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Software support for 98SE


arrowhead

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Just wondering what everyone is planning to use when the software makers drop support for 98?

Avira, AdAware, ZoneAlarm have stopped support for 98 already, Firefox, Opera and AVG all will drop 98 with their new products that are almost ready to take over from the current versions :(

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Just wondering what everyone is planning to use when the software makers drop support for 98?

Avira, AdAware, ZoneAlarm have stopped support for 98 already, Firefox, Opera and AVG all will drop 98 with their new products that are almost ready to take over from the current versions :(

Mozilla flat-out dropped win9x since the initial release of FireFox 3 beta, however, there is a patch produced by Tihiy to rectify this issue. Just because support is removed doesn't mean there isn't a way to make it work. :)

Examples:

UberKern (Patches ff, gtk+, etc for use on win98)

KernelEx (Unicode program support+more)

Revolutions Pack (better 3rd party shell support, skinning+etc)

Besides, there are plenty other programs out there that still work, still are supported, and provide equivalent functionality (sometimes more). Believe it or not, there are still programs being made and enhancements being made for even Win3.1! :wacko:

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With software and security app vendors dropping support for 9X, the user now bears the support burden. The user can't rely on Microsoft latest patches, the AV vendors newest definition files, or a software vendors next version to patch the latest vulnerability. The situation isn't as bad as it sounds. New media formats and file types may present problems, but everything that works now will continue to work. Firefox 3 might not work but SeaMonkey does. IMO, it's better than Firefox. Miranda is an excellent multi-protocol IM program that works well on 9X. Open Office runs well on it. Foxit works in place of Adobe Acrobat. Check out the Last Versions of Software for Windows 98 for lots of options.

Regarding security apps, conventional AVs, anti-spyware, adware removers, etc might be dropping support but 9X systems can be secured very well without them, and at no cost. An older version of a firewall will work just as well as a new one, probably better as the older ones were designed when hardware wasn't as powerful. I have yet to find a better firewall for 98 than Kerio 2.1.5, which hasn't been supported for a long time but works great. The resident AV and all the other "anti" tools can be made unnecessary with a default-deny security policy enforced by the right combination of free software and system configuration. I stopped using a resident AV in mid 2005 and removed it completely in early 2006. In order to do so safely, you do have to be very familiar with your system and the processes that run on it. Instead of the conventional blacklist approach used by AVs to keep tract of an incredible number of malicious files and processes, you whitelist the known good processes and user apps on your system and block everything else from running. Properly implemented, such a policy will protect you better than any AV and/or anti-spyware.

IMO, 98 can be used on the internet until IPv6 is fully implemented or most of the major formats that deliver internet content get changed to something 98 can't open.

Rick

Edited by herbalist
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Just wondering what everyone is planning to use when the software makers drop support for 98?

Avira, AdAware, ZoneAlarm have stopped support for 98 already, Firefox, Opera and AVG all will drop 98 with their new products that are almost ready to take over from the current versions :(

arrowhead,

Many of us are watching this particular subject very closely!

Can you please point to any references about Opera scrapping the Win9x platform?

The last official mention I saw was last fall, and was contrary to what you say. It is in this thread:

http://my.opera.com/community/forums/topic...mp;t=1210044305

Opera 9.2x runs awesome on Win98se, and although I have not tried a 9.5 beta here, I've not read anything that worries me in the least.

(keeping my fingers crossed that you are wrong).

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Thanks for your replies :)

Chozo4, I didn't know about UberKern, I'll try that :yes:

herbalist, I doubt my skills are good enough to do as you do but I will look in to it. Fortunately for me Spybot S&D still supports 98 and Avast's latest release still supports 98.

CharlotteTheHarlot, I haven't tried Opera 9.5 Beta on 98 yet. My only source of information is from Download.com's page which says it requires Windows XP/Vista (I hope they are wrong), link.

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Thanks for your replies :)

Chozo4, I didn't know about UberKern, I'll try that :yes:

herbalist, I doubt my skills are good enough to do as you do but I will look in to it. Fortunately for me Spybot S&D still supports 98 and Avast's latest release still supports 98.

CharlotteTheHarlot, I haven't tried Opera 9.5 Beta on 98 yet. My only source of information is from Download.com's page which says it requires Windows XP/Vista (I hope they are wrong), link.

Hello again arrowhead,

Those two posts of yours got me doubting what I thought I knew for a fact.

Yeah, I wouldn't go to download.com for any file that could be downloaded directly from the source itself. The source in this case would be http://www.opera.com/download/. This is their official download page and is the first webstop on every computer I build, from 9x to Vista.

Most likely download.com's webslinger is merely copy/paste'ing the OS requirements from one app to another and I would take their advice with a grain of salt or something.

Upon reading the Changelog for Opera 9.50 Beta 1 for Windows I was relieved to see these 'fixes' towards the bottom:

Windows-specific

* Fixed problem importing bookmarks in sub-folders from Internet Explorer

* Fixed problem running under Windows 98

* Fixed problem with Quicktime plug-in on Windows Vista

* Alt+Shift no longer changes input direction

* Fixed crash caused by searching for Japanese text on web pages

Emphasis mine. So, not only are they looking forward (fixes for Vista), they are looking backward as well at our trusty old OS. :thumbup

While I was poking around there I found a better page that Opera/Win9x users should bookmark ...

ftp://ftp.opera.com/pub/opera/win/

It currently contains folders for versions 9.10 through 9.50b2. That means that in the event someday that Win9x won't run Opera, we can easily slide to any previous version that is still cool.

Note that within those folders are both the 'Normal' and 'Classic' installers. the former (I believe) is MSI based, and the latter is Installshield. Classic is usually preferable (well to me it is) because it has a tiny registry footprint (a single Uninstall entry) and as I understand it can be decompiled to bare files easier. I mention this because some of the threads over there point to installer problems as a common source of conflict. (That may be what download.com was alluding to?).

As an act of self-preservation Win9x folks should master the art of installing programs by hand (when possible), distributing the files where they need be and registering stuff as well. Admittedly this isn't always possible, but I do it most of the time these days. Personally I admire those authors that supply both something.exe (an installer for dummies :whistle:) and something.zip (sans installer for 'experts').

Anyway, for Opera users this is presently and thankfully a moot point. 9.27 classic setup worked fine here. And it appears certain that we will at least make it to 9.5x with respect to Win9x. What do they say down under, no worries mate.

Edited by CharlotteTheHarlot
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As an act of self-preservation Win9x folks should master the art of installing programs by hand (when possible), distributing the files where they need be and registering stuff as well.

Very true. It's also a good idea to save copies of the software you use. Not all companies make the older versions available. The same applies to drivers and patches released by your hardware vendor. At least one printer company has removed the 9X printer drivers from their site. If you should ever need to reformat, having copies of everything you need will save you from a lot of searching.

Setting up a default-deny security policy might sound intimidating, but it's not as difficult as you might think. It can be done a little at a time. You can keep running an AV and other conventional security apps while you slowly harden your system.

Rick

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I don't think that we, as 9x users, will suffer for a while. Outdated software still works just fine untill the standards and extensions change. I, for one, use AVG free edition, AdAware SE 1.06r, and Kerio 2.1.5 (which I just installed, for lack of a firewall). my AdAware SE is outdated, but I figure that some Anti-spyware is better than no Antispyware. also AbiWord word processor (which is a nice free wordprocessor that annoys me less than the Open Office one). AbiWord and Open Office, both, don't seem to have any intent of discontinuing support soon. Firefox 2.x works for now, and will probably work for a while after it's outdated, and Opera still works. As long as you're not too picky and don't mind lower end compatibility, we should be fine for a while, and then we can move on to Linux or something. maybe buy new computers. Foxit is nice for PDF viewing

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  • 3 weeks later...
Mozilla flat-out dropped win9x since the initial release of FireFox 3 beta, however, there is a patch produced by Tihiy to rectify this issue. Just because support is removed doesn't mean there isn't a way to make it work. :)

Examples:

UberKern (Patches ff, gtk+, etc for use on win98)

KernelEx (Unicode program support+more)

Revolutions Pack (better 3rd party shell support, skinning+etc)

Besides, there are plenty other programs out there that still work, still are supported, and provide equivalent functionality (sometimes more). Believe it or not, there are still programs being made and enhancements being made for even Win3.1! :wacko:

I need to try those programs and see if they can run my XP only apps in Win 98 :) thanks for posting that.

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