Redmond (WA) - Microsoft will be cutting off extended support to users of their Windows 98 and Millenium operating systems on 11 July. The cut-off will include the stopping of technical support and the issuing of security updates. Existing documentation will still be available on Microsoft's website.

Users of the eight year old operating system - an eternity in computer terms - are urged to switch to Windows XP because 98/ME is, "outdated and can expose customers to security risks", according to Microsoft. It's almost surprising that Microsoft has kept supporting the old operating system for so long and its architecture is a far cry from the Windows NT-based platform of Windows XP.

IDC estimates that there are still almost 50 million machines that run Windows 98. Many of those machines have specialized accounting and banking software that either crashes on Windows XP or is no longer updated for new operating systems.

Coming this fall, Microsoft will also be cutting support for users of Windows XP Service Pack 1.

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