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Because the video editor is badly designed -- it won't let you save your edited videos to a VCR tape, for example -- not being able to remove it is crazy.
   technofile
Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983

Is Windows Me worth it? Save your money or demand Windows 98 instead


Sept. 17, 2000

By Al Fasoldt
Copyright ©2000, Al Fasoldt
Copyright ©2000, The Syracuse Newspapers

   Another version of Windows is available. It's Windows Millennium Edition, which Microsoft calls Windows Me. It could be one of the biggest mistakes Microsoft has ever made.
   The name itself, which Microsoft intentionally crafted in an attempt to make users feel warm and fuzzy -- as in "Get to know ME" -- seems needlessly insulting at a time when Microsoft has been found guilty of antitrust violations and Windows itself is under attack for its many shortcomings.
   Critics of Apple Computer Corp. sometimes complain about the cutesy colors and pointless see-through designs of many Macintosh computers, but at least Apple names its operating systems in a businesslike way.
   The name is just the beginning. Windows Me is the first consumer version of Windows that does not come with a separate, bootable version of MS-DOS. This means Windows Me does not boot up into DOS first and then into Windows, the way Windows 95 and Windows 98 do. Windows starts up faster that way, but that's the only advantage.
   In other words, Windows Me does not have what Microsoft calls "real-mode" DOS. There are many drawbacks:
   -- Games that work only in "real-mode" DOS (without Windows running at all) won't run.
   Windows Me would be a bad choice for anyone who plays DOS games. (Game makers continue to create DOS-mode games rather than games that work as Windows programs because DOS-mode games run much faster.)
   -- Old programs that require strict DOS mode won't run at all.
   The DOS problem with Windows Me is not that it can't run MS-DOS programs at all. Like every other version of Windows, Windows Me is able to create a "virtual machine" that can run DOS programs inside a window. This is called "virtual DOS mode," or "virtual-mode DOS."
   Most DOS games refuse to run in a virtual-mode DOS window, and some DOS programs cannot do it, either.
   Another problem is the relative slowness of Windows Me. Tests by major magazines showed that Windows Me is slower than Windows 98 doing the same tasks. It's not clear why Microsoft would go to the trouble of making a newer version of Windows without making it faster than the older one.
   Windows Me is also the first consumer version of Windows to come with a non-removable version of the Windows Media player, a program that can play audio and video. Windows Me users have no choice as to installation or removal. This is also true of a video-editing program that comes with Windows Me. You have no choice. It comes already installed and can't be removed.
   And because the video editor is badly designed -- it won't let you save your edited videos to a VCR tape, for example -- not being able to remove it is crazy. This is likely to do little more than anger consumers and embarrass Microsoft.
   This is more than strange. There are many companies that compete, or try to compete, in the audio-video player and video-editing markets. By bundling those programs into Windows as if they were essential parts of the operating system, Microsoft is doing precisely what it was found guilty of. Nothing explains this except arrogance.
   One Windows Me feature that seems promising is a function called "System File Protection." It's supposed to keep programs you install from messing up important files used by Windows and other programs. This is as yet untested, and I don't expect Windows Me to be better behaved than Windows 98 regardless of this feature. Other than removing real-mode DOS, Microsoft did not change the faulty way Windows works in any other way.
   Many new PCs will come with Windows Me already installed starting later this month. The newest models already have it, so you should check before you buy. If you are buying a PC and want Windows 98 instead of Windows Me, check carefully to make sure the store or the manufacturer can supply the computer with Windows 98.
   Consumers can do what Microsoft calls an "upgrade" by installing Windows Me on a PC running Windows 95 or 98. (Upgrades won't work for Windows 3.1.) The list price for the full version is $209, and discounts should bring it down to $180 or so. The upgrade version has been selling for $60.