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• June 12, 2003 •
Recently Microsoft quietly extended the Support Lifecycle for Windows 98/98SE. In October 2002, Microsoft announced in their revised "Support Lifecycle Policies" document, that the end of Windows 98/98SE support (the so called "Non-Supported phase") was planned for June 30, 2003, and the "End of Life" phase was projected for June 30, 2004.
When I visited Microsoft's Windows Desktop Product Life Cycle Support and Availability Policies for Consumers this week, I found that Microsoft has quietly changed these dates. The "Non-Supported" phase is now scheduled for January 16, 2004, with the "End of Life" phase listed as January 16, 2005.
According to Microsoft, no-charge incident support and extended hotfix support (still) ends on June 30th 2003, but Windows 98/98 SE downloads for existing security issues will continue to be obtainable through normal assisted support channels at no charge. Customers can request Windows 98/98 SE fixes for new security issues and these requests will be reviewed. Fixes for any new security issues can be specifically requested through normal assisted support channels. Web-based self-help support will be available for at least one year after assisted support has concluded.
So users of Windows 98/98SE can be assured that their OS will be kept up-to-date for at least another 6 months. It seems that Microsoft is at least conscious of the large number of people still using Windows 98, and decided to extend its support for the OS. Back in October 2002, when Microsoft made the first adjustments to its Product Lifecycle Policies (which were originally published in February 2001), it extended Windows 2000 support by a full two years.
For more information check the Product Life-Cycle Policies Web site.
