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Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition
| May 18, 1999 |
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Microsoft™ Windows™ 98 Second Edition is an update
to the Microsoft Windows 98 operating system that enhances the leading
consumer operating system with the latest Internet, home networking and
hardware technologies.
Microsoft focused on advancing Windows 98 in the
following areas with the release of Windows 98 Second
Edition:
- Making it work better by
enhancing hardware support and improving the initial PC user experience.
- Delivering home networking capabilities
through Internet Connection Sharing, advanced technologies that
enable multiple users to seamlessly and securely access the Web at the
same time, using a single shared Internet connection.
- Delivering an improved online experience
with enhanced Internet browsing, conferencing and multimedia
technologies that provide a faster and easier way to take advantage of all
that the Internet has to
offer.
Key new features and
enhancements in Windows 98 Second Edition include the
following:
- Internet
Explorer 5, Microsoft's popular browser software, provides
breakthroughs in Web performance, usability and flexibility.
- Windows NetMeeting™ 3, the
latest version of Microsoft's award-winning Windows-based conferencing
software, brings Internet conferencing capability to consumers by offering
an easier user interface, data conferencing security, enhanced standards
support and more.
- Internet Connection Sharing, a
set of advanced home networking technologies, enables multiple users to
share a single connection to the Internet for simultaneous Internet
access.
- Windows Media™ Player 6.1, the
latest version of Windows Media Player, enables playback of popular
multimedia formats, including streaming media such as Windows Media, MP3
and more.
- Enhanced IEEE 1394 support gives
support for more devices, such as digital camcorders.
- Advanced Configuration and Power
Interface (ACPI) advancements deliver hardware optimizations and
more granular control over settings on a device-class basis.
- USB improvements include the
capability to work with devices on a per-device basis rather than a
per-port basis.
- WDM modem support supports USB
modems and enables hardware vendors to write a single WDM modem driver for
Windows 98 and Windows 2000 Professional.
- WebTV™ for Windows updates
provide support for a broader array of analog television tuner
cards and Advanced Television Enhancement Forum (AVTEF) standards for
HTML-based enhanced programming.
- DirectX™ API 6.1 delivers a
variety of improvements to Windows multimedia technologies, including
better audio and video synchronization.
- Processor and motherboard optimizations
for the latest hardware technologies, including Intel Pentium
III, are featured.
- Device Bay support enables a
system to ship with Device Bay hardware.
- Windows 98 Service Pack 1
addresses top issues in existing Windows 98 features, such as
Windows 98 year 2000 updates
Windows 98 Second Edition
will be available in a retail box as well as preinstalled on personal
computers beginning this summer. Estimated retail pricing for Windows 98
Second Edition for Windows 95 and Windows 3.1 users is $109 (U.S.), the
current estimated retail price of Windows 98. Current users of the Windows
98 operating system can receive the updated functionality by ordering
Windows 98 Second Edition Updates on CD-ROM, scheduled to be available
from the Microsoft Web site in the summer, for $19.95 plus shipping and
handling.
Microsoft, Windows, NetMeeting, Windows Media,
WebTV and DirectX are either registered trademarks or trademarks of
Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries. Other product
and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective
owners.
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