"Microsoft to charge for Windows 98 bug fixes"

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See the link for the full article...

http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,34736,00.html?owv

[snip]

Microsoft to charge for Windows 98 bug fixes

By Michael Kanellos

Staff Writer, CNET News.com

April 6, 1999, 5:25 p.m. PT

Windows 98 users planning on getting bug fixes and new features that Microsoft has been preparing for its consumer operating system had better be ready to shell out some bucks.

Microsoft is working on another version of Windows 98 Second Edition, adding technology and eliminating bugs that appeared in the maiden release. Called StepUp, the latest SE package is designed for consumers who are already using Windows 98, according to beta testers.

But users will have to pay for Second Edition StepUp, whereas Microsoft had previously indicated that the upgrade would come for free.

Microsoft is expected to offer the Second Edition SetUp for an estimated retail price of $89, the same as other Second Edition upgrades, according to a spokeswoman from Waggoner Edstrom, Microsoft's PR firm. Microsoft will sell the StepUp CD on its Web site, but will not post the bug fixes and other technologies for free downloads, she said.

Put another way, it will cost as much to upgrade from the current version of Windows 98 to the fixed version of Windows 98 as it will to go from Windows 95 to Windows 98.

[snip]

-- Kevin (mixesmusic@worldnet.att.net), April 09, 1999

Answers

Scratch that last article. Microsoft has already issued a clarification. Again, see the link for the full article:

http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,34772,00.html?owv

[snip]

Microsoft clarifies bug fix issue

By Michael Kanellos

Staff, CNET News.com

April 7, 1999, 11:05 a.m. PT

Bug fixes for Windows 98 will be free, but consumers will have to buy a CD to get features such as better support for advanced hardware features and better support for home networking, Microsoft officials have said, a clarification that will likely quell complaints from some users.

"Users don't have to pay for bug fixes," said Mike Nichols, Windows product manager, adding that the long-awaited bug patches to Windows 98 will be posted on the company Web site within the first half of 1999.

And, a few months later, Microsoft will start selling a CD on its site that will essentially allow users to upgrade from the current version of Windows 98 to a new version that includes technologies such as advanced support for Universal Serial Bus, a copy of Internet Explorer 5.0, and a technology called Internet Connection Sharing, which eases the process of home networking. The CD will also contain the bug fixes.

The price of the CD has not been set, but Nichols said he didn't imagine it selling for more than $30.

[snip]

-- Kevin (mixesmusic@worldnet.att.net), April 09, 1999.


Some time in December I am going to set my computer to the year 1971 and let it roll over into 1972 which is the same as 2000. I refuse to pay Bill Gates any more than I already have!

-- winna (??@??.com), April 09, 1999.

Winna,

Will your computer's date set back that far? Those dates are before the OS (Win95 or Win98) or the bios was written and may be rejected as invalid date entries.

WW

-- Wildweasel (vtmldm@epix.net), April 09, 1999.


Hey -- wise up -- Microsoft products don't have "bugs" -- they have "issues" and "undocumented features." They don't have "bug fixes" -- they have "service paks." Haven't you been paying attention? :-)

-- vbProg (vbProg@MicrosoftAndIntelSuck.com), April 09, 1999.

If their bug fixes aren't any better than the recent ones don't waste your time. I'm running a 98 upgrade off of cd over an origional 95 OS. Last month I downloaded their Y2K patch and it promptly locked up my computer. After rebooting operation was still slow and shaky, so I uninstalled the patch and defragged my disk. That finally straightened out the problem.

-- Nikoli Krushev (doomsday@y2000.com), April 09, 1999.


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