Karl Kuller wrote: "So if I buy the Beta 3 for $30 now, the Operating System will go bye-bye in December and I will have nothing left of Windows 98 (?) and will have to pay $125 or so for the final version? It does not sound right, but that is what Richard's words seem to say. Is there a clarification of the "expires in December 1998" statement?" Karl, Yes, Win98 Consumer BETA 3, and the operative word is 'BETA', expires Dec 1998. MS meant this consumer beta for technically adept users who would like to test and evaluate an *advanced* copy of an OS, not a final version. The final shipping version, naturally, doesn't have an expiry date. The deal is you try Win98B3, if you like it, buy the final. If you don't, uninstall and restore backup, and you are back to Win95. Hope this helps, Richard Tan