To cut off the Microsoft bashing... Win98 is over 8 years old. WinME (which was never any good anyway, and probably why Win98 wasn't EOL'd before) is over 6 years old. It's a reasonable end-of-life time for either/both.
I do wish, however, that they'd include an option with new operating systems to make the user interface look virtually identical to the old one. I'm the help desk for my 83 year old father, whose first experience with a computer was when I bought him a WindowsMe-loaded one when he was 78. I do not relish the thought of switching his computer to a newer operating system . . .
Should we not put the same time frames on all Microsoft patents? 6-8yrs.
"To cut off the Microsoft bashing... Win98 is over 8 years old. WinME (which was never any good anyway, and probably why Win98 wasn't EOL'd before) is over 6 years old. It's a reasonable end-of-life time for either/both."
Oh, I still have a bit of bashing in me. I have ME on an old laptop, ME sucks, and so does MS support for it. The company hasn't supported ME worth a dang since it was replaced. So what difference does it make that they cut it off now? Who'll notice?
My gripe is that with these systems, every small processor machine you have that ran on them is now useless. Even if they just work as a browser platform they can no longer be redone with their original disks and upgraded to the latest version from support. There are no small operating systems small enough to make them usable with the tools they came with when purchased.