project server installed. This would lead to a LOT of patching in the past, now you just need to download and execute the package that fits your farm configuration and move on.  Bit nicer for those of us that have to deal with patching and it also means less down time and shorter time spent patching.  Keeps my Saturdays free-ish and my weekend users happier.  Thank you!

Updates for SharePoint 2010 Products
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/ff800847

Best practice

The packaging of cumulative updates changed as of August 31, 2011. The following packages are provided for cumulative updates:

• SharePoint Foundation 2010
• SharePoint Foundation 2010 + SharePoint Server 2010
• SharePoint Foundation 2010 + SharePoint Server 2010 + Project Server 2010

As a result of the new packaging, it is no longer necessary to install the SharePoint Foundation cumulative update and then install the SharePoint Server cumulative update.