Living with Windows

Home Office Computing, Sept, 1998 by Philip Albinus

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* The browser metaphor. Of course we don't enjoy having Internet Explorer 4.01 shoved down our throats--but single-clicking is kind of cool. The Back button is the Escape key of the '00s.

* FAT32. Cutting waste and reclaiming 30 percent of your hard-disk space was never so painless

* USB support. They're a year behind schedule--and the idea is a decade behind the Mac--but plug-and-play printers, scanners, and other items are at last coming to us.

* Thumbnail views of bitmap images. Expert users could activate it in Win 95, but this Windows Explorer feature is now standard--and so convenient we wish we could sneak a similar peek at word processing documents and spreadsheets. The latter still require Windows's separate Quick View menu option.

* The Update Wizard. CyberMedia started the bandwagon, but we're glad to see Microsoft climb aboard with an easy, automated Web check for the latest drivers and other components.

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* The Channel Bar. What's the first thing every Win user should do, even before clicking the Clicking the Close button to get rid of this modem-choking joke. Product placement is bad enough in movies without extending it to operating systems.

* FAT32's limitations. It's incompatible with many notebook PCs' hibernation or suspend-to-disk features.

* The Plus! Pack. For $45, you get McAfee VirusScan, life versions of Microsoft's Picture It image editor and Golf game, some comic-strip desktop themes, and a file compressor and audio CD player that play catch-up to popular shareware tools. If you want VirusScan plus plenty of more useful stuff, buy Network Associates's Nuts & Bolts 98 (408-988-3832, www.nai.com; $50).

* Clicking Start to stop. It still doesn't make any sense that you must click the Start icon to shut down the PC.

* The Registration Wizard. Alas, Windows Update won't work unless, when installing Win 98, you completed just the kind of online surrender of personal info that keeps critics of Web browser "cookies" awake nights.

* The price tag. No, it's not a major overhaul, but only ranters say the Windows 98 upgrade should be free. We applaud Microsoft for setting a fair price of $39, and--what's that you say? It's really $90? Help! Police!

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Before you upgrade from Windows 95 to Windows 98, here's a short must-do list:

* Defrag your hard disk. Right-click the My Computer icon, select Properties, then click the Tools tab. Choose Defragment Now to tune up your hard disk and prepare it for the new operating system.

* Back up important data files--just in case the upgrade doesn't go as smoothly as you'd hoped.

* Back up your Windows Registry, The hidden files SYSTEM.DAT and USER.DAT in your Windows directory contain your PC's setup and configuration information. You'll need them to restore the computer to working order if something goes wrong.

* Make sure your PC has enough power, Microsoft claims Windows 98 can work on a 486DX2/66 system, but that's optimistic al best. For Windows 98 to operate at a minimally acceptable level, you'll need a PC with at least a 90MHz Pentium processor, no less than 16MB of RAM, and 250MB of vacant hard-disk space. Of course, a faster MMX Pentium or Pentium II and 32MB of RAM will make Windows 98 hum.