Hello List, At my regular "day: job, I just received a notice from MS dealing with the "retirement" of Windows 98. Obviously, it is also an advertisement to promote the sale of XP Pro. I thought I would pass it's message on to the list members for information purposes only. The items in ( ) are my comments. ************** New information for OEMs: (OEM - Original Equipment Manufacturer) *effective August 1, 2003, full version OEM licenses for Windows 98SE cannot be obtained through the OEM channel. *effective April 1, 2004, full version Windows 98SE System Builder licenses cannot be obtained through the System Builder channel. (which I believe is the "DSP" packages that can be bought from authorized MS software distributors) Customer FAQ: * After August 1, 2003 , how can I get Windows 98SE preinstalled on a new PC by my OEM? - Purchase a new PC Licensed for Windows XP Professional and utilize the Windows XP Professional EULA Downgrade rights. (program in place to order machines with XP Pro but have older software first installed, for ease of migration to XP) * After August 1, 2003, is my OEM still allowed to use a Windows 98SE OPK to install the downgrade image? - NO, the end user must supply the windows 98 image, then may either go to the OEM for installation or install the 98SE image themselves. "Windows 98 will end of life Completely in July of 2003, and no tech support will be available after that time." ==================== Thanks and have a Great Day! Joe Lore PCBUILD maintains hundreds of useful files for download visit our download web page at: http://freepctech.com/downloads.shtml