[vox-tech] Win98 Dilemma

[Ken Herron]

Bob Scofield wrote:
> While I  use Linux for all personal computing, I'm still using Windows 98 for 
> my business computing.  I  have not upgraded to XP because I don't want to 
> support Microsoft (and the idea of having to call to re-install XP a second 
> time rankles me).
> 
> Since July Microsoft no longer gives security updates for Windows98.  So do 
> you all think there's a danger in my continuing to use Windows98?  Should I  
> upgrade to XP, or the new OS coming out in January, simply to protect myself?

If you never connect to the Internet, then you should be okay. If you 
don't use Internet Explorer or Outlook, then you're probably relatively 
safe. But note that future versions of the Firefox browser may drop 
support for Windows 98.

Windows 2000 is still supported by MS and will receive security updates 
through 2010. MS isn't selling any more licenses for Win2k, but it looks 
like some merchants still have it for sale. It's somewhat less evil than 
Windows XP, for example it doesn't insist on contacting Microsoft every 
so often to check that it's not pirated. I upgraded from Win98 to Win2k 
back in 2002 specifically to avoid all of the extra DRM in Windows XP, 
and I never had a reason to regret my decision.

Another long-term possibility is to get a Macintosh. It'll let you move 
to non-MS software where you can, and if you have something that just 
has to run on Windows, you can use Parallels (<http://www.parallels.com/>).

Ken