It looks as if Windows 98 and Windows ME have both reached the end of the tunnel as Microsoft announces it is to stop backing them as of this month.

Microsoft, on its Web site announced:

July 11, 2007 will bring a close to Extended Support for Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, and Windows Me as part of the Microsoft Lifecycle Policy. Microsoft will retire public and technical support, including security updates, by this date.

Existing support documents and content, however, will continue to be available through the Microsoft Support Product Solution Center Web site. This Web site will continue to host a wealth of previous How-to, Troubleshooting, and Configuration content for anyone who may need self-service.

On October 10, 2007, Microsoft will end all public assisted support for Windows XP Service Pack1 (SP1). After this date, Microsoft will no longer provide any incident support options or security updates for this retired service pack under the policies defined by the Microsoft Support Lifecycle policy.

The existing operating systems that will continue to receive support are
Windows 2000, Windows XP home/professional, Windows 2003 (server) and Windows
Vista. All of these systems are based on Windows NT technology.

The decision by Microsoft to withheld support for Windows 98/ME has been anticipated
for quite some time, but came with very little warning.