epp_b Posted January 12, 2004 Share Posted January 12, 2004 http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/windows/0...39119028,00.htmI figured that this would happen. Microsoft can't afford to pull the plug on it just yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted January 12, 2004 Share Posted January 12, 2004 Awesome! That's great news!At least security issues will continue to be addressed (for the most part as they have been).So now all Win9x/ME security update and paid support will end at the same time, 30 June, 2006.I am very glad to hear that bit of news. I have a few customers that will be glad to hear it as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted January 12, 2004 Share Posted January 12, 2004 Looked into this a bit further.Yes, Win98/Win98SE online self support will still be available till at least 30-JUN-2006.According to the LifeCycle page where they have updated the Win98 info with a See Review Note 8: 8. Extended hotfix support for this product will end on 30-Jun-2003. After 16-Jan-2004, this product will be obsolete and assisted support will no longer be available from Microsoft. Online self-help support will continue to be available until at least 30-Jun-2006.However, the date for LifeCycle Support on IE 6 SP1 (which includes OE 6 since they don't break it out further) for Win98 has not changed.Internet Explorer 6 SP1 on Windows 98: 16-Jan-2004As opposed to the WinME date which is still:Internet Explorer 6 SP1 on Windows Millennium: 31-Dec-2004So, this tells me, that if I want to continue using Win98SE which will continue online self support (I assume that means that Windows Updates on at least Security patch level will continue or will it move to downloads only from the Win98 Downloads support page? -- they do not specifically outline this point -- guess we will find out after the 16th for sure ??) till at least June 30, 2006, I definitely made the right decision in moving to Mozilla Firebird and Thunderbird for email.BTW: Here's the webpages reflecting this information and the lingo is definitely a bit confusing IMHO. (The life cycle page I am putting here in code rather than http because it has brackets in the URL which are not interpreted properly in the forums, so you will need to copy and paste to a new browser window):Windows 98 Support Centerhttp://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;[ln];LifeWin Am I reading this right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epp_b Posted January 12, 2004 Author Share Posted January 12, 2004 Wow, that is a brain-full :blink:Microsoft likes to jumble things up so much so that they can win lawsuits with fancy English while still doing things the way they shouldn't be Excerpt in Microsoftese Extended hotfix support for this product will end on 30-Jun-2003. After 16-Jan-2004, this product will be obsolete and assisted support will no longer be available from Microsoft. Online self-help support will continue to be available until at least 30-Jun-2006Traslated to EnglishWe'll give you regular updates and patches until the middle of 2003. Then we'll still help you along giving you tech support for another half year. But after that, you've got to find help on your own buddy. Maaaybe, if there's a *really* serious flaw and we decide that we're annoyed enough by all of the complaints, we'll release a buggy patch for it, but that's all you'll get out of usI don't think their actually going to be releasing patches unless there's something *really* serious and there's a ton of complaints (like the MSBlast patch that they released for NT after enough whining from customers)Not only that, but 3rd-party software vendors are beginning to drop support for Windows 98. PowerQuest DriveImage 7, for example, only works with Windows 2000 SP2 or higher. And the following versions of most software will likely follow this pattern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stryder Posted January 12, 2004 Share Posted January 12, 2004 Yep, this is good news. Windows 98 is still the most widely used Microsoft OS. But I firmly believe that we can all thank the business sector for the extended support. It was many, many large and medium size businesses that put the pressure on MS to continue support. The wants and needs of the home user did not play into this decision at all. But whatever the reasons behind the decision it is nice to see MS do the right thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted January 12, 2004 Share Posted January 12, 2004 I agree Stryder! If it weren't for the business sector, I am sure this would never have happened!Glad to hear they are supporting it as much as they are for a while yet. From the looks of things, this will take it to approximately the time frame where Longhorn is supposed to be released....we shall see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nlinecomputers Posted January 12, 2004 Share Posted January 12, 2004 Well I for one had wished it would have gone ahead and died. As Epp notes a lot of software is starting to no longer the support 9x platform. Also I had a couple of upgrades for a client that might be in jeopardy because of this bait 'n' switch by Microsoft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted January 12, 2004 Share Posted January 12, 2004 I hear ya Nathan. I think we will all lose some biz on this 11th hour 'stay of execution' for Win98/Win98SE.But some of my clients really couldn't swing the update (software and hardware needed) but were going to try to do so and it would really have put them short just so they would be covered. For these folks, this will come as a real sigh of relief. A relief I can definitely understand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epp_b Posted January 12, 2004 Author Share Posted January 12, 2004 Well, whadaya know, Nathan, for once I can agree with you ;)Upgrading gives me an excuse to go out and buy new hardware and software :)I plan to move to XP in the near future, when I can afford it, and then I also plan to try a few things like VMWare -- really handy to be able to run two or more machines in one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volunteer Posted January 12, 2004 Share Posted January 12, 2004 I for one am happy about their decision. I still have four computers running win98 on my local net, and one running XP Pro serving the Internet connection. All the browers are Firebird and e-mail is Thunderbird. All my original apps work just fine for my needs. One day all will be running Linux, I have three standalone computers running Linux now, MDK 9.2, Suse 9.0 Pro, and one runs the Linux of the day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeber Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 The RegisterAnother opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave PCPitstop Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 I think it's mostly appearances. Their main goal was to nudge people onto the NT-class platform but it wasn't going to work. Microsoft will probably have a small team working on Win9x-class stuff, and will try to turn more of it into paid support.At some point it will be more cost-effective for them to give away free XP than to support the 98 crud. I'm waiting for that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 Good one Dave! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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