Posted By: John H.
Microsoft yanking support for Windows 98 in January - 12/15/03 07:01 AM
"Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) will stop offering support services next month for computer users whose machines are still running Windows 98, though the company said it might still release security patches if threats appear serious enough."
http://apnews.excite.com/article/20031213/D7VDFPMO0.html
This is all a normal part of the Windows Product Life Cycle --
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/lifecycle/desktop/consumer/default.mspx
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/lifecycle/desktop/business/default.mspx
Now, this doesn't mean that on January 16th, all Windows 98 computers will suddenly stop working. What it means is that after January 16th, using a Windows 98 machine will become more and more risky. Hackers and security researchers are continually finding problems/liabilities with Windows (whichever version), and that's why Microsoft is continually coming up with patches & updates for their operating systems; like those available at the Windows Update site. But with Microsoft pulling the plug on updates for Win 98, that OS will become riskier and riskier to use online, the farther it gets out of date. Microsoft says they *might* put out a patch for Win 98 if a particularly nasty liability arises; but I wouldn't count on that too much. They're in the business of selling software after all, and want to push people to upgrade to Windows XP.
For many people this will mean buying a new computer. Most older machines (pre-2000 or so) just don't have the hardware horsepower necessary to run Windows XP.
Here's a site you can visit that'll scan your computer, and tell you if you can run XP on your current machine --
http://www.pcpitstop.com/xpready/default.asp
(It only works with the Internet Explorer web browser.)
http://apnews.excite.com/article/20031213/D7VDFPMO0.html
This is all a normal part of the Windows Product Life Cycle --
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/lifecycle/desktop/consumer/default.mspx
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/lifecycle/desktop/business/default.mspx
Now, this doesn't mean that on January 16th, all Windows 98 computers will suddenly stop working. What it means is that after January 16th, using a Windows 98 machine will become more and more risky. Hackers and security researchers are continually finding problems/liabilities with Windows (whichever version), and that's why Microsoft is continually coming up with patches & updates for their operating systems; like those available at the Windows Update site. But with Microsoft pulling the plug on updates for Win 98, that OS will become riskier and riskier to use online, the farther it gets out of date. Microsoft says they *might* put out a patch for Win 98 if a particularly nasty liability arises; but I wouldn't count on that too much. They're in the business of selling software after all, and want to push people to upgrade to Windows XP.
For many people this will mean buying a new computer. Most older machines (pre-2000 or so) just don't have the hardware horsepower necessary to run Windows XP.
Here's a site you can visit that'll scan your computer, and tell you if you can run XP on your current machine --
http://www.pcpitstop.com/xpready/default.asp
(It only works with the Internet Explorer web browser.)