Attn Windows 98 & ME Users: The End Is NEAR!

[Banned: LeeRyder]

Thursdays TechNet Newsletter had some bad news for you 98 & ME users:

End of support for Windows 98 and Windows Me
Effective July 11, 2006, Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, and Windows Me will transition to a non-supported status. After this date, Microsoft will no longer provide any incident support options or security updates. Existing support documents, however, will continue to be available through the Microsoft Support Product Solution Center Web site.

So get cracking at saving your pennies and friggin upgrade already!

Here's the link Microsoft refers too in the email:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/sup...ofsupport.mspx

Which reads in whole:

End of support for Windows 98, Windows Me, and Windows XP Service Pack 1
Published: January 6, 2006 | Updated: May 22, 2006

On This Page
End of support for Windows 98 and Windows Me
End of support for Windows XP Service Pack 1
Resources

End of support for Windows 98 and Windows Me
July 11, 2006 will bring a close to Extended Support for Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, and Windows Me as part of the Microsoft Lifecycle Policy. Microsoft will retire public and technical support, including security updates, by this date.

Existing support documents and content, however, will continue to be available through the Microsoft Support Product Solution Center Web site. This Web site will continue to host a wealth of previous How-to, Troubleshooting, and Configuration content for anyone who may need self-service.

Microsoft is retiring support for these products because they are outdated and can expose customers to security risks. We recommend that customers who are still running Windows 98 or Windows Me upgrade to a newer, more secure Microsoft operating system, such as Windows XP, as soon as possible.

Customers who upgrade to Windows XP report improved security, richer functionality, and increased productivity.

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End of support for Windows XP Service Pack 1
On October 10, 2006, Microsoft will end all public assisted support for Windows XP Service Pack1 (SP1). After this date, Microsoft will no longer provide any incident support options or security updates for this retired service pack under the policies defined by the Microsoft Support Lifecycle policy.

To enhance the security of your computer and to continue to receive updates for Windows XP, we recommend you upgrade your computer, for free, to Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2).

Enterprise customers
Microsoft will, under qualified conditions, make Custom Support Agreements (CSA) available for eligible enterprise customers. CSA customers are also encouraged to consider migrating to Windows Vista as part of their migration plan. Customers may qualify for a CSA if they have a current Premier support agreement, and a detailed migration plan moving them from Windows XP SP1 to the latest operating system. To learn more about Custom Support Agreements, contact your Premier support Technical Account Manager (TAM).

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Resources
Need to upgrade your software?
If you don't yet have Windows XP: Learn how to upgrade to Windows XP Professional
If you already have Windows XP: Learn how to upgrade to Windows XP SP2 for free

Buying a new computer?
Consider a Media Center PC with Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005

[demo]

There is probably enough support information on the web to keep these older versions of Windows running anther 20 years.

But let us all upgrade to Vista, with Beta 2 version now FREE it is hard to pass up this opportunity.