Windows ME

Windows ME is the Millennium Edition of the Microsoft Windows operating system. Windows ME is based on Windows 98. Windows Me was based on MS-DOS (as were Windows 98 and Windows 95), and is meant for people using computers in their homes. Windows 2000 and Windows ME are similar in looks, but Windows ME has features that families find useful, while Windows 2000 was meant for businesses, although many home users also used Windows 2000 especially after Windows ME got bad reviews.

It was released in the year 2000, and thus was called Windows Millennium Edition. It was the last Windows to be based on MS-DOS. Unlike Windows 2000, Windows ME got bad reviews due to bugs and incompatible hardware. Support and updates for Windows ME (and Windows 98) ended in 2006, whereas Windows 2000 was supported until 2010.

Reception 
Windows Me initially received generally positive reviews, with reviewers citing the operating system's integrity protection (branded as "PC Health") and the new System Restore feature as steps forward for home users. However, users' real-world experience did not bear this out, with industry publications receiving myriad reports of issues with the "PC Health" systems, PCs refusing to shut down cleanly, and general stability problems.

As time went on, the reception became more negative, to the point where it was heavily panned by users, mainly due to stability issues. Retrospectively, Windows Me is viewed as the worst operating system Microsoft has ever produced, being unfavorably compared to its immediate predecessor and successor. Due to its many bugs and glitches, Windows Me is considered as the worst version of Windows. A PC World article dubbed Windows Me the "Mistake Edition" and placed it 4th in their "Worst Tech Products of All Time" feature in 2006. The article states: "Shortly after Me appeared in late 2000, users reported problems installing it, getting it to run, getting it to work with other hardware or software, and getting it to stop running." Consequently, most home users remained with Windows 98, while some moved to Windows 2000 despite the latter being enterprise-orientated.

System Restore suffered from a bug in the date-stamping functionality that could cause System Restore to date-stamp snapshots that were taken after September 8, 2001, incorrectly. This could prevent System Restore from locating these snapshots and cause the system restore process to fail. Microsoft released an update to fix this problem.

Byron Hinson and Julien Jay, writing for ActiveWin, took an appreciative look on the operating system. On the removal of real mode DOS, they had noted "The removal of DOS has clearly made a difference in Windows Me in terms of stability (far less Blue screen of death are seen now) and booting speed has greatly increased." In a recommendation of the operating system upgrade for users of Windows 95 and 98, they had stated "If Windows Me isn't a revolutionary OS it's clear that Microsoft has focused its efforts to make it more user-friendly, stable and packed full of multimedia options. The result is great and the enhancements added are really worth the wait." The new features that Windows Me introduced were also praised and have since remained part of subsequent Windows generations.

Along with Windows 2000 from the NT family, Windows Me was the last version of Windows that lacked product activation.

References

Microsoft operating systems