Haven't used Windows 98 Original? It wasnt out for that long, in fact it was replaced a whole year later with 98 SE. 98 Original was a slightly souped up version of Windows 95 C that was out for a couple of months.
Windows 98 had Internet Explorer 4.0 and Outlook express 4.0. This introduced the concept of Active Desktop where you could view web content on your desktop. As usual the content was designed for USA so English didnt appriciate it that much. The weather maps were for North America and the other content simply didnt work. Windows 98 had a channels bar (nicked from Windows 95 c) which allowed you access some websites which were very U.S. orientated with the exception of Sky and BT. Sadly some misguided novice thought these were TV channels.
This also gave you a screensaver which showed particular channels. As usual this was very buggy, the channels kept crashing and never really worked. The Outloook Express 4.0 was also extremly unreliable and ALWAYS crashed. Also there was a Subscription option in IE4 which let you subscribe to certain websites but this was very annoying.
Windows Meda Player - ask any PC buff at that time except those who obtained a Beta version of IE5 (e.g. Me!!!)
and they would have said "Duh?" All your media was run through Active Movie Control which was even more basic than 95's original media player and it certainly was butt ugly.
The desktop themes included were really half baked options.
USB Support was really buggy and only as good as Windows 95 B's.
Windows 98 SE was pretty much the same as original. Channels were given the Heave Ho although the Screensaver still nests within Windows. Active Desktop was still there but IE subscription option was gone. IE had been replaced altogether with version 5.0. This also opened up a pathway for modem sharing, better reliability and Windows Media Player 6.1. Albeit basic, it was a big improvment over Active Movie Control and 95's Media Player.
USB support was improved and certainly made more reliable. All the bugs that plagued Windows 98 original were cured but there were still some crashes.
Windows Me is what I unfortunatley have. Whilst it cosmetically is much more modern and certainly not as radical as XP it warrants some compliment. Again bugs from Windows 98 SE were fixed but the new features caused quite a couple of problems although Me has the best compatibility with hardware.
Windows Media Player had evolved from being a basic player to a complete entertainment studio. WMP 7 is also avalible to Windows 98 SE users and it offers features similar to what XP users can get.
Other improvements to WIndows Me incude Internet Explorer 5.5 which is an update to 5.0 - nothing extra except Print Preview. Again this can be obtained for Win 98 SE users but by now you should be plumping for version 6. System Restore is an earlier version to what XP users can get except that it requires you to donwload an update to it otherwise it will not work after September 14th 2001. Movie Maker is also an earlier version to what XP users own and is rather buggy. After a certain amount of revisits to the capture dialogue box it fails to recognise any hardware. MSN Messenger was also introduced here although it was at its little infant stage of version 2.2 which carried a virus. One descreet feature which also appears in Xp is Automatic Updating. If you stay connected to the internet, Windows will download neccessary updates form the Windows Update site in the background without you noticing and a reminder will popup when installation is required. As usual this is improved in XP.
My advice - 98 SE, no excuses as to why you have Me. If your hardware can accept it then plump for XP. If you wish to know where you can obtain the updates then the answer is from the Windows Update feature.
Just cos I am a semi skinhead it does not mean that I am a semi PC Guru. I am 25% PC Guru, 15% Thug and 10% Alcoholic!!!
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