Info Tech Guide

Windows Me (Millenium Edition) is an operating system from Microsoft, released commercially September 14, 2000. Windows Me was developed specifically for the home user, while Windows 2000 was developed specifically for the business user. Microsoft claims that Me was an update on Windows 98 (which has a very similar look-and-feel), adding a more intuitive interface for a novice user while adding functionality for more experienced users.

Designed to be backwards compatible with Windows 98, Windows Me works with the earlier version's applications and drivers. Improvements over Windows 98 include functions to enhance system stability and error correction (what Microsoft is calling "PC health"), as well as features designed for digital media, home networking, and online experience:

It included Internet Explorer 5.5, Windows Media Player 7, and the new Windows Movie Maker software, which provided basic video editing and was designed to be easy for home users. Microsoft also updated the graphical user interface and the shell features and Windows Explorer in Windows Me with some of those first introduced in Windows 2000, which had been released as a business oriented operating system seven months earlier. Windows Me could be upgraded to Internet Explorer 6 SP1, but not to SP2 (SV1) or Internet Explorer 7, and Windows Media Player 9 Series.

Microsoft .NET Framework up to and including version 2.0 is supported, however versions 2.0 SP1, 3.x, and greater are not. Office XP was the last version of Microsoft Office to be compatible with Windows 9x.

Windows Me is a continuation of the Windows 9x model, but with access to real mode MS-DOS restricted in order to speed up system boot time.This was one of the most unpopular changes in Windows Me, because applications that needed real mode DOS to run, such as older disk utilities, did not run under Windows Me. Support for Windows Me ended on July 11, 2006.