Not So Famous…

In eWeek this week, Jim Rapoza wrote an article that appeared to be complaining about the level of support he is not receiving from Microsoft for his computer’s operating system.  All well and good until you realize that the OS he wants support for is Windows 98!  He complained that he’s just upgrading to Windows XP now, and assumes it will be obsolete in 4 years.  (This is rather likely.)  So let’s analyze this complaint.

Jim is just now upgrading to an operating system released in 2002, making this OS already 4 years old. It might be new to him, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s 4 years late in getting the latest, greatest thing. Now, if he doesn’t mind not having the latest, greatest thing, great…wait 4 years to upgrade to the newest OS. But don’t complain when you only get 4 years usage out of it before they’re letting you know it’s time to upgrade! If you want the most usage out of your OS before the company stops supporting it, then upgrade to the next OS when it comes out or shortly thereafter.

From Microsoft’s point of view, I wouldn’t want to support Windows 98 anymore either.  At my last job, we had almost half our computers running on Windows 98, and we had problems all over the place.  There has been a dramatic shift in the standard usage of computers in the last 8 years, and 98 is no longer able to keep up.  Computers are relying far more on networking capabilities than they did when 98 came out. Dial-Up was the most common Internet connection out there…domains were reserved for companies, and home networks were few and far between. The world has changed…for the better or for the worse…it’s changed.

If your world hasn’t changed, don’t upgrade!  If you are using your computer as a glorified Solitaire box, keep your 98.  Microsoft won’t be patching it, but who cares?  You’re not on a network, and your dial up account doesn’t hold much of a threat for you.  But I suspect your computing environment HAS changed, and I suspect that you would do well to continue to be patched, and continue to be networked with other computers. Upgrade to Vista.

His complaint was that people don’t purchase the OS right when it comes out, so Windows 98 isn’t all that old for some people. He never wonders whether this SHOULD be the case.  Just that it is.  Well, I have some words for Jim…tough crap. I say that people need to be trained.  If they want support on their OS, then expect to upgrade when the next version comes out. If they wait, then expect that Microsoft will be ready for them to upgrade long before they are.  This is the way Operating Systems work…deal with it.