End of the line for Windows 98 & ME

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS newsfeed so you don't miss out on all the information, news, tips and tricks.
Thanks for visiting!

Windows 98, 98SE and ME: Information about Support Lifecycle and MS06-015 highlights the end of the line for Windows 98 & ME. They will official be at the end of life in July 2006. However, an important security fix has not be implemented this month on either 98 or ME so you may wish to consider them obsolete from TODAY.

Many of the older machines running Windows 98 or ME aren’t really suitable for an upgrade to Windows XP. In essence, the most cost effective solution would be the purchase of a new computer with Windows XP pre-installed. It is a really shame that support couldn’t be extended to the point where Vista was out and available to buy on new systems. Therein lies the dilemna: should 98 & ME customers go out and buy a PC with XP or wait around for Vista systems to become available in early 2007, in the meantime crossing their fingers that their vulnerable systems will not end up being exploited.

What is the easy solutions to all this:

Switch to Linux

Linux is now a serious competitor to Windows on the desktop. It will run on older and lesser spec’d system than its Windows cousins! Most distributions already have the common applications pre-installed that the majority of users require. The installers are now pretty sophisticated behind the scenes, making it a breeze for the uninitated to accept all the defaults and get a working Linux box by the end of the process.

We highly recommend Ubuntu or Kubuntu if your prefer a more Windows like user interface. Both are based on the Debian distro and the latest version was only released at the beginning of this month. Best of all it is 100% free to use, CDs can be ordered for free or CD images can be easily download, and access to the source code is unrestricted if you are that way inclined.