At the desktop, this means that Windows 95 and Windows NT will share communications and a common interface by 1998. Software applications developers, including OCLC, unfortunately cannot provide and support applications indefinitely for essentially obsolete hardware. Workstation users need to invest in Pentium workstations and higher to obtain the memory, storage and multimedia capabilities new software applications will require. Libraries should study the future of telecommunications and software, then plan to upgrade their desktop equipment as much as possible, as soon as possible, to benefit from new technologies. The Desktop Map indicates when support for current OCLC applications will end and when new applications are expected to become available.
All dates are tentative.
End of support also implies that OCLC may make online system or other changes that may render previous OCLC software versions useless. In developing its software applications, OCLC follows Microsoft very closely. Doing so enables OCLC to continually reduce its software development costs by eliminating the need to build and maintain proprietary communications drivers, printer drivers, etc. This type of development also enhances users' ability to transfer skills they have acquired from one application to another. OCLC can introduce new software in a timely manner.