Say What!?? Windows 98 Not Dead Yet?

[fgarvb1]

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/0,39020330,39119028,00.htm


I think they are afraid of lawsuits.


Although support for the older operating systems was due to end shortly, Microsoft has announced that it will be extended





Microsoft has extended support for Windows 98, Windows 98 SE and Windows ME.


The software giant has extended support for the operating systems until 30 June, 2006. During that time paid over-the-phone support will be available, and "critical" security issues will be reviewed and "appropriate steps" taken

 

[fgarvb1]

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=LifeWinExtndFAQ


1. Why did Microsoft decide to extend global support for these
operating systems?
Our goal is to accommodate our customers and to do what’s right for them. We feel we’ve done a good job of communicating the Microsoft product support lifecycle guidelines to customers in the majority of markets. However, we have found we could use more time to communicate these guidelines in some markets — particularly smaller and emerging markets. Based on current support volumes and customer feedback in these regions, we felt this would be the right approach for our customers. Lengthening the product support lifecycle for Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, and Windows Millennium Edition (Me) globally provides us the time in those markets with the added benefit of giving customers worldwide access to extended support.

2. Was there a large customer outcry about the end of support?
No.This decision was based on the fact that customers in some markets could use this additional time.

3. As recently as January 9, 2004 you confirmed that support would end on January 16, 2004. When was this decision made?
We have been discussing a support extension for some time and made a final decision on January 9, 2004. We have now begun communicating that decision.

4. Does this extension include support for Windows 98 and Windows Millennium Edition components like Internet Explorer?
Yes. Microsoft will extend the support end date for the current versions of components (such as Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1 and Windows Media Player 9) on Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, and Windows Me. For these products running on these three Windows products, Microsoft will provide paid incident support. Microsoft will also continue to review and address critical security updates on these products, through June 30, 2006.

5. How many copies of Windows 98 and Windows Millennium Edition are you selling annually?
We don’t release sales figures, but while sales of Windows 98 and Windows Me have largely fallen off in most countries, there are markets where support of these products continues to be in demand, and where customers may not be aware that product support was coming to a conclusion.

6. I thought you were encouraging people to migrate to Windows XP for many reasons, especially because of security. Doesn’t this extension contradict that effort?
No. We still strongly encourage customers to move to Windows XP for its many benefits, including improved security. This extension provides additional time for Microsoft to communicate its support lifecycle guidelines in certain markets and for customers in those markets to fully evaluate a move to Windows XP.

7. Does this extension indicate that Windows XP sales are not going well?
No. We are very pleased with the adoption of Windows XP.

8. How many Windows 98 and Windows Me support calls do you receive per month?
We typically do not discuss call volumes, but we can say that these volumes continue to fall and are well below that for current products.

9. Are you admitting that your original product lifecycle policy was flawed?
We are responding to regionally-limited ongoing customer demand, and giving those customers more time to understand the lifecycle policy. The lifecycle policies define the minimum support timelines; we consider many factors when determining whether to extend support beyond the specified lifecycle dates. In this case, we felt customers in certain markets could use the extra time.

10. Does the extended support for Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, and Windows Me worldwide mean you’ll continue to address security issues?
Yes. Microsoft will review any critical security issues and take appropriate steps. Non-security hotfixes are not offered during this support period.

11. Does this differ from your recent statement about addressing Windows 98 security issues on a case-by-case basis?
No. We will look at potential critical security issues facing our customers and address them as appropriate. This does not change.

12. What about customers who decided to invest in Windows XP based on the lifecycle? Won’t they be upset about this?
Microsoft continually evaluates customer requirements and makes adjustments to our support policies on an ongoing basis. This is not the first time we’ve decided to extend the support end date for a product. Customers can always rest assured that support for a product is never reduced — only occasionally lengthened — based on customer requirements.

13. Why aren’t you applying the new lifecycle timeline of seven years to Windows Me?
To reduce confusion for customers and extend support for both products, we decided to implement a single, consistent date for ending support for operating systems still covered by the older support lifecycle policies.

14. When was support for these products originally scheduled to end?
As we communicated in December 2002, we extended paid assistance support for Windows 98 and Windows 98 Second Edition beyond the original June 30, 2003 expiration date to January 16, 2004 to better accommodate our customers. Support for Windows Me was scheduled to end on December 31, 2004.

15. Will Microsoft also consider making this change for other products?
Microsoft does not currently plan to make any additional adjustments for other products. However, we listen to our customers on all topics, including our support lifecycle policies.

 

[Tap-Out]

Msft finally noticed that people are putting a good Linux distro on their "older" hardware that can't handle on Winblows XP, so that's why they're continuing to support 98, etc.

 

[Lust Engine]

Computer upgrades have got to be one of the best scams of all time.

 

[Bobmi357]

Upgrade or die. Thats the message sent by the software industry, and most noteably, Microsoft.

I can understand the need to upgrade when you are adding significant additional capabilities, or fixing major problems. But if Detroit operated the way the software industry did, we'd buy a new car every year.

I'll stick with 98 til these machines of mine croak, then I will upgrade the machines and move to linux.

 

[nekos]

hehe who cares if they keep windows support .

get suse 9.0 it's basically windows only it works !!!!
and is free .
http://www.suse.com/us/index.html

 

[Tap-Out]

Upgrade or die. Thats the message sent by the software industry, and most noteably, Microsoft.

I can understand the need to upgrade when you are adding significant additional capabilities, or fixing major problems. But if Detroit operated the way the software industry did, we'd buy a new car every year.

I'll stick with 98 til these machines of mine croak, then I will upgrade the machines and move to linux.

Why wait? I woulden't bother to upgrade, just throw Linux on there and away you go.

 

[fgarvb1]

Microsoft provides support on the current service pack, and in some cases the immediately preceding service pack, for the products listed below. See the Lifecycle Support Policy FAQ for details on the Service Pack Support Policy. As a convenience to you, Microsoft is providing a list of the currently supported service packs: Supported Service Pack List. If you have any questions regarding support for a product, please contact your Microsoft representative, or e-mail lifpdqa@microsoft.com. This address is only able to address questions about product support lifecycles. If you need technical support, visit the Contact Microsoft Web site.

Product Name General Availability Date Mainstream Support Retired Extended Support Retired
BackOffice Server 4 28-Dec-1997 Review note 1 below Review note 1 below
BackOffice Server 4.5 28-Feb-2001 Review note 1 below Review note 1 below
BackOffice Server 2000 01-Apr-2001 Review note 1 below Review note 1 below
Beta Software Migration Kit for OS/2 Not Available 01-Jul-1999 Not Applicable
CD Photo Viewer V1 for Windows 2000 01-Feb-2003 31-Mar-2005 31-Mar-2007
CD Photo Viewer V1 for Windows Millennium 01-Feb-2003 31-Dec-2003 31-Dec-2004
CD Photo Viewer V1 for Windows XP Home 01-Feb-2003 31-Dec-2006 Not Applicable
CD Photo Viewer V1 for Windows XP Professional 01-Feb-2003 31-Dec-2006 31-Dec-2008
CPM/80 Operating System Not Available 01-Jul-1999 Not Applicable
Do-It-Yourself Guide Windows 95 English Not Available 01-Apr-2002 Not Applicable
Internet Explorer 2.x 22-Mar-1996 Ended Not Applicable
Internet Explorer 3.x 01-Aug-1996 Ended Not Applicable
Internet Explorer 4.x 22-Sep-1997 Ended Not Applicable
Internet Explorer 5.0 18-Sep-1998 31-Mar-2000 Not Applicable
Internet Explorer 5.01 on Windows 2000 31-Mar-2000 Ended Not available
Internet Explorer 5.01 SP1 on Windows 2000 SP1 31-Jul-2000 Ended Not available
Internet Explorer 5.01 SP2 on Windows 2000 SP2 16-May-2001 30-Jun-2004 Not available
Internet Explorer 5.01 SP3 on Windows 2000 SP3 01-Aug-2002 26-Jun-2004 Not available
Internet Explorer 5.01 SP4 on Windows 2000 SP4 26-Jun-2003 31-Mar-2005 31-Mar-2007
Internet Explorer 5.1 for Macintosh 15-Aug-2001 31-Dec-2005 Not Applicable
Internet Explorer 5.2 for Macintosh 17-Sep-2002 31-Dec-2005 Not Applicable
Internet Explorer 5.5 on Windows 98/98 SE 31-Dec-2000 Ended Not available
Internet Explorer 5.5 on Windows 2000 (SP2, SP3, SP4) 31-Dec-2000 Ended Not available
Internet Explorer 5.5 on Windows Millennium 31-Dec-2000 Ended Not available
Internet Explorer 5.5 on Windows NT 4.0 Workstation SP6a 31-Dec-2000 Ended Not available
Internet Explorer 5.5. on Windows NT 4.0 Server SP6a 31-Dec-2000 Ended Not available
Internet Explorer 5.5 SP1 on Windows 2000 (SP2, SP3, SP4) Not available Ended Not available
Internet Explorer 5.5 SP1 on Windows NT 4.0 Workstation SP6a Not available Ended Not available
Internet Explorer 5.5 SP1 on Windows NT 4.0 Server SP6a Not available Ended Not available
Internet Explorer 5.5 SP1 on Windows Millennium Not available Ended Not available
Internet Explorer 5.5 SP1 on Windows 98/98 SE Not available Ended Not available
Internet Explorer 5.5 SP2 on Windows 2000 (SP2, SP3, SP4) Not available 31-Dec-2003 Not available
Internet Explorer 5.5 SP2 on NT 4.0 Workstation SP6a Not available 31-Dec-2003 Not available
Internet Explorer 5.5 SP2 on NT 4.0 Server SP6a Not available 31-Dec-2003 Not available
Internet Explorer 5.5 SP2 on Windows 98/98 SE Not available 31-Dec-2003 Not available
Internet Explorer 5.5 SP2 on Windows Millennium Not available Review note 2 below Review note 2 below
Internet Explorer 6 on Windows 98/98 SE 31-Dec-2001 Ended Not available
Internet Explorer 6 on Windows 2000 (any service pack) 31-Dec-2001 Ended Not available
Internet Explorer 6 on Windows Millennium 31-Dec-2001 Ended Not available
Internet Explorer 6 on Windows NT 4.0 Server 31-Dec-2001 Ended Not available
Internet Explorer 6 on Windows NT 4.0 Workstation 31-Dec-2001 Ended Not available
Internet Explorer 6 on Windows XP Home 31-Dec-2001 Review note 3 below Not available
Internet Explorer 6 on Windows XP Professional 31-Dec-2001 Review note 3 below Not available
Internet Explorer 6 SP1 on Windows 98 30-Aug-2002 Review note 4 below Review note 4 below
Internet Explorer 6 SP1 on Windows 98 SE 30-Aug-2002 Review note 4 below Review note 4 below
Internet Explorer 6 SP1 on Windows 2000 30-Aug-2002 Ended Not available
Internet Explorer 6 SP1 on Windows Millennium 30-Aug-2002 Review note 4 below Review note 4 below
Internet Explorer 6 SP1 on Windows 2000 SP1 30-Jan-1900 Ended Not available
Internet Explorer 6 SP1 on Windows 2000 SP2 30-Jan-1900 30-Jun-2004 Not available
Internet Explorer 6 SP1 on Windows 2000 SP3 30-Jan-1900 26-Jun-2004 Not available
Internet Explorer 6 SP1 on Windows 2000 SP4 30-Jan-1900 Review note 5 below Review note 6 below
Internet Explorer 6 SP1 on Windows NT 4.0 Workstation 30-Aug-2002 Ended 30-Jun-2004
Internet Explorer 6 SP1 on Windows NT 4.0 Server 30-Aug-2002 Ended 31-Dec-2004
Internet Explorer 6 SP1 on Windows XP Home 30-Aug-2002 Review note 3 below Not available
Internet Explorer 6 SP1 on Windows XP Professional 30-Aug-2002 Review note 3 below Review note 3 below
Internet Explorer 6 SP1 on Windows XP Home SP1 30-Aug-2002 Review note 7 below Not available
Internet Explorer 6 SP1 on Windows XP Professional SP1 30-Aug-2002 Review note 7 below Review note 8 below
OLE 1.0, 2.0 (16 bit) Not Available 01-Feb-2001 Not Applicable
OS/2 Binary Adaptation Kit 1.0 Not Available 01-Jul-1999 Not Applicable
OS/2 Device Driver Development Kit 1.0 Not Available 01-Jul-1999 Not Applicable
OS/2 for the Mac 20 1.0 Not Available 01-Jul-1999 Not Applicable
OS/2 Programmer's Toolkit 1.0 Not Available 01-Jul-1999 Not Applicable
OS/2 Software Development Kit 1.1 Not Available 01-Jul-1999 Not Applicable
OS/2 Video Adaptation Kit 1.0 Not Available 01-Jul-1999 Not Applicable
Presentation Manager 1.1 (OS/2) Not Available 01-Jul-1999 Not Applicable
Services for Netware 4.0 14-Nov-1996 31-Dec-2002 31-Dec-2003
Services for Netware 5.0 13-Jun-1999 31-Mar-2005 31-Mar-2007
Services for Unix 2.0 30-Jun-2000 31-Mar-2005 31-Mar-2007
Services for Unix 3.0 01-Aug-2002 30-Sep-2007 30-Sep-2009
Small Business Server 4 28-Dec-1997 Review note 9 below Review note 9 below
Small Business Server 4.5 08-Jul-1999 Review note 9 below Review note 9 below
Small Business Server 2000 01-Apr-2001 Review note 9 below Review note 9 below
True Type Font Pack Not Available 01-Nov-2000 Not Applicable
Upgrade Advisor for Windows Not Available 01-Jul-1999 Not Applicable
Virtual PC for Windows 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 Not Available 30-Sep-2004 Not Applicable
Virtual PC for Windows 5.1, 5.2 Not Available 30-Sep-2004 Not Applicable
Virtual PC 2004 20-Jan-2004 31-Mar-2009 31-Mar-2011
Win32s Not Available 01-Nov-2000 Not Applicable
Windows 1.x - 2.x, Windows for Workgroups (WFW) Not Available 31-Dec-2001 Not Applicable
Windows for Workgroups 3.1 01-Oct-1992 31-Dec-2001 Not Applicable
Windows for Workgroups 3.11 01-Nov-1993 31-Dec-2001 Not Applicable
Windows 3.0 01-Jun-1990 31-Dec-2001 Not Applicable
Windows 3.1 01-Mar-1992 31-Dec-2001 Not Applicable
Windows 95 15-Aug-1995 31-Dec-2000 31-Dec-2001
Windows 98 30-Jun-1998 Review note 4 below Review note 4 below
Windows 98 Second Edition 30-Jun-1999 Review note 4 below Review note 4 below
Windows 2000 Advanced Server 31-Mar-2000 31-Mar-2005 31-Mar-2007
Windows 2000 Data Center 13-Nov-2000 31-Dec-2005 31-Dec-2007
Windows 2000 Professional 31-Mar-2000 31-Mar-2005 31-Mar-2007
Windows 2000 Server 31-Mar-2000 31-Mar-2005 31-Mar-2007
Windows 2003 Data Center Server 28-May-2003 30-Jun-2008 30-Jun-2010
Windows 2003 Data Center Server - 64-bit 28-May-2003 30-Jun-2008 30-Jun-2010
Windows 2003 Enterprise Server 28-May-2003 30-Jun-2008 30-Jun-2010
Windows 2003 Enterprise Server - 64-bit 28-May-2003 30-Jun-2008 30-Jun-2010
Windows 2003 Server 28-May-2003 30-Jun-2008 30-Jun-2010
Windows 2003 Web Edition 28-May-2003 30-Jun-2008 30-Jun-2010
Windows Media Encoder 7.1 for Windows NT 4.0 01-May-2001 31-Dec-2003 31-Dec-2004
Review note 10 below
Windows Media Encoder 7.1 for Windows 98 SE 01-May-2001 30-Jun-2002 30-Jun-2003
Windows Media Encoder 7.1 on Windows 2000 Professional 01-May-2001 31-Mar-2003 31-Mar-2004
Windows Media Encoder 7.1 on Windows Millennium Edition 01-May-2001 31-Dec-2003 31-Dec-2004
Windows Media Encoder 9 on Windows 2000 Professional Nov-15-2002 31-Mar-2005 31-Mar-2007
Windows Media Encoder 9 on Windows XP Home Edition Nov-15-2002 31-Dec-2006 31-Dec-2006
Windows Media Encoder 9 on Windows XP Professional Nov-15-2002 31-Dec-2006 31-Dec-2008
Windows Media Format 7.1 SDK Windows 98 SE 01-May-2001 30-Jun-2002 30-Jun-2003
Windows Media Format Software Developers Kit 7.1 on Windows 2000 Professional 01-May-2001 31-Mar-2003 31-Mar-2004
Windows Media Format Software Developers Kit 7.1 on Windows Millennium Edition on Windows Media Format Software Developers Kit 7.1 01-May-2001 31-Dec-2003 31-Dec-2004
Windows Media Player 6.4 on Windows 2000 Professional 31-Mar-2000 31-Mar-2005 31-Mar-2007
Windows Media Player 6.4 on Windows 98 30-Jun-1999 Review note 4 below Review note 4 below
Windows Media Player 6.4 on Windows 98 SE 30-Jun-1999 Review note 4 below Review note 4 below
Windows Media Player 6.4 on Windows Millennium 30-Jun-1999 Review note 4 below Review note 4 below
Windows Media Player 6.4 on Windows NT 4 30-Jun-1999 30-Jun-2002 30-Jun-2003
Windows Media Player 6.4 on Windows XP Home Edition Oct-25-2001 31-Dec-2003 31-Dec-2004
Windows Media Player 6.4 on Windows XP Professional Oct-25-2001 31-Dec-2003 31-Dec-2004
Windows Media Player 7.0 on Windows Millennium 31-Dec-2000 Review note 11 below Review note 11 below
Windows Media Player 7.1 on Windows 2000 Professional 01-May-2001 31-Mar-2003 31-Mar-2004
Windows Media Player 7.1 on Windows 98 SE 01-May-2001 30-Jun-2002 30-Jun-2003
Windows Media Player 7.1 on Windows Millennium Edition 01-May-2001 30-Jun-2002 30-Jun-2003
Windows Media Player 9 on Windows 98 15-Nov-2002 Review note 4 below Review note 4 below
Windows Media Player 9 on Windows 98 SE 15-Nov-2002 Review note 4 below Review note 4 below
Windows Media Player 9 on Windows Millennium Edition Nov-15-2002 Review note 4 below Review note 4 below
Windows Media Player 9 on Windows XP Home Edition Nov-15-2002 31-Dec-2006 31-Dec-2006
Windows Media Player 9 on Windows XP Professional Nov-15-2002 31-Dec-2006 31-Dec-2008
Windows Media Player 9 on Windows 2000 Professional Nov-15-2002 31-Mar-2005 31-Mar-2007
Windows Media Player XP on Windows XP 25-Oct-2001 31-Dec-2006 31-Dec-2008
Windows Media Services 4.1 on Windows 2000 Professional 31-Mar-2000 31-Mar-2005 31-Mar-2007
Windows Media Services 4.1 on Windows 4.0 31-Mar-2000 31-Dec-2003 31-Dec-2004
Review note 12 below
Windows Millennium Edition 31-Dec-2000 Review note 4 below Review note 4 below
Windows NT 3.1 24-Oct-1993 31-Dec-2000 Not Applicable
Windows NT 4.0 Enterprise Edition 15-Dec-1997 Review note 13 below 31-Dec-2004
Review note 13 below
Windows NT 4.0 Option Pack 02-Dec-1997 Review note 14 below Review note 14 below
Windows NT 4.0 Server Dec Alpha Platform Not Available Not Available 31-Dec-2001
Windows NT 4.0 Server 29-Jul-1996 Review note 13 below 31-Dec-2004
Review note 13 below
Windows NT 4.0 Server, Terminal Server 13-Sep-1998 Review note 13 below 31-Dec-2004
Review note 13 below
Windows NT 4.0 Workstation 29-Jul-1996 Review note 15 below 30-Jun-2004
Review note 15 below
Windows NT Advanced Server 3.51 28-Aug-1995 30-Sep-2000 30-Sep-2002
Windows NT Workstation 3.51 30-May-1995 31-Dec-2000 31-Dec-2001
Windows Storage Server 2003 28-May-2003 30-Jun-2008 30-Jun-2010
Windows XP Home Edition 31-Dec-2001 31-Dec-2006 Not Applicable
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2002 26-Nov-2002 31-Dec-2006 Not Applicable
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 27-Oct-2003 31-Dec-2006 Not Applicable
Windows XP Professional 31-Dec-2001 31-Dec-2006 31-Dec-2008
Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 05-Feb-2003 31-Dec-2006 31-Dec-2008

1. The support date for the BackOffice Server package is determined by its component products individual support lifecycles. Please look up the individual product to determine its length of support.
2. Microsoft strongly recommends customers install the latest released version of Internet Explorer, which provides improved security protection for consumers.
3. Supported until Windows XP Service Pack 2 releases
4. Paid incident support is now available through 30-Jun-2006. Extended hotfix support for Windows 98 and Windows 98 Second Edition ended on 30-Jun-2003. Extended hotfix support for Windows Millennium ended on 31-Dec-2003. Online self-help support will continue to be available until at least 30-Jun-2007. For additional information on the type and length of support provided, review the Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, and Windows Millennium Support Extended Announcement Web site.
5. Supported until 31-Mar-2005, or 12 months after Internet Explorer 6 SP2 releases (whichever comes first).
6. Supported until 31-Mar-2007, or 12 months after Internet Explorer 6 SP2 releases (whichever comes first).
7. Supported until 31-Dec-2006, or 12 months after Internet Explorer 6 SP2 releases (whichever comes first).
8. Supported until 31-Dec-2008, or 12 months after Internet Explorer 6 SP2 releases (whichever comes first).
9. The support date for the Small Business Server package is determined by its component products individual support lifecycles. Please look up the individual product to determine its length of support.
10. Windows Media Encoder 7.1 on Windows NT Server 4.0 receives incident and security related hotfix support through 31-Dec-2004.
11. Windows Media Player 7.0 has been replaced by Windows Media Player 7.1.
12. Windows Media Services 4.1 on Windows NT Server 4.0 receives incident and security related hotfix support through 31-Dec-2004.
13. Windows NT Server 4.0 incident and security related hotfix support is available through 31-Dec-2004. Non-security related hotfix support is available only through a custom support contract after 31-Dec-2003.
14. The support date for the Windows NT 4.0 Option Pack is determined by its component product’s individual support lifecycles. Please look up the individual product to determine its length of support.
15. Paid-incident support and non-security hotfix support ended June 30, 2003.

 

[ReadyOne]

Has anyone seen a specific statement that couples or uncouples Windows Update availability for Win9x from the support dates?

In other words, if M$ had kept to the decision to stopp support on the 16th, would someone running Windows Update on a Win98 system on Jan 30 or Jun 30 still receive (applicable) fixes, (understanding that there won't be any new ones if your current on Jan 15, save for possiable security updates)?

If you found something that says "Windows Update for Win9x will still work after the support cutoff date", please give the the reference.

And if it still should work, has/was a date been announced for Windows Update on Win98 getting some sort of "no longer available" or "page not found" error message when ask to check for updates?

Thanks!