Windows 2000 is going to be a little more stable than Win98 - the NT kernel and the underlying operating system files handle programs a little differently than Win98. If a program crashes in 98, a lot of the time its going to take down the entire system, requiring a reboot. Win2k (and NT4 for that matter) run programs in different memory spaces, so if one program crashes it is very unlikely to take down the entire system.

Win2k has made many advances in Multimedia and basic needs of home users, but its not completely up to 98 in terms of multimedia (sound, DVD, etc...). If you have a newer machine, chances are that 2k will recognize your sound card, DVD, etc. However, Win2k has a much stricter Hardware Compatibility List than 98 - devices such as sound cards cannot operate on the system level - meaning older cards may not work, or may not work to their fullest capabilities in 2k. Companies will eventually support and write drivers for most of their cards, and in some cases NT4 drivers will work in NT (however NT was very bad at handling multimedia and PnP devices). 98 has been out for a while and all 95 drivers should work with 98, so you will have a much broader list of devices you can use.

Those are really the two things that come to mind when asked between a home user and a business user in term of 98 and 2k. In my opinion, eventually 2k will be the way to go - probably after the first Service Pack is release in June. I installed it on a laptop when it was still Beta and it recognized everything in my laptop - sound, video, etc. Win2k is going to be more stable - however, I have heard rumors that 2k does not support, or only very limitedly support a lot of the higher end 3D video cards. I have not installed 2k on anything with a 3D cards, so I cannot speak from that perspective.

Alright, enough rambling - if you are just using your PC at home for surfing the net, playing some not to complex games, doing your finances on, etc - I would really suggest Win2k after June of this year, simply because of its stability.

If you are really into gaming, with the latest and greatest games, then I would suggest Win98, at least for the time being, until manufacturers start writing drivers for the top of the line cards - which probably won't take until June, but I'd wait a bit and see what others start saying about gaming in Win2k.

Hope this helps,
Paul Kincaid

There is going to be another Windows coming out about a year and a half from now (Speculated). Originally, Windows 2K was going bridge the gap between 98 and NT. Because of the differences with the registry, and the Kernal of NT, Microsoft could never get it together. That's why you may have noticed a delay on the release. Soon there will be a new Windows out, that will replace 98. At a convention that I attended, they said that for the home users, stick with 98. The big part of 2K is the new security structures. Which you'll never use at home, unless your working to get Certified.....