by Windows 98 (codenamed Memphis) is an operating system developed by Microsoft as part of its Windows 9x family of Microsoft Windows operating systems. It is the successor to Windows 95, and was released to retail on June 25, 1998. Like its predecessor, it is a hybrid 16-bit and 32-bit monolithic product with the boot stage based on MS-DOS.
Windows 98 is a heavily web-integrated operating system that bears numerous similarities to its predecessor, with most of the improvements being cosmetic or designed to improve the user experience, but there are a handful of features that enhance system functionality and capabilities. These include improved USB support and accessibility, as well as support for hardware advancements such as DVD players. It was the first Windows operating system to adopt the Windows Driver Model. It also introduced features that would become standard in future generations of Windows, such as Disk Cleanup, Windows Update, multi-monitor support, and Internet Connection Sharing.
Microsoft had marketed Windows 98 as a “tune-up” to Windows 95, rather than an entirely improved next generation of Windows. Upon release, it was generally well received for its web-integrated interface and ease of use, as well as for addressing issues that had been present in Windows 95, though users had pointed out that it was not significantly more stable than its predecessor. It saw one major update called Windows 98 Second Edition (SE) on May 5, 1999, and was succeeded by Windows Me in 2000. It sold an estimated 58 million licenses, and Microsoft ended mainstream support for both Windows 98 and 98 SE on June 30, 2002, and extended support on July 11, 2006.
Development of Windows 98
Following the success of Windows 95, development of Windows 98 began, initially under the development codename “Memphis.” The first test version, Windows Memphis Developer Release, was released in January 1997.
Memphis first entered beta as Windows Memphis Beta 1, released on June 30, 1997. It was followed by Windows 98 Beta 2, which dropped the Memphis name and was released in July. Microsoft had planned a full release of Windows 98 for the first quarter of 1998, along with a Windows 98 upgrade pack for Windows 95, but it also had a similar upgrade for Windows 3.x operating systems planned for the second quarter. Stacey Breyfogle, a product manager for Microsoft, explained that the later release of the upgrade for Windows 3 was because the upgrade required more testing than that for Windows 95 due to the presence of more compatibility issues, and without user objections, Microsoft merged the two upgrade packs into one and set all of their release dates to the second quarter.
On December 15, Microsoft released Windows 98 Beta 3. It was the first build to be able to upgrade from Windows 3.1x, and introduced new startup and shutdown sounds.
Near its completion, Windows 98 was released as Windows 98 Release Candidate on April 3, 1998, which expired on December 31. This coincided with a notable press demonstration at COMDEX that month. Microsoft CEO Bill Gates was highlighting the operating system’s ease of use and enhanced support for Plug and Play (PnP). However, when presentation assistant Chris Capossela plugged a USB scanner in, the operating system crashed, displaying a Blue Screen of Death. Bill Gates remarked after derisive applause and cheering from the audience, “That must be why we’re not shipping Windows 98 yet.” Video footage of this event became a popular Internet phenomenon.
Microsoft had quietly marketed the operating system as a “tune-up” to Windows 95. It was compiled as Windows 98 on May 11, 1998, before being fully released to manufacturing on May 15. The company was facing pending legal action for allowing free downloads of, and planning to ship Windows licenses with, Internet Explorer 4.0 in an alleged effort to expand its software monopoly. Microsoft’s critics believed the lawsuit would further delay Windows 98’s public release; it did not, and the operating system was released on June 25, 1998.
A second major version of the operating system called Windows 98 Second Edition was later unveiled in March 1999. Microsoft compiled the final build on April 23, 1999, before publicly releasing it on May 5, 1999. Windows 98 was to be the final product in the Windows 9x line until Microsoft briefly revived the line to release Windows Me in 2000 as the final Windows 9x product.
Windows 98 features
While Windows 98 was not as big as release as Windows 95, Windows 98 has significant updates, fixes, and support for new peripherals. Below is a list of some of its new features.
- Protection – Windows 98 includes additional protection for important files on your computer such as backing up your registry automatically.
- Improved support – Improved support for new devices and technologies such as ACPI, AGP, IEEE 1394, DVD, USB, and MMX.
- FAT32 – Windows 98 has the capability of converting your drive to FAT32 without losing any information.
- PnP – Improved PnP support, to detect devices even better than Windows 95.
- Internet Explorer 4.0 – Includes Internet Explorer 4.0
- Customizable Taskbar – Windows adds new features to the Taskbar such as Quick Launch that Windows 95 and Windows NT did not have.
- Includes Plus! – Includes features only found in Microsoft Plus! free.
- Active Desktop – Includes Active Desktop that allows for users to customize their desktop with the look of the Internet.
- New background properties – You can now set *.bmp, *.pcx, *.jpg, *.gif, and *.htm files as your wallpaper (background).
- Updated Microsoft Paint – The updated paint allows you to open *.bmp, *.pcx, *.jpg, and *.gif files.
- Multiple monitor support – Windows 98 now supports multiple monitors on one computer.
- Personal Web Server – PWS supports CGI (common gateway interface) and ISAPI (Internet Server Application Programming Interface) applications.
- Improved floppy drive – Includes HSFLOP.PDR floppy disk driver that helps speed up access for many floppy disk drives.
- Other Software – Includes Dr. Watson, Outlook Express, FrontPage Express, Windows Media Player, DirectX, NetMeeting, and more.
