Latest Windows desktop to manufacturing - should be available by summer.

Microsoft Corp. announced Wednesday that it has released to manufacturing Windows 98 Second Edition, the follow-on to Windows 98. The company will charge $109 (estimated retail price) for Windows 95, Windows 3.1 and first-time Windows customers who want to buy the new operating system at retail. Street price is expected to approximate the $89 currently charged for Windows 98.Customers who already purchased Windows 98 but want to upgrade to Windows 98 SE will pay $19.95, plus shipping and handling, for the new fixes and features only -- a package called Windows 98 Second Edition Updates. Microsoft says it will post Windows 98 Second Edition Updates to its Web site in early summer and will provide with the bundle a book detailing the "new features and benefits of Windows 98 Second Edition and the Internet." Preloaded by late summer Microsoft is supplying original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) with the Windows 98 SE code so that they will be able to preload this release on new hardware starting later this summer. Company officials said the retail and OEM preloads should both be available to customers by "early summer." Windows 98 SE includes the bug fixes and patches Microsoft has made to Windows 98 since it shipped the product last June. These fixes are slated to be available in the first Windows 98 Service Pack, which Microsoft says it plans to make available soon to Windows 98 customers via the Internet as a download from the Windows Update Web site. Windows 98 SE also features Internet Explorer 5; NetMeeting 3 conferencing software; Internet Connection Sharing, home networking technologies that allow multiple home PCs to share files, printers and a single Internet connection; and improved support for Universal Serial Bus.