Because 98 is a barely usable operating. $100 is worth the price of saving his laptop almost certain destruction, either from user frustration or a BSOD followed by acrid smoke from the cpu. 98 is a dark magic from forgotten times. And its a well known fact that technology and magic do not mix.

It is good that its sphere of power is limited to the machine executes the demonic combination of 1's and 0's. Or nearly limited. Occasionally if the user closes his eyes he can still see the blue screen. Rumour has it, using 98 long enough can lead to the blue screen burned into your retina and that when you die the BSOD, not the outside world, will be the last thing you ever see.

I as well find the rip off ways of Microsoft distasteful and dislike a closed, at least nearly inaccesable OS like windows but.. I have been using W98SE nearly forever and still use it when my linux doesn't seem to have a way to easily do certain things. I have my hard drive in a drawer type thing and change out. The only major failure of W98SE is viruses, worms, and trojans abound on the net and you will get one is you surf around. Have to be prepared to reformat and reinstall..Next to linux distros.. for me SuSe and Vector have worked and installed easily..but I am still trying others..

I thought I'd comment because we've been discussing the same thing at my house.My wife was considering linux lately and she normally dislikes it.She always ran windowsxp but it seems one of the updates doesn't agree with her old hardware.We usually reinstall windows every once in awhile because it's the best way to get out all the bugs but it doesn't solve the problem so I have been telling her the benefits of switching to linux.She even tried reinstalling windows98 but everything is so old on it.The browser was like IE4.I guess you could switch to firefox but everything is probably that old .I have a bunch of old computers and I often use small linuix distros.My favorite so far is Damn Small Linux.If your like me and you run old machine microsoft won't be there for long.Why buy a new machine when my 6 year old does everything I need ?I have had linux on probably six machines so far and every time I install it it gets easier.I remember going from windows 3.11 to 98 It took a while to adjust and linux is even more of a jump ,but well worth it.

Ahh... if only it was'nt for those damned hackers, corrupting a HIGH quality OS like Windows 98.

My stepfather is a TOTAL linux guru so he put WinXP on it.

That explains alot, but thanks for the good laugh.

ahhhh twilli227....your step father gives a new meaning to the word "geek"!

For new linux users: don't use Fedora Core. I had experience with Redhat 9 before I tried FC5 and I still couldn't get anything to work right. Suse Linux is the easiest distro I've dealt with as long as you don't have a nasty ATI Radeon X200 onboard gfx. Windows 98 is very bad and unstable and you should probably go out and buy a WinXP upgrade from walmart or something after you install it.

i had problems with fc5 too. i think it was i just didn't like the feel of it. i tried the ubuntu dapper drake distro and i loved it. i used to dual boot with windows, but now it's all ubuntu. check out ubuntu once and see what you think. and also give this place a chance. i'm a newbie too and these guys and gals have been so patient and helpful to me. they really go the extra mile for you here as well as any linux support or forums on the net. no matter what the problem you have with linux, you can find the answer here or a path to where the answer lies. good luck to you on your journey.

This is so confusing and hilarious at the same time...

yes....but look how much fun we're all having. linux rocks!!!!

YIIIPEEEE!!

Definitely. I just configured my gfx card to have 3-D in Suse Linux today. I just had to type "sax2 -m 0=fglrx" at failsafe mode and it's as simple as that. No hassles with any GUI crap. Now I get to play games like Pingus. How wonderful. But seriously, tomorrow I'm gonna download a bunch of free 3-D Linux games like free first person shooters or whatever.

I tried to play/test XMoto. XMoto needs a complete revamp. I know it's alpha, but it should be re-written to be more like a 3-D offroad moto racing game. Not that I would know how to do that since my only X-Window programming skills involve making a two-player tic tac toe game that uses graphics primitives to draw lines and circles in black and white. I really don't know how to load bmp or png images using the x11 library. I have found no info whatsoever.

Linux is way more fun than Windows. Macs are also fun. I guess I am just bored with the predictable Windows virus attacks and uninspiring proprietary software.

I still strugle with Linux. I started using Fedora Core 2 when it was released & have stuck to it ever since. Linux can be as complex or simple as you make it.

Right now I don't use Windows at all (even at work) and I would never consider going back. Since I stopped using Windows, I lost like 40 lbs since I no longer sit for hours and play FEAR, Counter Strike, or other games.

My point, Linux to me is complex and sometimes frustrating but that is also why I love it.

another note....as newbie as i am. i like that fact that when you want to do something on linux, such as certain games, or whatever, alot of times you have to earn the abillity to do so. which is great for me, i didn't what sudo was and i'm still not too positive of how to use apt-get, but i'm gittin there and enjoying myself with the challenge. here is another big positive, my 2 yr old loves to play on the puters. he has wiped taskmanager and rearraged the desktop on my wifes window machine time and time again. don't have to worry about that with linux. gotta love root.