Many of the mostly-adult age class remember the introduction of Microsoft’s Windows 98 operating system. Originally slated as “Windows 97,” programming problems at Microsoft kept delaying the release date until the product was finally introduced a year later as Windows 98.
Surveys show that as of Dec. 2005, 16 percent of American homes had computers that were running Windows 98, and that 6 percent were running Windows 98s ugly big brother, Windows ME. Those millions of homes, along with countless businesses and millions of others worldwide are in for a big shock when they discover that, as of July 11, 2006, Microsoft will no longer support Windows 98 or ME. You may read the rather terse, official announcement at http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifean18.
What this means is no more bug fixes, security updates or patches to try to prop up what has been a buggy, security-hole plagued operating system from the beginning. It was Windows 98 that solidified the term “blue screen of death” as part of the common computer vernacular, as most every Windows 98 user has, at one time or another, experienced a computer crash that left them staring helplessly at a blue-colored screen containing a strange, uninterpretible error message.
Those with computers containing the appropriate hardware should be able to upgrade their machines to Windows 2000 or XP. Contrary to Microsoft propaganda, there’s not much that you can do with Windows XP that you cannot do (albeit, after some tweaking) with Windows 2000. XP is promoted as being “more secure” than 2000, mainly because of the inclusion of a somewhat limited firewall program. However, this situation can be remedied, and even bettered, by installing the excellent (and free) firewall from Zone Labs.
Copies of Windows 2000 and XP can be had from reputable eBay sellers for around $100-150. If you can afford to do so, I recommend spending a bit extra and getting the “Professional” versions, as Windows XP Home Edition has many of the same inherent security flaws that made Windows 98 such a poor choice for serious Internet usage. Those who choose to buy from local vendors such as Best Buy should expect to pay more for the privilege of buying locally. Avoid buying “upgrade” versions.
Perfectly viable alternatives exist to using Microsoft Windows. If you’re a bit adventurous, and are tired of throwing your money down Microsoft’s black hole, consider installing a free version of Linux, such as the easy-to-use Suse Linux 10.1, available from www.novell.com/linux. Finally, those who can afford to do so should probably just buy an Apple Macintosh, and be happy for years to come.
In 1998, computer genius Tim O’Reilly wrote, “Vendors try to create a sense of urgency about upgrades, as if you’ll be left behind if you don’t buy the latest and greatest version. But at the same time, many of the changes are often fairly like the chrome and tailfin changes that drove the auto industry for years.” Sad, but true.