Support for Win 98 extended

Worldwide, desktops are making a gradual transition to Windows 2000 and Windows XP operating systems, but in India many companies still use PCs running Windows 98/95. Last year Microsoft announced that it would stop supporting Windows 98 after January 15, 2004. Naturally, this became a concern for some CIOs here. But after it received suggestions from user groups and customers, Microsoft decided to let Windows 98 chug on for a few more years. Kartik Padmanabhan, Business Group Lead, Microsoft India, explains this move, exclusively for Network Magazine.

The global Microsoft Windows website says paid support for Windows 98/98 SE and Windows ME has been extended. Is this applicable to India?

Support for Windows 98/98 SE is now extended till end June 2006. That's in recognition of the fact that we still have a mixed situation of Windows 98/XP/2000. But we expect the situation to change in another 12 - 18 months.

Is this happening primarily because companies here are still using older hardware?

The frequency of refresh of PCs here is not as high as in developed countries. Elsewhere in the world refresh occurs every three years.

What about a Win 98 support CD?

We are not offering that here. We offer online support as downloads for fixes, patches etc.

What about support for Windows NT 4.0 and SQL Server 7?

I won't comment on SQL Server 7. Support for Windows NT 4.0 workstation is still being offered, although it is a very small base for us here.