[OT] Windows 98 gets support reprieve

[YoKenny]

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/windows/0,39020396,39119028,00.htm

Although support for the older operating systems was due to end shortly,
Microsoft has announced that it will be extended

Microsoft has extended support for Windows 98, Windows 98 SE and Windows ME.
The software giant has extended support for the operating systems until 30
June, 2006.
During that time paid over-the-phone support will be available, and
"critical" security issues will be reviewed and "appropriate steps" taken.

 

[Wayne D]

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/windows/0,39020396,39119028,00.htm

Although support for the older operating systems was due to end shortly,
Microsoft has announced that it will be extended

Microsoft has extended support for Windows 98, Windows 98 SE and Windows ME.
The software giant has extended support for the operating systems until 30
June, 2006.
During that time paid over-the-phone support will be available, and
"critical" security issues will be reviewed and "appropriate steps" taken.

Site #2 with same info.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/34826.html

Regards

Wayne D

 

[REMbranded]

Site #2 with same info.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/34826.html

The Pied Piper routine isn't working.

Many, like me, will not buy software that requires 'permission' to
use. I don't like where MS is heading at all here. This alone will
keep me from buying another MS product.

Then again, 98SE is pretty darned rock solid. The only shortcoming is
memory utilization. XP might utilize my 256 megs more efficiently, but
98SE does a pretty good job. Enough so that I'm comfortable enough
with it not to buy XP.

With a majority of the world electing not to buy into XP, it is
critical not to drop security updates for the older MS OS's. MS
already has the distinction of being the largest target in the world
for malware writers. A bounty isn't going to solve this problem. They
must react, or be known as responsible for the majority of vulnerable
machines connected to the internet... = horrible PR.

Then there is the open source front. The bottom line dictates
efficiency in the long run. There is no way to battle free operating
systems in the long run, especially with products pocked full of
security holes. The short term costs associated with switching over to
open source are paltry compared to the long term savings governments
and corporations can reap in switching.

Is the pendalum changing course?

I really think so. This might well be a historic time to remember. A
time that MS comes to the realization that paying customers are king
and are directly responsible for the numbers on the Income Statement.

I have a class I've been putting off for some time now... the second
cobol course. It's a dreadfully boring language I have no interest in.
My plan worked to an extent. They finally dropped it and are going
with Visual Basic .NET instead.

I don't like the .NET premise, but it _is_ better than cobol! The
downside is it requires XP Pro or 2000 Pro and I have 98. I was going
to have to do the coding in the lab, rather than in the comfort of
home. I just learned that MS is giving XP Pro and VB .NET to all
faculty and CS students in an 'initiative'.

Obviously MS isn't coming down on the list price... another mistake
IMO. Instead, they are trying to get the OS and development
environment out into the world by giving it to key institutions and
personnel.

I assume the plan is we'll keep, use and recommend the freebies and
provide a front for XP - .NET.

I'll install the monster to code at home, but it's history at
semesters end. And I'll not write any .NET applications afterwards.

I suppose we both have ulterior motives. I can achieve mine, but I
will not assist MS in achieving it's.

Look a gift horse in the mouth? Heck yeah!

 

[H-Man]

Many, like me, will not buy software that requires 'permission' to
use. I don't like where MS is heading at all here. This alone will
keep me from buying another MS product.

Then again, 98SE is pretty darned rock solid. The only shortcoming is
memory utilization. XP might utilize my 256 megs more efficiently, but
98SE does a pretty good job. Enough so that I'm comfortable enough
with it not to buy XP.

Oh boy, are you going to hear about that one. Experiences vary, personally I
found Win'95OSR2 more stable than any either '98 or '98SE, or for that
matter the ME abortion. I do know that many people have not had this
experience and like '98SE best. I think it depends on the hardware / OS
match. On a basic system, without too many extras, stability increases
greatly. Load a lot of drivers at startup and the fun begins. I've been
tweaking my AMD system at home for a couple of years now on Win98SE and it
is finally stable, except for now the CD burner burns a larger number of
coasters. Somehtings going on, but hey, who knows. From a stability
standpoint, I thing W2K an s XP are the best so far.

With a majority of the world electing not to buy into XP, it is
critical not to drop security updates for the older MS OS's. MS
already has the distinction of being the largest target in the world
for malware writers. A bounty isn't going to solve this problem. They
must react, or be known as responsible for the majority of vulnerable
machines connected to the internet... = horrible PR.

Yes, I agree, it's the whole forced upgrade thing. The problem is that not
only does the software cost big, so does the hardware required for it.
Personally I still use MS-DOS6.22 on my web/ftp server, on an old 486. Works
great, no need for major upgrades there.

Then there is the open source front. The bottom line dictates
efficiency in the long run. There is no way to battle free operating
systems in the long run, especially with products pocked full of
security holes. The short term costs associated with switching over to
open source are paltry compared to the long term savings governments
and corporations can reap in switching.
Right!


Is the pendalum changing course?

I really think so. This might well be a historic time to remember. A
time that MS comes to the realization that paying customers are king
and are directly responsible for the numbers on the Income Statement.
Exactly!


I have a class I've been putting off for some time now... the second
cobol course. It's a dreadfully boring language I have no interest in.
My plan worked to an extent. They finally dropped it and are going
with Visual Basic .NET instead.

VB.NET is an abortion that is responsible for bloat like you can't imagine.
Tried it, went back to VB6 for now.

I don't like the .NET premise, but it _is_ better than cobol! The
downside is it requires XP Pro or 2000 Pro and I have 98. I was going
to have to do the coding in the lab, rather than in the comfort of
home. I just learned that MS is giving XP Pro and VB .NET to all
faculty and CS students in an 'initiative'.

Again, this is why .NET bites, although I guess the initiative helps. Maybe
look at free alternatives, ie, XBasic, or one of the many free C++
compilers. Maybe also look at FreePascal, or if Borland still has a Delphi
personal edition available.

Obviously MS isn't coming down on the list price... another mistake
IMO. Instead, they are trying to get the OS and development
environment out into the world by giving it to key institutions and
personnel.

Sounds like an effective strategy, let's hope it doesn't work.

I assume the plan is we'll keep, use and recommend the freebies and
provide a front for XP - .NET.

I'll install the monster to code at home, but it's history at
semesters end. And I'll not write any .NET applications afterwards.

Atta boy.

I suppose we both have ulterior motives. I can achieve mine, but I
will not assist MS in achieving it's.

Look a gift horse in the mouth? Heck yeah!

Hehe
HK

 

[Cousin Stanley]

| ....
| I have a class I've been putting off for some time now ...
| the second cobol course.
| It's a dreadfully boring language I have no interest in.
| ....

Cousin REMbranded ....

Boredom is often a preconceived mind-set,
and although you may have no interest in it,
I personally find Cobol no more or no less boring
than any other computer language ....

Often interest in a project is elevated
by the nature of the project itself
and not the means by which the project
is implemented ....

I've seen Cobol successfully used for a wide variety of projects
other than common business applications, among them the implementation
of Basic and Forth compilers and interpreters ....

That ain't boring, to me anyhoo ....

 

[Richard Steven Hack]

I don't like the .NET premise, but it _is_ better than cobol! The
downside is it requires XP Pro or 2000 Pro and I have 98. I was going
to have to do the coding in the lab, rather than in the comfort of
home. I just learned that MS is giving XP Pro and VB .NET to all
faculty and CS students in an 'initiative'.

Yes, they're doing that here at City College of San Francisco, too.
Unfortunately they didn't tell anybody until a week or two before
finals, then a week after finals the college is closed until January
14th (the day before classes open for spring), and the server was done
so I couldn't get my copy of XP. Oh, well, I really would rather have
2000 anyway for now, and perhaps get XP later when I get a third
machine. I want to keep 98 on my old Compaq, dump 98 and replace it
with 2000 on my current machine, and save XP for some other machine
later. All dual-booted with Linux, of course.

I wouldn't bother with the newer Windows, but I intend to do
free-lance tech support and I need 2000 and 98 (and eventually XP) to
do support for people with those OS's.

Obviously MS isn't coming down on the list price... another mistake
IMO. Instead, they are trying to get the OS and development
environment out into the world by giving it to key institutions and
personnel.

This is part of their anti- Linux initiative. They finally figured
out that CS students can't afford $200 for an OS and so get Linux for
free, which makes them partial to Linux instead of Windows.

I'll install the monster to code at home, but it's history at
semesters end. And I'll not write any .NET applications afterwards.

The Ximian people over at Novell are working on something called Mono,
which is intended to be an open-source version of Dot-Net. Don't know
how far along they are, but they intend to reproduce pretty much all
of it - the multi-language run-time, C#, the whole works.

Some people don't like the idea, but until Microsoft goes away, Linux
needs to be as interoperable as possible, so I don't think Mono is in
any sense a "treasonous" project.

And apparently there are some good points in the Dot-Net technology.
I haven't paid much attention so far.

 

[Richard Steven Hack]

Yes, they're doing that here at City College of San Francisco, too.
Unfortunately they didn't tell anybody until a week or two before
finals, then a week after finals the college is closed until January
14th (the day before classes open for spring), and the server was down
so I couldn't get my copy of XP.

Updating myself - they came back from vacation today and I was smart
enough to check if they got the server back up which they did. So I
got my free copy of WindowsXP Pro.

Still not in a hurry to install it yet, tho, since I want 2000 on this
machine.

 

[recon77]

All dual-booted with Linux, of course.

Of course!

john