Microsoft: Windows 98 to be released June 25

Microsoft finally announced what the world has known for over a month now:Windows 98 will be available in stores on June 25th for a suggested retailprice of $109 ($209 for the full version). Most stores will likely sell thenew operating system for $89, the same price as Windows 95. Windows 98, currently in the "release candidate" stage, is feature-complete and Microsoft is racing to squash last minute bugs before the product is released to manufacturing. Sometime in mid-May, Microsoft will supply the code for Windows 98 to hardware manufacturers so that they can start building systems that include the new software.

"The product is a better Windows 95," said Windows Product Manager Rob Bennett, though he also mentioned that the roll-out for Windows 98 will befar less flashy than the Windows 95 launch. Bennett said the company wouldeven rely of "word of mouth" to sell Windows 98.

Recently, at a Microsoft pre-launch show for Windows 98 called "MicrosofteXtreme", 40,000 attendees were asked whether they would upgrade to Windows98: 95% said they would.

"Windows 98 is catching fire among the PC enthusiasts," said Yusuf Mehdi, director of marketing, personal business systems group at Microsoft. "The beauty of Windows 98 is that it runs applications faster and easier than Windows 95, while unlocking a whole new range of hardware devices and entertainment capabilities for consumers."

Currently, there are over 150,000 people worldwide running beta builds ofWindows 98. A survey by Windows Magazine found that 62% of Windows usersplanned to upgrade to Windows 98 in the first 6 months it is available,while 87% said they would do so in the first year. The reason? Windows 98offers increased functionality and superior performance when compared toWindows 95.

Windows 98 offers three main advantages over Windows 95:

Many people have complained that Windows 98 isn't a huge upgrade over Windows 95, citing comparisons to Windows 95 systems running InternetExplorer 4.0. The truth is that Windows 98 is much more than what you cansee: much of its improvements lay under the covers, and these are thecomponents that make Windows 98 worthwhile. If you're buying a new PC,Windows 98 is a no-brainer. But Windows 98 will likely be of value to mostPC users with at least a Pentium CPU and 32 MB of RAM. We'll follow upwith a full review of Windows 98 sometime before the launch