Win98, is it worth upgrading ?
Posted by: siteadm
Date posted: Fri May 1 12:14:59 PDT 1998
I've been looking forward to trying out and working with
Windows 98, but having done so now, all I can say is,
where's the beef? (See this week's Plugged In column
for more.)
Other than a nice new start-up sound, color gradients inside window title
bars, and an animated menu trick that was in the original Microsoft Plus, Windows 98 looks,
acts, feels, and works exactly like Windows 95 with Internet Explorer 4.0 installed (except
that you don't have the option to remove Explorer 4.0 in the Add/Remove Software control
panel -- what a surprise!). In fact, after I worked with it for about 15 minutes I nearly forgot I
was in Windows 98.
One thing I did notice, however, is that the version number of Windows 98 is listed as 4.1 vs.
4.0 for Windows 95. Interesting, no?
I know that internally there are some differences, but for the vast majority of people, most of
those differences will be completely irrelevant. Multiple monitors and TV tuner cards are just
not that big of a deal. Windows 98 also adds additional support for new hardware, such as
Universal Serial Bus devices, and apparently incorporates lots of bug fixes, but since when are
those considered part of an upgrade that costs money?
The one real highlight of Windows 98 is all the new troubleshooting and diagnostic tools
included with the OS. Ultimately, though, I'm left feeling that although Windows 98 is clearly
an improvement over Windows 95, it doesn't come close to justifying its $109 upgrade price
tag -- except perhaps for Windows 3.1 users, who will see enormous benefits. For existing
Windows 95 installations, however, this looks and feels like a $29 - $39 upgrade. Anything
more than that, in my opinion, is just more grist for the U.S. Justice Department's
investigation into Microsoft's monopolistic practices.
What do you think of Windows 98? Is it worth the price? Are you planning to upgrade?
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