In spite of the crashes and instability, have you simply resisted upgrading your Windows 95 software because it may mean upgrading your hardware as well? The time has come to bite the bullet.
A bulletin posted on Microsoft’s PSS web site (http://support.microsoft.com/directory/discontinue.asp?sd=gn) notes that Windows 95 will reach the end of its “product lifecycle” on December 31. Industry observers view this as a way to “encourage” customers to upgrade to either the Microsoft Windows 2000 or the soon-to-be-released Microsoft Windows XP OS platform.
What does this mean to small businesses? Neither you nor your computer consultant will be able to call Microsoft with Windows 95 technical support questions by the end of this year.
The “discontinuance” of Microsoft’s support for Windows 95 has been known for quite some time. However, small businesses without a full-time IT staff have likely missed this incredibly important issue.
Since early last year, Microsoft Certified Professionals such as MCPs and MCSEs, have been ordered repeatedly to upgrade their credentials to Microsoft Windows 2000 or risk having those letters following their name repossessed by December 31.
While any PC purchased new after mid 1998 would likely have at least Windows 98 installed, users should prepare to be stranded with any older PCs still running Windows 95.
In a related developments, Microsoft will drop support of Windows 98, and Windows NT Workstation 4 just 18 months later on June 30, 2003. This is in spite of the fact you still can purchase a new PC with Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition and, up until just a few months ago, could still buy a new PC with Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.
How will this impact your businesses? For one, in just two short years, Microsoft will not be providing technical support for PCs running anything but Windows 2000 or Windows XP.
The most cost effective way to ease into gradually upgrading older versions of Windows is by attrition. So on any new PC purchases, be sure to upgrade the OS at the time of purchase to one of the newer business-oriented versions of Windows. For around $100 over the consumer offerings (Windows 98 SE or Windows ME), the price may be right — until you consider the accompanying computer support costs of an OS migration — like making certain your peripherals and industry specific software are compatible with the new OS as well. | 