Windows 98

Networking

On the network front, the most prominent item is VPN (virtual private networking). This enables you to create private dial-in, LAN or Internet connections between your system and your network, regardless of where you are. It uses the PPTP (Point To Point Tunnelling Protocol) and this needs to be running on your network. This has been available for Windows 95 for a while now, with PPTP for Windows 95 being one component of the Dial-Up Networking 1.2 Upgrade, but many users seem to have missed this entirely. The recommended usage method is to first create a connection to your ISP and then connect to your network via the RAS Server setup on your corporate NT Server. The connection is easy to set up and use. The documentation supplied with Windows 98 is a little weak, to put it mildly. Luckily there's enough information on-line (www.microsoft.com/communications/ and the Microsoft Developer Network site) to help you on your way. For many users VPN isn't a major inclusion, but for those who need to work away from the office it could be a lifesaver. If it wasn't for the reduced bandwidth, you'd think you were still on your LAN.

Dial-Up Networking has also seen an enhancement in the form of Multilink Channel Aggregation. This is really just a fancy name for the ability to use more than one line at the same time when connecting to the Internet, the obvious benefit being expanded bandwidth and, therefore, smoother connections and faster downloads. This feature is designed primarily to let you use two ISDN lines simultaneously, but you can also use it with a pair of analog modems. However, Microsoft points out that this could result in potential serial overrun problems. The technology also requires that your ISP supports both PPP and multilink connections.

Microsoft claims Windows 98 has a faster and more reliable TCP/IP protocol. Charitably, we might say that this could take time to make itself felt and that anything of this sort is difficult to evaluate independently of the demands of individual networks. Cynically, however, we could also say that the response doesn't seem to be any quicker or smoother.

For those who feel lost without a quick burst of coding, Windows 98 will offer much-needed relief with its incorporation of the WSH (Windows Scripting Host). This is a language-independent scripting host for ActiveX scripting engines which will also appear in Windows NT 5. Microsoft will supply both VBScript and JScript engines, while third parties will chip in with engines for other languages such as Perl, Python and REXX. Scripts can be executed from either a Windows-based or a Command Shell-based host. You can use it to automate system and network tasks, as well as to create logon scripts. While this might not be all that interesting for the small office and home markets which Windows 98 is apparently aimed at, it's actually one of the few features that might drag corporates towards the new version.

Where do we go from here?

Windows 98 isn't a brand-new operating system but an extremely welcome improvement on an old one. It's tempting to go down the Windows 98 route if Windows 95 is currently providing almost everything you need in terms of functionality and features and you're not looking for a more fundamental OS upgrade. There are many enhancements to elevate Windows 98 above its older incarnation, but the change isn't one which will cause people to see 'training costs' written in large, red letters float in front of their eyes. If you know Windows 95 then you know Windows 98. This will be very reassuring for those whose job it is to roll the new OS out to their users, be the numbered in ones, tens, hundreds or thousands.