Features:

• 15 wizards
• HTML-based online help system
• All the latest system updates, including year 2000
• Easy-to-add digital cameras, scanners, and more
• Uses Windows NetMeeting 3 conferencing software

Microsoft Windows 98 has quickly become the standard operating system for the vast majority of (non-Macintosh) personal computer owners. If you're thinking about upgrading from Windows 95, or adding Windows 98 on to a multi-OS platform, you'll get a comfortable, fairly intuitive graphical user interface, with point-and-click simplicity.

The biggest (and most controversial) feature of Windows 98 is its deep Internet integration. The Internet Explorer browser bundled with Windows 98 pops up constantly, inviting you to connect to the Internet and surf the Web quickly and easily. All the plug-ins you need are supported, and for folks who don't want a high level of under-the-hood control of their OS and Internet software, the stability of the combo can't be beat. In fact, diehard Netscape users often don't uninstall Internet Explorer from Windows 98 because the program is so deeply integrated in the OS.

Windows 98 has all the features of Windows 95, but some have been retooled, renamed, and spruced up. Perhaps the nicest improvement about Windows 98, though, is its use of a better file allocation system, enabling much more efficient use of hard drive space. Windows 98 supports the most widely used software programs, peripherals, and hardware, and it comes standard on most new PCs in the United States.

System requirements:

• 486DX/66 MHz or higher processor
• 24 MB RAM
• Between 210 MB and 400 MB hard disk space, depending on installation configuration
• CD-ROM drive
• VGA or higher-resolution monitor