I suspect I’ll be on the receiving end of a few flames from anti-Micro$ofties for writing this. But in all honesty, my opinion is that Win98 is still the best option for the vast majority of home users. Even with Microsoft releasing ME and 2000, it is still the most widely used operating system on the market, and justifiably so.
That judgement isn’t baseless. I spend a large amount of time at both home and university using Windows’ main competitor, Linux. Yet, despite all the trumpeting about this supposedly superior operating system (OS), I always find myself coming back to Windows.
Why is this? Basically, at the end of the day, computing is more about applications than the underlying system. Does it really matter what system you’re using - be it a Mac, a Windows PC or a BeOS PC - if you can type your report and print it out? If you want to play a game, do you go for the system that supports 99% of the market, or the one with the 1% share?
It seems a pretty obvious choice.
Windows 98’s main advantage lies therein: it is really the only option for users who want to run the most popular software. I don’t like Microsoft’s domination of the market any more than all the Linux devotees, but it doesn’t bother me enough to stop me using Word and moving over to StarOffice on Linux. A lot of computer-people have an inflated sense of self-importance in the industry, when to be honest, with so many new users, the computing market is ignorant to the underlying technology. All that matters now is being able to run the major apps.
Windows 98 is a lot like a comfy old jumper - you can wrap yourself up in it every time you use it, and it feels familiar and secure. You know where everything is, what everything does, and it hides the techy stuff from you. 90% of Windows users aren’t interested in cluster sizes or partitioning -they just want to type and play, as I’ve mentioned earlier. Windows makes tasks like these so easy, there really is no sensible reason to switch to any other OS.
Looking specifically at Windows 98, it can be compared quite closely to it’s predecessor, Windows 95. The basic look and feel is almost identical, with a few minor tweaks and enhancements here and there to justify the £70 price tag. New users would struggle to tell the difference between the two, at least on a superficial level, although once you begin to delve a little deeper, the changes are more apparent.
Driver support is much improved upon Win95, a very handy addition for those using post-95 technology e.g. TV cards, newer models of scanners, and so on. The inbuilt Windows Driver Database contains the drivers for many of the most popular peripherals, often making installation of new hardware a simple task even for the novice user.
Tweaks to the user interface are numerous. Items in the Start Menu now have their own context menu, activated by right-clicks, and can be dragged around the menu or desktop with ease. Also, the Windows NT file explorer is included, which is a much better option than the rather simplistic My Computer route.
Support comes included for modem sharing, useful addition for those on small home networks wishing to share an internet connection. Network support in general has also been boosted.
There are, of course, downfalls to Windows. The well-documented instability problems are notorious and always a problem, although in my experience I only encounter them while using unstable technology such as my TV card (which causes many problems with DirectDraw and memory access, which unfortunately are two of Windows’ weaker points). Win98 must never be considered stable, because the potential is always there for a poorly-written program to go haywire and bring your entire system down. The FAT32 file system employed by Win98 isn’t the best, and can be corrupted all too easily (I have the tales of woe to back this up). Make sure you have a good backup regime in place if you care at all about your data.
Unlike it’s big brothers, NT and 2000, Windows 98 also shields the user from the real workings of the system, so don’t buy it if you’re looking for real control over your computer.
Is Windows 98 the best option for the home user? With the advent of Windows ME, it’s hard to say. Reports suggest that ME is still fairly buggy, even more so than 98. It also includes many features, such as Media Player 7, which if anything are backward steps. If you have the option to choose your OS, I would go for the relative stability of Win98 and wait for Microsoft’s next major home operating system release, which will hopefully be the stable system they have been promising for years. You may, however, have no choice if ME is bundled with a new PC system.
Overall, the best consumer OS currently on the market, despite it’s stability problems. Treat it like a naughty child, and you should be OK.