Opinion: Windows 98 problems exaggerated

In an industry dominated by Microsoft and Intel, it gets a little too easysometimes to slam the local monopolies when there isn't any real news tooffer. The recent spate of Windows 98 disaster stories has made me wonderwhether this isn't a case of crying wolf. Sure, there are users that havereported problems upgrading laptops with PC Cards. I've heard from somemyself. But the solution to the problem is the same as it was under Windows95: Simply remove the cards and reinstall them. Simple. And not exactlyearth-shattering. The big issue here is that Windows 98 isn't a massiveupgrade with all kinds of different features, requiring new drivers oranything drastic. Windows 98 is simply the next version of Windows 95.It's the same thing, really.

The only difference between Windows 98 and the OSR releases of Windows 95is that Windows 98 is available on store shelves. This opens it up to adifferent kind of user (an upgrader) than Windows 95 OSR-2 or OSR-2.5.Those OSes were designed specifically to be installed on new computers andwhile the bulk of Windows 98's users will indeed receive the OS with a newcomputer, there will be millions of people that run out and buy it.

These people are geeks. They're like you and I, probably. They want thelatest and greatest, even though they can't really explain why. Windows 98supports USB and ACPI power management, features that most of theseupgraders can't use anyway. And while I'm sure there are very real problemswith some systems upgrading to Windows 98, I'm also sure that the vastmajority of users will experience a wonderful, hands-off upgrade. What mostpeople are spending their $80 on is Windows 95 plus Internet Explorer 4.01,which they could have gotten for free.

So I guess I'm suggesting that the hoopla over the Windows 98 "problems" ismore than a little overblown. And I really do think that it's getting a lotof press because, frankly, it's boring to say that Windows 98 is off to agreat start, selling better by this point then Windows 95 did. Yup, that'sawfully boring.

It's also the truth.

--Pau