Windows 98 critical updates12/13/2023 ![]() That said, at least it didn’t force updates down your throat without any ability to delay them like Windows 10 (at least without upgrading to the Pro version). It was pretty basic, though, in this initial incarnation. It’s also interesting to recall that Windows Update was first introduced with Windows 98, notifying the user of critical security updates, new drivers and other optional bits and pieces. ![]() Image credit: Josuewiki1990 (Wikimedia Commons) Updates sated Certainly there were major question marks over Microsoft’s attitude here, and accusations that the firm had become the bully of the software world. One strength here was how you could tailor the interface to your liking, which was just as well, as a number users at the time felt that the web stuff could get in the way (particularly some of the more intrusive elements).Īnother quick aside: this direct integration of Internet Explorer into Windows led to accusations of Microsoft unfairly leveraging its own web browser over rival efforts (like Netscape), and a big anti-trust action was launched against the software giant later in 1998 (one that nearly resulted in the company being forcibly split into two). Also note that you could plump for a classic desktop in Windows 98, and you didn’t have to turn all the web gubbins on – you could just run with some custom elements of the latter (or none at all). Indeed, if you installed Internet Explorer 4.0 on a Windows 95 machine, you’d be using much the same UI so this was hardly revolutionary for Windows 98. Desktop widgets that could be updated in real-time with info pulled from the web became a thing, and this invasion of the web on the desktop was really all about Microsoft integrating its Internet Explorer 4.0 browser into the OS. ![]() Single-clicking on an icon could fire up an app or trigger a function, mirroring the fact that you only needed to click once on anything in your browser to activate it. The major move was making the desktop interface more web-like, allowing for a web page-style presentation in certain elements of the UI, giving you, for example, links for help and support embedded in the Control Panel in case you got stuck. ![]() And Windows 98 simply kept that core interface, by and large, but there were certainly changes made by Microsoft. So, Windows 98 felt better – more streamlined and stable than its predecessor – but did it look better? On the interface front, as we mentioned before, Windows 95 made the really big change with the introduction of what we know as the contemporary Windows-style UI built around the Start menu. USB support got better with Windows 98, and was further refined with Windows 98 SE (which stood for Second Edition – the updated version released in 1999 which also improved things on the networking side with elements like internet connection sharing). Side note: one of the most famous tech demo fails was Bill Gates showing off Windows 98 by attempting to plug-and-play with a scanner, except it all goes horribly wrong – on live TV no less.Īlthough, as Microsoft’s CEO at the time swiftly points out (as you can see in the video below), this was a pre-shipping copy of the OS. While, technically, Windows 95 did kick-off USB support with later versions, it was hardly reliable. Windows 98 was certainly a more stable operating system, and it also improved things on the hardware compatibility front with USB support, opening up a whole new world of peripherals for users. So, not so much a positive as the removal of a negative, but still a good thing nonetheless. There were lots of bug fixes, and performance was smoothed over in general, which was obviously welcome – although something that really should have been included in Windows 95 in the first place. One of the most important changes Windows 98 made was to implement a whole host of tweaks to address the various bugs which had scuttled around the inner workings of Windows 95.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |