Windows 98 Phased Out 914
Via_Patrino writes "According to Microsoft on january 16, MS Windows 98 and 98se will end Extended Support Phase, that means they'll became obsolete and assisted support will no longer be available from Microsoft, affecting about 27% of the internet users. That means even if 98 is working well for your needs (and especially computer specifications) and you want to pay for support (because that might cost less than switching hardware) you can't, because who will be able to patch eventual new bugs (security related or not) besides Microsoft? So if you're not planning a switch it might be your last opportunity to update MS Windows 98, after that some software might disappear from MS website (just like MSIE 5.5 for 95 did)."
People will keep using it, regardless... (Score:5, Insightful)
For home users who need Office, internet, and a gaming platform, Windows 98SE upgraded and patched does everything they need. It also runs reasonably fast on today's hardware, and there are a lot of "ain't broke, don't fix" people out there. There's really no compelling reason for people to switch, so they won't until they get a new PC.
Re:People will keep using it, regardless... (Score:4, Informative)
Looks like MS is forcing me to upgrade my hardware too? Not cool.
Re:People will keep using it, regardless... (Score:5, Insightful)
> that will NOT run anything after Win98?
> Looks like MS is forcing me to upgrade my hardware
> too? Not cool.
No, MS is saying they won't support your box any more. Just like you (probably) won't get support from your hardware vendor after this many years, now you won't get software support either.
It's not like your laptop is about to stop working just because MS stops supporting the software you licenced from them. Well, probably not...
Re:People will keep using it, regardless... (Score:5, Insightful)
The day somebody finds an easy way to "root" win98 machines remotely, they could potentially use 27% of the internet-reachable machines in the world.
Of course it isn't really so, most of them (I hope) aren't put directly on the internet w/o protection, but there's bound to be some. This is irritating for the owner of the machine who happily surfed and checked email w/o trouble, and might even cause trouble for those who doesn't run win98 through increased traffic or DDoS.
Re:People will keep using it, regardless... (Score:5, Interesting)
That's been done many times in the past. Will MS no longer offer patches if a new, powerful exploit finds its way around?
Re:People will keep using it, regardless... (Score:3, Funny)
The good part - you always have the source!
Re:People will keep using it, regardless... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:People will keep using it, regardless... (Score:5, Informative)
Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:People will keep using it, regardless... (Score:4, Insightful)
If there are many certified mechanics in my area who compete with each other for my business, sure.
Re:People will keep using it, regardless... (Score:4, Insightful)
No, I wouldn't. I also don't know of any cars offhand that are like this. All cars currently sold in the US, to my knowledge, have the OBD-II system. The nice thing about this is that anyone can buy an OBD-II scan tool from the local auto parts store for under $100 and use it to read the codes, and it should work across all makes. And the mechanic doesn't have to be certified; they just have to buy the tool.
Re:People will keep using it, regardless... (Score:4, Informative)
OBD-II only has a "Base" set of codes that are common to all cars. It's sort of like SNMP where anyone can go and define their own MIBs as long as they're in the right form. The difference is, if you want he VW proprietary codes or functions, you cant do it with a generic tool, you need a special one.
I'm guessing you've never actually tried this - a bill was just passed forcing auto makers to open up the diagnostic tools/info they have to independant mechanics. If you wanted to do some basic types of operations on a BMW, for instance, there are a few different machines you need.. a DIS.. a MODIC, etc. These are like 5-digit cost custom computers that knowhow to do things like reprogram the key to match the ECU, tell the car that its OK that it has a different engine than the one its expecting, etc etc.
_Every_ current car has something in it that can only be repaired at the dealership right now.
As Grandpa Simpson says: "Oh bitch, bitch, bitch." (Score:5, Insightful)
How about it? You're running a 5-year-old operating system on 8-year-old hardware. What do you expect? The pace of software and hardware evolution will not slow down just for you. Sooner or later, you will have to upgrade.
Looks like MS is forcing me to upgrade my hardware too? Not cool.
Not cool? Neither is complaining about lack of support for something produced last century. Suck it up and buy something that'll run a newer operating system. Used laptops are cheap.
People on slashdot whine way too much.
- A.P.
Comment removed (Score:5, Informative)
[Not!] Re:It's like the auto industry. (Score:5, Insightful)
With windows 95 (and likely 98 now), Microsoft is removing the availability of critical updates (equivalent factory recalls). They then wield the power via copyright law and DMCA to prevent anyone from making them available to people who run win 98, thus forcing a paid upgrade.
I don't care so much that they won't provide patches to any new exploits that are found after 5 years (providing they don't sue any white hats that fix them). I do care if they pull the patches and updates that already exist. It's like if you buy a car that ends up with a recall for the seat belt, you get it fixed, and ten years later when you bring it in for a new muffler, they put back in the original, defective seat belt.
BTW, if cars had as many defects and ran as poorly as windows, people would go back to riding horses. Luckily for them, microsoft fills their software with distracting bells and whistles.
Re:People will keep using it, regardless... (Score:5, Insightful)
Burned updates to CD. (Score:4, Interesting)
Windows 98 closes, and my Linux boots up.
I can just use the original Windows 98 for that, without any upgrades, but I like to compare the Linux distro's to Windows 98 on the same box. Windows 98 does a fair job, still. I always run a firewall on it to be safe if going online. For Linux, I like Firestarter firewall.
Re:People will keep using it, regardless... (Score:4, Informative)
Windows NT 3.51 Service Packs [microsoft.com]
TCP/IP for Windows for Workgroups 3.11 [microsoft.com]
WfW 3.11 SMB fix for Samba smbclient [microsoft.com]
I mean, what more do you want? I know I know, the source. But Microsoft has a history of supporting their products for a very long time, and continuing to host updates for their old products, they're freely available without even logging in.
Here's a link to Windows Updates for IT Managers (Score:4, Informative)
This is Microsoft's description from their Windows 98 Downloads page [microsoft.com]:
Download 'em all before January 16, them burn 'em onto a CD. We just don't know how long those updates will be available.Re:I want the 'Big Patch' (Score:4, Insightful)
You talk about MS as if they have some social obligation to the public. They have none; their only obligation is to make themselves obscenely wealthy, at any cost. If you don't like the way they do this, you're free to seek out alternatives.
Re:I want the 'Big Patch' (Score:4, Insightful)
EULA (Score:3, Insightful)
Hey! (Score:5, Funny)
QEMM! (Score:5, Funny)
Dang..... (Score:5, Funny)
Of course, when you try to update Red Hat Linux 5.2 or Apple OS 8.5, it still works flawlessly. But no, those greedy, awful bastards at MS are just continually SCREWING the customer.
Re:Dang..... (Score:5, Insightful)
And why should I be forced to upgrade by this money hungry corporation? Why should my version of Windows 98 simply stop working on the 16th. And shouldn't I have been given more of a warning than 12 days?
Oh wait, Windows 98 will still keep working after the 16th? But I thought the summary implied... oh, nevermind.
Redhat EOL (Score:5, Insightful)
On December 31, 2003, Redhat discontinued support for Redhat 7.3 and on April 30, 2004, Redhat 9, released less than a year ago, gets the support axe.
When compared to that, I think Microsoft has been damn generous. And if you look at my posting profile, you see i don't cut Microsoft much slack either...
Re:Redhat EOL (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Redhat EOL (Score:4, Informative)
You also don't have to _PAY_ to upgrade to a 2.4 or 2.6 series kernel...
Re:Redhat EOL (Score:3)
27% of google users use windows 98 (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:27% of google users use windows 98 (Score:5, Informative)
Re:27% of google users use windows 98 (Score:3, Informative)
Re:27% of google users use windows 98 (Score:4, Funny)
There are apparently people who don't look at porn on the internet too, I've never met them either.
Re:27% of google users use windows 98 (Score:3, Interesting)
Very sad.
Win98 vulnerabilities will still be patched (Score:5, Informative)
Before people panic in the streets, it should be made clear that MS still plans to patch vulnerabilities in Win98. Hopefully this means people will keep using Windows Update to keep their system as risk free (from viruses, trojans, etc.) as reasonably possible. (Besides using things like virus scanners and anti-spyware tools, of course!)
-Teckla
Re:Win98 vulnerabilities will still be patched (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Win98 vulnerabilities will still be patched (Score:4, Informative)
No-charge incident support ends June 30, 2003
Extended hotfix support ends June 30, 2003
Paid incident support ends January 16, 2004
Details:
Microsoft will offer paid-incident support for Windows 98 and Windows 98 Second Edition (SE) through January 16, 2004. Windows 98 and Windows 98 SE downloads for existing security issues will continue to be available through regular assisted-support channels at no charge during this time. Customers can request Windows 98 and Windows 98 SE fixes for new security issues, and these requests will be reviewed. Fixes for any new security issues can be specifically requested through regular assisted-support channels. Web-based self-help support will be available for at least one year after assisted support ends. Mainstream support for Windows 98 and Windows 98 SE ended on June 30, 2002. No-charge incident support and extended hotfix support end on June 30, 2003."
Win98 vulnerabilities will still be patched ..NOT! (Score:5, Informative)
bad for schools (Score:5, Insightful)
A lot of schools have netware/win98 combos.
Since win2k/XP require logins, we have to resort to novell zenworks to manage the automatic creation of machines accounts (our servers can handle it) or switching to AD (what ms wants, but our servers cant handle it).
This blows.
Re:bad for schools (Score:5, Insightful)
Whats the harm in making all the little kids use the SAME login of "firstgrader:password"? Not only do you now instantly have a user on all the machines thats the same, but youre teaching them abuot logging in to an account, which they'll probably have to do anyway sometime in the future, and probably already do anyway if theres a netware system in the school.
Actually knowing what this means will make them more advanced users that 90% of their parents, if they weren't already. Those that use the argument "but they dont NEED to learn that for the future" should be slapped. Kids in k12 are supposed to be there to learn and learn and learn some more. Noone ever filed a lawsuit claiming "my kid learned too much"
Older kids can get their own user/passwd combos as needed. Kids that just need to get on a machine and do whatever can just login as "student."
Also, cant you just make an NT/W2K/XP machine login as a specified user (like generic_student) on boot, anyway? My roommates XP machine doesnt make him login at all.
Speaking of the older kids, why not make it an advanced class/lab to have them help admins do the migration. I know sysadmins ARE NOT teachers and have other things to do, but they're not teaching a class of little fuckers forced to be there, They're MENTORING kids that want to do this and learn something, and who doesn't like mentoring someone who's motiveted and wants to learn somehting from the ground-up by doing the shitwork?
Re:bad for schools (Score:3, Informative)
Sorry to oversimplify here, but I do not understand. Why not just turn on the "log-in automatically" feature?
If it ain't broke, don't go fixing it now. Just saying your argument caused a question mark to materialize over my head.
It appears the time has come... (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:It appears the time has come... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:It appears the time has come... (Score:3, Insightful)
Hmmm (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Hmmm (Score:5, Interesting)
Win98 (Score:5, Interesting)
I've long since put my trust in anti-viral software and AdAware. That's working far better for me than many of Microsoft's patches have. I still have IE trying to download stuff on my Windows Server 2003 laptop all the time, but thankfully VirusScan always catches it and AdAware makes a nice backup should VisusScan fail. If my fully up-to-date Windows Server 2003 machine fails, why should I even bother trying to lock-down or upgrade a windows 98 machine?
Microsoft isn't supporting me, so I'm not going to go out of my way to get any of my relatives to support them. In fact, I'm recommending they all get Apple laptops next time they want to do a major computer upgrade.
Bryan
Re:Win98 (Score:3, Insightful)
Just finished upgrading... to XP (Score:5, Interesting)
Yeah - I considered Linux, but then I considered retraining costs, application problems and general user resistance and decided it wasn't a battle worth fighting at this point. (not that I WOULDN'T like to get MS out eventually).
If it wasn't for the regular security threats that need patching these days, Win98 could go on for a long time.
Re:Just finished upgrading... to XP (Score:3, Interesting)
If your application don't work, and there are know replacements, then yeah, thats a big issue.
User resistence generally fades out fast once they relize there doing the same thing. Start->programs->open office.
Start->programs->ms office.
If buy user, you mean managment, work up some costs, and show the CIO how much he can save, both short and long term. I am sure, cost savings ==bigger bonus.
There are fewer new Virus and Trojans for win98 then XP
Re:Just finished upgrading... to XP (Score:4, Interesting)
I've been rolling XP onto desks with no training for my users and having NO trouble. We did a pilot before we went organization-wide and all of our apps worked with no problems and the users had no trouble.
My goal is this: provide my users with stable, usable tools to do their job in a cost efficient manner. After doing the analysis, XP was the better choice -- FOR NOW. I did NOT sign a long term license nor am I just going Microsoft to go Microsoft.
In fact, I just replaced SQL Server 7 on Windows NT with a PostgreSQL server running Linux.
Not bad (Score:5, Insightful)
I expect that the next big virus will knock a bunch of the remaining 98 computers offline once Microsoft stops making patches. Zone Labs will probably experience a small surge in downloads of their free firewall product.
So What (Score:5, Interesting)
IMO supporting old versions of software is a waste of energy. I'd rather see that energy put to drivers and updates for new systems. Things need to progress forward. WHen I got into Linux the community would brag that it would still run on 8086 or 286. That's over for mainstream Linux. Hardware moved forward and so did Linux.
Give it a break guys (Score:5, Insightful)
Sure, there are lots of people out there using Win98 still. Heck, there are still people using Win95! But can you really expect a company to invest in support for a product that is 3 generations out of date? For each OS a company (regardless of whether they're Microsoft, RedHat or Apple) it is necessary to have a testing environment, testing staff, developers, marketing, and who knows what else. Microsoft currently support Windows ME, 2000, 2003 and XP. Surely that's an impressive amount of supported products?
Or perhaps we should demand they support everything they make forever. You never know, there might be one or two Windows 3.1 users out there who still want hotfixes released. I have some DOS 3 floppy disks lying around, surely I'm entitled to lifetime support for these!
Typically enough though, this is Slashdot - every decision by Microsoft has to be wrong, evil, unthinkably unfair. And the link to linux under the word "switch" is a good example of how biased this site has become. After all, I don't see the same level of screaming about me being forced to switch my RedHat 7.0 and 8.0 boxes over to Red Hat Enterprise Linux... surely that is a far more shameful lack of support?
Re:Give it a break guys (Score:4, Insightful)
Hotfixes are different - they are unique each time, requiring constant development and improvement. A better example would be expecting the manufacturer of your '72 GTO to offer an EFI update free of charge.
Perhaps somebody can comment on whether or not Apple support 5 year old versions of their OS? (I don't know the answer to this, but I'm guessing they don't provide hotfixes past a certain age).
... So? (Score:5, Informative)
Microsoft, on the other hand, provides support for it's software for five (?) years, even after it's been succeeded by Windows 2000/XP!
Sadly, good news for trojan and virus writers (Score:5, Insightful)
The real problem is there will be no new patches and maybe old patches will no longer be available from windows update. The big reason it's a problem is people *won't* upgrade just because of this. Most hardly care about patches now, but may at least be coaxed into running windows update now and again.
This won't push the holdouts over to XP (which they probably don't even have a new enough computer to run well) - it'll just result in even *more* unpatched trojan-friendly PC out there.
Third Party Support & Open Source Alternatives (Score:5, Interesting)
Quite a few people still use Windows 98. I wonder if someone could make some money by doing third-party support of Windows98.
It would be a bit hard to roll out patches as a third-party, but if you supplied people with some sort of firewall package (to shield users from security holes that can't be patched otherwise) and migrated MSIE/Outlook Express users over to Mozilla, it seems like something that could be done.
Windows Media Player users could also be migrated to Winamp.. Pretty much anything that wouldn't be Microsoft supported could be replaced with still-developed Open Source alternatives.
It seems like businesses who don't have their own IT department and run a lot of Win98 PCs who have no other need to upgrade could benefit from this.
What about independent online support forums? (Score:5, Insightful)
The only reason a computer user needs "official" support is if they have a pinhead boss or are worried about patches for security holes...... Oh, I see the problem now. Even so Win98 should be "usable" for decades to come if its users form a devoted community that provides mutual support.
The Slashdot Double Standard (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:The Slashdot Double Standard (Score:3, Insightful)
For example, do you think Novell is still putting out patches for Netware 2.x? Nope, don't think so. Is Borland releasing fixes for Turbo C++ 3.0 for DOS? Nope...
This is really a non-issue... If you're on 98, deal with the lack of support or switch.
That said, this does demonstrate what I consider to be the single biggest advantage of the F
Windows as a Hardware Development Platform (Score:5, Interesting)
This is no longer the case. Instead hardware designers will be required to get bogged down in driver developement, just to get the first few bits into and out of their systems. In my limited experience with MS Windows driver development, DDK information is 'restricted' and 'quick and dirty' tests are no longer possible.
It looks like I will be learning how to write a linux device driver (or reverting to a DOS replacement).
Hardware Problems (Score:3, Interesting)
I believe that 98 is still the most used OS, that the 27%-35% that it has exceeds that of any of the other variants. If not, it's close. It's odd for a product to become a non-entity when it's at the top of the heap.
For example, if you develop software for home or school use, you are cutting your throat if it won't run on 98, but MS won't help you keep a 98 machine to test that it works for those 50 million potential users. Yecch!
Yes, it's Old, Yes, it sucked ass, Yes, M$ sucks.. (Score:3, Insightful)
a very small slice.
For most people, rebooting Win9x is just fine for them, becuase they use their machines for fucking around for an hour a day. It works, they know how to use it, its got solitare.
These people are not only afraid of fucking something up by installing a new Windows OS on their machine, but they're simply afraid of doing it, period. People fear their machines; and if the elves in the magic box are still willing to work, well, we just dont want to fuck that up.
Then consider the fact that for many people, paying $300 or $200 or $100 or even only $40 to upgrade their operating system is simply more money than they [ can afford | are willing ] to spend on their computer.
On top of that, they probably werent even aware there was support for Win98 in the first place.
i'm just sayin.
Please... (Score:5, Insightful)
And these people aren't going to switch to linux. Didn't you see that 1% piece of the pie? I found suse and mandrake to seem a lot slower than windows xp on my p4 1.8 so I don't think on older pentium 2 hardware anyone's going to enjoy the performance of kde over windows 98.
Yeah, a lot of people here spend a lot of their time on computers. They love to hunt out bugs and recompile their kernels. But a lot of people don't and it's very elitest to put them down for doing so. Just because you're gentoo installation runs 8% faster than my windows xp installation, doesn't mean you'll have anymore insight into how computers work for people.
Re:Please... (Score:3, Insightful)
Aren't most corp desktops 95/98? (Score:3, Informative)
how to save all the updates? (Score:3, Interesting)
If this were about winows ME (Score:3, Funny)
Archives (Score:3, Informative)
Security updates...who needs em (Score:4, Interesting)
Sun to blame for Win98 retiremnt (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Sun to blame for Win98 retiremnt (Score:4, Interesting)
I supose you think that the high cost of opperating prisons should be blamed on the people who report crime, and the courts who send criminals to prison?
Big party planned in Redmond? (Score:3, Interesting)
What about Sun's lawsuit? (Score:4, Interesting)
Brer Rabbit Microsoft: "Whatever you do, Brer Fox Sun, please don't throw me in that briar patch of dropping Windows 98 support!"
Anyway, my own timing is almost impeccable, which isn't so common. I hope it's a good sign for the new year. My last pure Windows 98 box apparently croaked last night (and all the data had been pulled off a while ago). I still have a couple of cross-booters just in case.
Not a great idea... (Score:3, Interesting)
Sure, it sucks supporting old software, but when January 16 rolls around, the two Microsoft 98 machines I own will switch to one Microsoft XP machine and one Debian GNU/Linux machine.
For my personal use, I'm not willing to pay for updates when F/OSS software does what I need. The only reason why I'm even upgrading one machine to XP is that I'm not the primary user.
Two comments, just to alienate everyone equally (Score:4, Insightful)
2) The comparisons between MS's support lifetime policy and Red Hat's is ludicrous. When Red Hat ends support for a product line, upgrading to the newer comparable version of the product is free. When version 9 support runs out this spring, you can upgrade to Fedora at no cost. Last I looked, MS wasn't donating any variant of XP or 2000.
Re:Two comments, just to alienate everyone equally (Score:5, Insightful)
No, because there's not a Powerbook in existence that can boot OS 6. There are plenty of machines seeing daily use in this world that are still running Windows 98 and won't be replaced anytime soon. And what about the machines whose manufacturers won't support any other OS than what shipped with the hardware? I'm pretty sure Sony has that policy, and I think Dell will give you a hard time about it as well if you upgrade your OS and go calling them for support.
Also, Apple makes a great deal of their older software available for free download. [apple.com] You can get any complete version of OS 6, and the complete version of 7 up to 7.5.3. Microsoft doesn't even make DOS 1.0 available for free download anywhere that I can find.
~Philly
You expect Grandma to Write her Own Drivers? (Score:4, Insightful)
Imagine 2 sets of people - those still running Windows 98, *exclusively*, for day to day work and those who can fully, without-a-doubt understand their favorite OSS and code their way through a new printer driver (or whatever). Now, show me the intersection of those 2 sets. Not a big resultant set is it? Does that set even exist?
That reminds me. (Score:4, Funny)
Why did they call it Windows?
Because it's easily broken.
Re:Well... (Score:3, Insightful)
And all the windows98 users would have to buy a new computer as OS X doesn't run on i386.
Re:Well... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Well... (Score:5, Funny)
That's odd, because you sound decidely irritated.
Re:Who cares... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Who cares... (Score:5, Insightful)
There are several issues with that:
* First, as others have mentioned, this may imply buying a new computer. Yes, US$200 can buy a computer well capable of running Windows XP. That is not much for a typical US household. A poor student in a third world country may have more of a problem.
* Some software, that runs on Windows 98, does not run successfully on Windows XP (and especially on Windows 2000). Sure, such software is usually woefully written but, if users rely on it, so what?
* Windows 98 SE came out in various language versions. In many cases, equivalent comfort levels for non English speakers are not readily available in Windows 2000 or XP. While the NT based systems allow input and output of the appropriate characters, this is not the same as having menus and error messages in ones native language. With 2000 and XP, multilingual user interface packs exist for many of the languages with specific language Windows 98 versions. These packs are only available to corporate customers.
* There is the cost of buying the new Windows version.
Obviously, Microsoft's priority is to make the maximum amount of money. Fair enough. But, the users need to consider how to get the functionality they need at minimum long term cost. If they need to change their operating system and some of their other software, perhaps they should consider an operating system that allows them to keep their existing hardware and that is less likely to require disruptive changes in the future.
Re:Who cares... (Score:5, Insightful)
Where's the gun to the head?
Oh, wait -- they're not forced to upgrade!
You're just grabbing at straws trying to find things to bitch about regarding Microsoft. Red Hat drops support WAY sooner than Microsoft ever does (it's been 5 years for Windows 98 -- Redhat discontinued support for Redhat 7.3 at the end of last year and that's way newer than Windows 98.)
But no, instead of reasoning with your brain, you are going to play the part of the anti-Micro"$"oft troll.
Re:Who cares... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Who cares... (Score:5, Interesting)
But what's with the lack of driver support? Sounds like it's 50/50 wherever you go. But I'm the idiot, you know, wanting my webcam and scanner to work with my OS.
Re:Who cares... (Score:4, Insightful)
Microsoft addicted those users to Windows 98, and is responsible for their care and feeding. If they don't feel they can do it profitably, then they should release the source for the OS so that others can provide them with support that Microsoft won't. Ford may not officially support repairs on the '65 Mustang anymore, but the open nature of vehicles generally makes a huge, huge after-market economy possible. Hell, even if Microsoft doesn't open the source via any FSF-compatible license, they could easily both make a ton of extra money, and foster a huge after-market profit source for a new sector of the tech economy by making the source available. Whatever way you look at it, it's a mistake, and there are better ways for Microsoft to handle it.
Re:Who cares... (Score:4, Informative)
unofficial redhat patches nr. 1 [fedora.us]
unofficial redhat patches nr. 2 [progeny.com]
Now, where are those unofficial windows patches?
Re:Who cares... (Score:3, Insightful)
As for redhat, you can upgrade for free. Most of the time, upgrading a linux cluster means you get one machine, test out the kernel and whatnot on it for
Re:Who cares... (Score:4, Insightful)
Wait until you ask for an XP activation code after MS has end-of-lifed it.
Re:Who cares... (Score:3, Interesting)
The fastest way to run Windows programs under Linux is with Win4lin.
Win4lin doesn't support W2K, so I use Win98 for it.
Re:Who cares... (Score:3, Informative)
I happily had XP running on my Dual PII 350@400 (only one PII 350 in some cases).
And that was with FULL visual effects etc.
Re:Exactly (Score:3, Insightful)
I get useful work (haha) done on my Libretto running w95, for heaven's sake. 16 Mb of RAM and a P120 processor. Still works fine for most internet stuff that I do.
Hey! (Score:3, Interesting)
"Laugh all you want, Monkey Boy." - John Whorfin
I, for one, still play X-Wing and TIE Fighter (and a few other games unplayable/unsupported in NT/2000/XP [lucasarts.com]). Why, what do you use your Microsoft OSes for?
Re:Laughable (Score:5, Informative)
When they did the Windows Millenium version, THAT'S where they really blew it. All they did was add fluff, plus a half-broken system to roll-back to previous system states that ends up slowing the whole thing down.
I don't know how you can claim Windows '95 was superior to '98, when it lacked USB support completely, had very little native device driver support by comparison, didn't support Internet Connection Sharing or even support for internal ISDN modems (no native support for bonding multiple 64K "B" data channels together), and a slew of other things.
Re:Laughable (Score:3, Insightful)
I think they felt they put too much into Win98. Possibly done to encourage people to upgrade to 2000 or
Re:Games ! what about the games! (Score:4, Interesting)