@Andy Brown
"Still can't find a way to actually download the 9.2 exe - web site has a 'download' here link - but it isn't a download - it runs the installer prgram which downloads and installs."
Adobe usually provides a Reader installer for enterprise deployment, which does not include AIR or Acrobat.com, but you have to hunt around for it. It looks like 9.2 package that is being distributed is the enterprise version. Get the .msi instead of the .exe here:
ftp://ftp.adobe.com/pub/adobe/reader/win/9.x/9.2/enu/
"I have 45 PCs to update - I want to put the installion exe on a shared drive - not navigate to the adobe download page and download 30Mb EVERY TIME!"
You have more PCs than where software distribution systems start to be very handy. If you're not using one, you certainly need one. If you use Active Directory, set up a Group Policy for Reader installation. Adobe provides a document with instructions. You could probably set a Group Policy up from this document the first time in less time than it would take you to install Reader on five or ten PCs, especially if they're downloading the whole thing each time.:
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/acrobat/pdfs/gpo_ad_9.pdf
That's how I'm deploying Reader 9.2 to over 500 computers.
If you can do that, you may also find the customization wizard rather handy. You can set your Reader deployment to automatically accept the EULA, or disable Javascript, for instance:
http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=3993
There's even a trick to use a Javascript file to hide menu items in Reader:
http://blog.stealthpuppy.com/deployment/deploying-adobe-reader-9-for-windows
"And why does Adobes new patch cycle concide with MSs cycle."
So that beleaguered admins know when the patches come out, as opposed to the previous method, where I usually found out there was a new patch when I was looking for something else. Deploying Reader versions is easy for me, and I much prefer this method.