I read somewhere that crappy M$ is cancelling support for Windows 98 in January, and soon those who still use it will "be on our own". This really gets my ticked off. I'm basically being pushed to pay $90 for an upgrade that is full of new holes to patch, and is being hit by loveswan, that's not what I need in an office computer! That stinks. I might find a way to get around the software problem, but I can't be positive. I was considering the full version of Lindows, Xandros, or Lycrosis, but not if I can't get around the software problem. This price isn't too much for a full OS, but for an OS upgrade? Maybe something like $129 tops, and that is still a bit much. Why should I have to upgrade an old computer with $90 software, when it may die or just have a big problem that may cost more than a new PC to correct before I get what M$ considers my money's worth. Not that I think I ever will with anything M$ makes, I had a M$ mouse and it broke in maybe 6 weeks!

I don't use windoze at all. If you have a pretty fast system get Mandrake 9.1 and put it on and use KDE desktop. I do what I need to without windoze at all. See sig below.
If you have to get a new M$ OS, don't upgrade, just buy a full version of XP. XP is the most stable version. My brother uses it and he had never used a puter before and has had no major problems. I hid all the system files though. Upgrades can cause problems unless you get lucky.
Most Linux distros stop support too. After all, windoze 98 is what 5 pushing 6 years old. Pretty out of date.

I guess I would be ticked to, but even Ford quits after 12 to 15 years. Long live Mazda.

From a support point of view can you expect a commerical company to support a product that is 5 years old? Yes it still works but you have to draw the line somewhere. Does RedHat still support v5?

Rus

Yea I have a Asus P5a motherboard that is acting funny and I was wondering if you could take a look at it... Maybe I can get a replacement...

Thanks. I put it in General because I'm thinking about using this as a reason to convert, if I don't need that darn software.

No they don't, but they created it in a way that doesn't render it obsolete. A linux boxed-set version number is irrelevant as long as you keep your kernel and software up to date. And also, it costs $0 to upgrade to the newest version instead of $150

Well at first i was worried then i thought about it, I never needed thier support for anything anyway just Direct X for gaming but I just installed XP on a friends system and I (Coughing) Kinda like it, lol. I guess ill need to switch to XP soon i anyway cuz gaming support under 98 wont last forever.

Yes, I do expect support for a product to last for at least more than 5 years. Does your mechanic refuse to fix a car that is more than ten years old, no. When you put it in perspective, Microsoft expects to ask too little from them.

It's just like Win95 support was. It goes up to DirectX 8.0 (or 8.1, cannot remember) 9.0 is win98/XP/2000 only. That's not as bad as it sounds. Newer games needs newer hardware and newer libraries to run (DirectX). Why should they keep the support for an older OS, buggy and slow only for DirectX?. New users want newer OS, newer games, newer tech and so on to enjoy they new thousand dollars computer. It's pointless to keep win98...They think: "If you have a new system, you have a new Windows version, a new graphics card, a huge amount of memory", if you don't have this sort of machine, you won't need a newer DirectX version, because you won't be able to play newer games anyway.
Also, all new games are supported for WindowsXP so...

You really can't compare a car to a computer. On average a person will keep and maintain a car for around 10 years. On average a person will keep and maintain a computer for around 3-5 years. So according to these stats, it makes since for MS to drop support after 5 years. Lets face it car technology is not changing anywhere near as fast as computer technology.

That's a pretty funny comment actually. I remember that some years back, one of the M$ responsable also said that if the cars had evolute as much as the computers did in the last 20 years, today we should all be flying and there would be no traffic or traffics accidents.
In an answers, a Ford responsible made a joke saying that, if the cars had evolute as much as the computers did in the last 20 years, today, while we were flying, the engine should suddenly stop for no apparent reason we we should fall. The solution would be to simple turn off and start the engine on again that everything would start working again.... It was really, really cool

I think that personally that after so much time has gone by, they cant stop supporting a product. There have been 3 new releases, ME, 2000, and XP since 98 came out. Why should they keep supporting it?

Like with my friends. None of them know as much as I do about computers, but if they are running anything but 2000, Xp-pro and of course Linux, I wont troubleshoot them. ME and 98 were pieces of crap when they came out and nothing has changed. Troubleshooting is a real pain, since it came with no tools, and there is no security whatsoever.

The reason I like Linux instead of windoze is the reliability of it. I don't have near as much trouble out of Linux as I have had on windoze, mostly just learning how to use it. I won't pay a bunch of money for something that doesn't work What's XP now about 150.00 for home and 300.00 for pro. I can't see paying so much for a OS that sucks. I paid $12.00 for what I have. It doesn't crash or anything either. Yes I plan to buy 9.2 from Mandrake when it comes out. I will most likely even donate a little more. I'm sure they won't mind that since it's worth it.
If I bought a car, a mower, or some other piece of equipment and got the service of windoze I'd want my money back. When I get ready to use something for what it was intended for it should work reliablily. That's what I paid for.
I don't mind paying for what I get, but I want what I paid for too.

My four cents worth on windoze.

ROTFLMAO.........I have a mazda b2500 pickup.......LOL
I bet you did'nt know that it is actually a Ford Ranger with a Mazda label on it.........