Rating: Summary: SE *is* an improvement for me Review: Grudgingly, Win98 SE has improved the performance of my machine. Under Win95 and Win98, my computer would always get annoying "vmm32.exe missing/unable to load" messages about every other bootup. And my computer used to crash much more frequently than it does now. After installing WIn98SE it boots correctly more or less 100% of the time, and it's stable once booted.I know, that sounds like i LIKE it. I don't. It's taken me two years to get a stable operating environment. Meanwhile, Macintosh OS improvements aren't about increasing stability so much as they are about adding actual functionality. Does a Mac OS 6 user worry about whether her machine will boot? No. Did we hail the onset of Mac OS 7 as a more 'bootable' OS? Definitely not. When Mac OS X comes, we want to know how it will transform our internet experience, or make it easier to edit movies, or create 3D graphics. We won't worry about whether--after much prayer, if we've loaded all the drivers correctly, and if we put just enough tin foil at the correct angle on the coat hanger we're using as an antenna--we'll actually be able to turn on our machine. One star is too good for Windows. Period.
Rating: Summary: Sad Ms. Nightingale Review: Having to upgrade to windows 98 from 95 to run my scanner was a bummer. Now by upgrading my memory and processor I must also upgrade to Windows 98 2nd edition to run my sound card. I have 98 1st edition, but now I have to have 2nd ed. No way around it and I hate all the extras I have to go through for windows 98. I want my 95 back but I would not be able to upgrade anything :(
Rating: Summary: Bill Gates Review: Okay...my Win95 is breaking down and unstable...and I feel like I'm being robbed having to buy this enormous, bloated fallacy...thank G-d I have RedHat, OpenBSD, and FreeBSD to work on getting used to instead. Hey...I wish they'd hurry up on that hardware support for *nix so I can remove all Redmond Rubbish from my box.
Rating: Summary: Win98 2nd Edition fixes half-baked Win98 1st Edition hypeOS Review: I don't buy 'bleeding-edge' operating systems and softwares anymore unless they've been out on the market for at least 3 months. Historically Microsoft has been so eager to make sales that most of their products have been released half-baked & the customer winds up risking invaluable data by installing them, wasting hours of time diagnosing problems that can't be fixed by an end user, and investing a significant amount of money in hemorroidal ointments. The 2nd Edition of Win98 is what the 1st Edition of Win98 should have been (in fact, it's what the 1st Edition of Win95 should have been). The 1st Edition of Win98 was garbage; a lot of hype, a lot of stuff most people remove once installed, and a total pig on system resources. This 2nd Edition is stable enough to risk upgrading from Win95 for production and home stations and has enough fixes in it to warrant its price. One recommendation: if you can avoid it, don't buy the Win98 2nd Edition Upgrade as it's buggier than Win98 1st Edition. Install Win98 2nd Edition from scratch. I know the Win98 2nd Edition 'Upgrade' is cheaper. There's a reason for it, people.
Rating: Summary: It sucks, but you have to buy it anyway. Review: Don't you love microsoft? This is a total waste of money. I would rate it less than one star if I could. Every time Microsft decides to make money, they produce an over-priced product like this, then discontinue support for the old OS, forcing everybody to upgrade. Win98 fixes the problems you never paid for with Win95, and introduces new problems you will pay for again with Win2k. Basically they gave you a broken product with no alternatives so when you have to pay for the fix, you still have no alternatives. But you need to buy it anyway, because the latest hardware will not work without it. Beware though, you may want to check out your hardware for Win98 compatible drivers, as some perphials (like some HP scanners) requre you to send away to HP to get them, and this may lead to more cost that you counted on. You may have a problem with winmodems as well. If you don't know what you're doing, you will be almost guaranteed to have problems with drivers that will need to be fixed by a local computer guru, and so you may end up paying a lot more for this "simple" upgrade. I really wish I could tell you to "STAY AWAY" but there is nothing better, because there is nothing else.
Rating: Summary: Get this if you love systems crashes and rebooting every day Review: Wow! The worlds worst softwear ever made has been upgraded! My favorite windows feature is having to reboot every day to keep the system running with ample resourses, and you gotta love all those easy to make viruses that people pass around like candy ( hmmm has microsoft done anything to fix Back Orifice in this "upgrade?"). A suggestion: this is becoming the "in" thing these days but get Linux, and dont let anyone tell you that its hard to run either. Anything is better than this junk thats passed off to the public as the "necessary" OS. Zero stars, thumbs down, and free kevin.
Rating: Summary: So So, look before you leap Review: points to ponder: 1 - if you have a windows system now you should go to microsofts website before you buy any thing and see if they give it to you for free 2- the package has alot more drivers so it is easier to install hardware 3- If you are on LAN or might be sending a kid off to school with one GET it, win3.1 can't easily be networked, and win95 can be fussy sometimes too 4- I've been running it since aug and I have had to reformat my hard drive 3 times since, that is alot of lost data, I never had to reformat win 95 running the same programs 5- BEWARE OF REMOVING SYSTEM COMPONATES even with the CD ROM and they are opational removing desktop themes resulted in my computer denying the existance of my CD ROM DRIVE (above was for win98 in general) as for the second edition update: * IF YOUR COMPUTER IS RUNNING FINE DON'T MESS WITH IT! YOU DO NOT WHAT TO ANGER THE COMPUTER GODS THEY ARE MEAN AND VENGEFUL ** after purchacing a computer with 98 secondedition 2000 update i recieved another update in the mail. Installing that was the cause of reformat number two. My system ran much slower and just would not to open some programs. Nor would it let me shut down and it would not start again the first time through. Although it is OK (knock wood) now with the orginal software so as I said do not blindly change your operating system.
Rating: Summary: What a load of crap Review: I'm a computer builder/repairman. I would not pay for this. If it was as revolutionary as Win95 was over win3.1 then it would be worth it. is a high price to pay for a couple bug fixes. I only hope the law eventually catches up the the master con-man that is Bill Gates. If you have Win95, then you will see a world of improvement, and you will probably think it's worth it. But not because you want it, but because that's the way Bill likes it.
Rating: Summary: Worth the money Review: If you have Win95 this upgrade is worth the money. Setup is a breeze, the new networking features are nice and the added hardware support out of the box is worth the money alone. All my old apps still run great and they seem to run even faster now (I think they did some work here). No crashes or hangs so far, overall a solid upgrade.
Rating: Summary: "The Little Bill That Can't" Review: I am a desktop support professional, and after seeing just how many machines can get hosed by Windows 98 and SE, I recommend that no one purchase any more '98 until Microsoft can learn how to write softwares.
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