Based on what I'm reading in the trade publications ......
Windows 98 should not be delayed by the Internet Explorer bundling issue. The integration of IE 4 with Win 95 AND Win 98 is an OPTION that can be changed even after installation by going back to the IE 4 setup program. The option is present RIGHT NOW, for Windows 95, as you will see if you install IE 4 (which I have, twice). The worst case scenario is likely to be either a change the default for this option or complete removal of the option, giving the user no option to integrate IE 4 into Windows. Neither of these, however, should delay Windows 98, since the option is already in the code and this has always been planned to remain a customer option, even in Windows 98.
This would not, of course, prevent MS from claiming this as an excuse in the event that Windows 98 was delayed for entirely different reasons unrelated to IE 4. I don't expect this, however, as Win 98 was pretty much set to ship in Feb. until MS concluded that it would be a mistake to ship the product without the ability to upgrade from BOTH Win 95 and Win 3.x. The original plan had been to ship a product that could upgrade from Win95 only in Feb., and to ship a version that could upgrade from either Win95 or Win 3.x later (in May), but MS apparently came to the conclusion that having two versions was worse than just delaying the product three months and then offering a single version. |
