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Re: [OT mostly] Win98 versus 2000, XP, Longhorn, etc.
de Sauli Suikkanen 06/22/2006 10:43
Mike Dee wrote:
> On Wed, 21 Jun 2006 12:40:54 -0500, Howard Schwartz wrote:
>
>> Although I tried 2000 for a while, I now use windows 98 for most of my pc
>> needs...
>
>> Any opinions whether to perpetually upgrade or when, why and how to
>> stop at a particular OS?
>
> I ran mostly 98se up until about 3 months ago. I decided it was time to
> use a more modern Windows OS. I have gone to Win 2000 Pro. At this point
> in time I have no intention of moving to XP or the up coming Vista.
>
> Oddly it was the GPL'd and freeware softwares, not MS that drove me to
> this "upgrade". Because more and more of the main GPL software efforts are
> designed to run on Win 2k or above, and if they happen to run on 98, they
> aren't supported (Gimp and Scribus spring to mind) Open Office is one of
> the exceptions, for now. Supporting larger than 2 GB file sizes were
> another reason for my migration.
>
> True, I do lose a real DOS box in the trade off. But I also keep a very
> well maintained P166 for that alone, it runs DOS 6.22, WFW 3.11, and '95
> very nicely too.
>
> If you have room for more than one computer for your own use, then your
> options change for the better, IMO.
As you wrote, it is possible to have multiple operating systems (and
application programs) in a single computer. I have currently Windows
98SE and 2000 installed with separate applications.
I mostly use 98SE, since after both operating systems were configured
to usable and safe state, 98SE is faster in real life scene. This is
because 2000 needs a more comprehensible security application suite
that, besides the many services of the 2000 (that require protection),
uses more system resources than simpler firewall in 98SE. The difference
in 'feel' is not big, but it is enough to keep me almost entirely on
the slightly more responsive 98SE side.
So, provided that appropriate hardware compatibilty and driver support
exists and unless grave security issues come up that cannot be cured
because of unavailable upgrades or separate security solutions, there
should not be absolute necessity to abandon 98, if and when it can be
made peacefully co-exist with the 2000 in the same computer. In my case
this has been accomplished by using only FAT32 filesystems. But this
has meant that there is a need to have competent disk utilities suite
like Norton Utilies or SystemWorks, that can repair file system errors.
--
S.Suikkanen