Keep in mind that a widely read author such as peter lewis of the New York
times, whose article is below, receives a special tech support number from
Microsoft to answer all his questions from very knowledgable people.  If
someone such as Peter lewis with his skills and the support he receives
has problems on four out of five computers, where might the average end
user be?  Probably in difficult space.  In the last paragraph, he
gives the advice to wait until Microsoft fixes the problems with ME before
contemplating an upgrade.

kelly

The New York times



July 6, 2000

STATE OF THE ART

Windows Me, Microsoft's Latest, Is a Less Than Millennial Upgrade

By PETER H. LEWIS


     The first thing one needs to know about upgrading to the new
     Windows Millennium Edition operating system -- besides the fact
     that PC makers plan to offer it on new home computers this summer
     and that Microsoft will make it available as an upgrade for older
     computers in September -- is that the Uninstall routine is inside
     the Commands folder, which is tucked inside the Windows folder.

     Actually, the first thing one needs to know is that Windows Me is
     an interesting but hardly crucial upgrade for Windows 98, with a
     bunch of clever new features intended to make home computers easier
     and more fun to use. And if Windows Me is factory-installed on a
     new computer, it will almost certainly make the computer faster to
     boot up, more reliable, easier to connect to other computers and to
     the Internet and much more entertaining and versatile in the areas
     of music and video.

     Windows Me was sent to PC manufacturers two weeks ago, and new home
     PC's will start showing up any day now with it already installed.
     The do-it-yourself upgrade package will go on sale in computer
     stores on Sept. 14 with a suggested price of $109 and a probable
     street price of $90.

     But based on my recent experience with five Windows computers, two
     Windows Me upgrade discs supplied by Microsoft and a hot line
     connection to a friendly Microsoft technical support specialist
     named Don, I think I'll skip this upgrade and wait to take
     advantage of the new operating system the next time I buy a new PC.

     The arrival of Windows Me is a great reminder that an operating
     system upgrade is not to be undertaken casually, especially if
     there are other ways to improve a computer's performance without
     tampering with its most fundamental code. An operating system has
     powerful juju, and running afoul of it calls down the wrath of the
     computer spirits.

     Microsoft describes Windows Me as "an initial step towards
     delivering on Microsoft's vision for home users." Unlike the new
     Windows 2000 operating system, which was built atop a foundation of
     industrial-strength code written for business and corporate
     computers, Windows Millennium Edition is a direct descendant of
     Windows 95 and 98. It is a remodeling project, in other words.
     Microsoft is already hard at work creating the next step in its
     consumer operating system strategy (Windows Me Two?) but for now
     Windows Me is Microsoft's best operating system for home PC's.

     And that is a scary thought.

     Of the five computers I tried to upgrade, only one accepted the new
     software without a fight. On that machine, Windows Me performed
     flawlessly and revealed its many good features, which fall into
     four main categories.

     The first is digital media and entertainment. It has a snazzy new
     Windows Media Player and a digital movie-making feature that is
     similar to the one Apple has had on its iMacs for the past year.
     Windows Me makes it easier to work with digital picture and music
     files. It also comes with more games, including online games that
     let players insult one another verbally with a feature called
     DirectPlay Voice.

     I especially like the built-in support for copying audio CD's to
     the hard drive, and for transferring those digital music files to a
     portable MP3 player like the Diamond Rio.
     _________________________________________________________________

   A product that can improve your computer, if you can load it.
     _________________________________________________________________

     The second category is home networking. The number of homes with
     two or more computers is growing rapidly, but getting the computers
     to share files, printers and Internet connections has not been
     easy. Windows Me has new software wizards that help the user set up
     home networks. It adds support for high-speed IEEE 1394 (Firewire)
     peripheral connections, and it improves the support for instant
     messaging and streaming audio and video.

     Microsoft calls the third category the "online experience," which
     includes everything from a new version of Internet Explorer (IE
     5.5) to new network plumbing borrowed from Windows 2000. Windows Me
     does a better job of handling cable and D.S.L. Internet
     connections, and it has better support for online chat sessions and
     conferencing.

     The fourth and most important category is called PC Health -- an
     odd name, as it turned out, given the woes I had trying to install
     Me.

     Windows Me has been fortified with features intended to make the
     operating system more stable and reliable and able to fix its own
     technical problems. It is also designed to shield the consumer from
     accidentally overwriting esoteric system files, to simplify
     Microsoft's notoriously cryptic error messages and to restore the
     computer to a state of health if something does go wrong.

     One new feature is System File Protection, which keeps newly
     installed applications from either accidentally or deliberately
     messing around with system files, including the treacherous little
     rascals known as DLL's, or dynamic link libraries. Conversely,
     another new feature, System Restore, allows the user to beat a
     retreat in case something does go awry during the installation of
     new software or hardware. As the name suggests, System Restore lets
     the user roll back the clock to a point before the problems
     started.

     The Help system has been completely redesigned and expanded to
     include both online and disk-based support and troubleshooting.

     And, oh, did I need help.

     The first disastrous attempt to load Windows Me on my I.B.M.
     Thinkpad 240 reinforced Computing Rule No. 1: Never attempt an
     operating system upgrade without first making a backup of important
     files.

     It also underscored the importance of clicking "yes" when the
     installation routine asks if the user wants to squirrel away a copy
     of the computer's existing Windows configuration, just in case, and
     "yes" again to make an emergency boot diskette, just in case the
     new operating system causes the computer to have a grand mal
     seizure.

     Even after what the computer wizards call a clean install, which
     involves bypassing the earlier version of Windows on the machine,
     and after laboriously shutting down every program or software
     routine that might conflict with the installation of a new
     operating system, Windows Me still fought with some unknown
     software antagonist on my laptop.

     Despite claims that Windows Me has simplified the error messages,
     it still spit out such gems as "Rundll32 has caused an error in The
     only way to regain use of the computer was to uninstall Me.

     New error messages popped up when I tried to install Windows Me on
     a Dell desktop computer. After two more installation attempts, and
     two more uninstalls, the new software took residence but reported
     "script errors" that blanked every file menu and directory screen.

     Attempts to get Windows Me installed on a third computer, also a
     Dell, succeeded only after I erased most of my favorite
     applications from the hard disk. From then on, Windows Me worked
     like a champ.

     A fourth computer choked when Windows Me tried to commandeer nearly
     500 megabytes of disk space. Microsoft says the minimum requirement
     is 320 megabytes of free space, but a clean install can chew up
     half a gigabyte.

     The fifth computer, a nearly virginal laptop computer, absorbed
     Windows Me without a hitch on the first try. This suggests strongly
     that the problems on other machines arose from conflicts between Me
     and one or more other programs, even though the applications were
     closed.

     On the machines where it took root, Windows Me was a welcome
     improvement over Windows 98 Second Edition. But unless you have an
     urgent need for the new features, it is probably a good idea to
     wait until you need to replace your computer, or at least until
     Microsoft finds and fixes potential software conflicts.


    Peter H. Lewis at [log in to unmask] welcomes your comments and
    suggestions.
       ______________________________________________________________
     _________________________________________________________________


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