Microsoft Changes Mind on Windows 98 Support
Reuters
Tuesday, January 13, 2004; 4:24 AM

AMSTERDAM -- U.S. software maker Microsoft said on Tuesday it would continue to offer support to customers who still own versions of its Windows 98 operating system, in a move aimed to sooth developing countries.

Extended Support for Windows 98 and Windows 98 SE had been scheduled to come to an end on Friday, January 16, while Windows Me support had been scheduled to end December 31, 2004.

The company has now decided to lengthen the Extended Support phase for Windows 98, Windows 98 SE and Windows Millennium Edition (Me) through June 30, 2006.

It bit the bullet after it emerged that many users in developing countries who still rely on Windows 98 were confused about Microsoft's support guidelines. These were shorter for some Windows 98 products than for its more recent batch of Windows operating systems like Windows 2000 and Windows XP.

Microsoft has come under pressure in recent years, particularly by authorities in developing countries, for its attempts to push customers into buying or subscribing to newer, expensive Windows and Office software versions.

Many countries have started to buy computers that run on the freely available Linux system, while others hang onto older Windows versions that have been paid for and still do the job.