Written: 9/10/00

Reviewer: Tron®    

Published by: Microsoft  

Price:  $49.00 Upgrade, $109 Full

Introduction

Microsoft has created a new consumer oriented operating system slated for official release this week, known as Windows Millennium Edition, or Windows ME for short. Within a few short months, it will probably be installed on every new PC sold at retail. What features of the OS have changed in comparison to the last consumer OS released (Win98se), how do they matter to you the end user, and is the upgrade a "must"? Let's explore the changes.

Say bye bye to REAL Mode. One thing you'll notice after a clean install of Windows ME, is just how FAST the operating system boots. It's noticeably faster at going from first POST screen to Desktop than any previous or current Windows operating system. One of the ways Windows ME achieves this, is by finally and forcibly ditching real mode support. The OS lives in a real mode state only ever so briefly during bootup, and then bars access to real mode from then on. This basically involved jettisoning unnecessary DOS legacy app compatibility code. 

We've finally gotten to the point where there is NO practical reason for anyone to be using or needing DOS compatibility. By making real mode DOS access nearly forbidden, Microsoft is finally putting it's foot down and saying "DOS is DEAD! Get over it and move on". 

That's not to say that MS-DOS software will not work in ME, far from it. But poorly written DOS software that make poor assumptions about hardware, memory, video modes, or that require special REAL mode support or REAL mode drivers will be extremely difficult to make function. Microsoft is trying to prepare it's vast user base with Windows ME for the future merging of it's consumer and business operating systems into one shared kernel next year. DOS is *still* there, but Microsoft goes out of it's way to make you not care about it anymore. Be that as it may, many DOS software packages still function just find. Even a DOS mode Super Nintendo emulator that I frequently use, ZSNES, works just fine, and it's quite finicky.

Next page: System Damage Control

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