Windows 98 Overview. Part 3.

When MS-DOS was the operating system used on most computers, people contrasted the difference between Macintosh and MS-DOS machines by saying that the Macintosh was easier to use, but the MS-DOS computer gave the user a higher level of control. Specifically, this control came from the user's ability to edit the config.sys and autoexec.bat files. Though many people found themselves forced into editing these two files just to get the computer to run specific software applications, the control that these files gave over the computer (in the eyes of many) more than made up for the time invested.

This control gradually became more difficult for the average user to exert. Windows 3.1 became more complicated to take control over, because the associated file, win.ini, is much more involved than the autoexec.bat or config.sys. Windows 95 went even further in this direction, using a highly intricate registry that is impossible for any normal user to understand. Windows 98 uses the same registry. The average user can no longer take control over his or her own computer, in stark contrast with the text-based computers of the 1980's.

Windows 95 was a dramatic improvement over Windows 3.1. The operating system became easier to set up, easier to use, and had a more efficient and elegant user interface. The improvements that Windows 98 has made over Windows 95, however, are less dramatic. In addition, there are elements of Windows 98, such as an integrated web browser, that many people do not consider an improvement at all.

Microsoft claims that this action was taken to improve Windows, and that a web browser is a legitimate addition to an operating system. The Department of Justice, on the other hand, feels that the fact that a web browser is integrated with Windows actually makes Windows slower and less stable. The action, they contend, was taken primarily to hurt Netscape, the company that until quite recently had been the main supplier of web browsers. (It has since lost its number one spot to Microsoft.) Microsoft has denied the Department of Justice's charges, and maintains that it has the right to innovate in whatever ways it thinks will best help customers.

Conclusion

Whether Microsoft uses hard-ball, but legitimate business tactics, or whether it is a monopoly illegally extending its monopoly power, is the subject of a current anti-trust trial. Its operating system, Windows 98, is nearly universal. The primary advantage to Windows is that so much software will run on it: many people who do not like Microsoft find themselves using its operating system. While it is easy to get started with Windows, the inaccessibility of the registry means that, in the case of a serious problem, you may need to reformat your hard drive. In fact, some Windows users reformat their hard drives on an annual or semiannual basis, so as to eliminate the hidden mess that gradually accumulates over time. Microsoft's pace of operating system development has slowed, perhaps because its efforts are concentrated elsewhere. Non-Microsoft operating systems, such as Linux and BeOS, are beginning to make their presence felt. Nevertheless, most people are still using Windows, and most software is still written only for Windows.