Hi Folks! I imagine that most of us doing genealogy probably use Windows 95 or Windows 98 as our computer operating system. This is something I ran across in the Eastman Genealogy Newsletter that you may find of some interest. * Microsoft Pulls Plug on Windows 95/98 Microsoft recently introduced Windows XP with a lot of fanfare. However, the company has been a bit quieter about its announcement to cancel support for older operating systems. Starting next month, Microsoft will begin pulling the plug on support for Windows 95 and Windows 98. Support is an expense for Microsoft. It can maximize its profits by shutting down support for older products and pushing everyone towards buying newer, supported Microsoft products. There's nothing new here hundreds of other software companies have made similar support decisions on older versions of their programs. Buried deep in the Windows XP announcements you can find a note that Microsoft will cease to provide support for MS DOS, Windows 3.xx, and Windows NT 3.5x in December, 2001. At the same time, support will become limited for Windows 95. In June 2002, Microsoft will cease to provide full support for Windows 98 and Windows NT version 4.0. This will leave the overwhelming majority of current Windows users without operating system support. So what's the big deal? You probably don't call Microsoft for support now. Any time you have a question you probably ask a friend, a relative, a co-worker or perhaps you post a message on one of the online forums. Since you never ask Microsoft for support, you might feel that this issue will not affect you. Keep in mind, however, that the companies that produce your favorite software depend upon Microsoft a lot more than you do. They not only have "how-to" questions, but they also depend upon bug fixes and support alerts. None of those will be forthcoming in the future for the older versions of Windows. Only Windows ME, Windows 2000 and Windows XP will be supported. If these companies cannot obtain needed support, they may not be able to produce software for your system. I wouldn't be surprised to see software listed within the next year that is certified to operate only on Windows XP, 2000 and ME. All older versions of Windows will be unsupported. If you install a program on Windows 98 and then encounter a problem, the producing company may not be able to help you. Microsoft has moved to a standard 3-year product lifecycle now. That's all that anyone can expect to get by way of formal support from Microsoft for all their products. The company will offer limited "extended support" available another year; "extended support" is a synonym for "paid support" on a per-call basis. In other words, have a credit card handy when you call for assistance. One side note: Microsoft's "Desktop Product Lifecycle Guidelines" affect all of their products, not just operating systems. Similar policies have been implemented (or will soon be implemented) on Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Money, Flight Simulator and hundreds of other programs produced by the company. If you want to see when Microsoft will pull the plug on support for your software, look at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/lifecycleconsumer.asp and at http://support.microsoft.com/directory/discontinue.asp. -- Robert W. King I'm an ingenieur, NOT a bloody locomotive driver! SnailNet: 19023 TV Tower Rd, Winslow, Arkansas 72959 BellNet: 501-634-2086 InterNet: mailto:[email protected] Web site: http://www.wildweasel.net/