You would think that a PC running Windows 98 in November 2016 was an unloved and unwanted system. The reverse is true in this instance.
This guy has been taking care of an incredibly valuable and important task for 17 years. The cost of replacing it is significant and the software, which works only on a machine of this vintage, fits the requirement perfectly.
As various vulnerability horizons approached, special arrangements had to be made: this box wasn’t internet-enabled, no email client got near it, its network was known as The Oasis, as it was a closed system.
We would send new, young, engineers out to carry out the many tasks required, most of whom had never seen Windows 98, but they all wanted keyboard time on this one. It’s what passes for heritage in our game.
We think this is the last ’98 machine in the client base and it will be switched off today. It is certainly the last PC of this vintage connected at the moment, but we occasionally encounter systems decommissioned years ago, which are brought back into life for the Work Experience person.
Don’t let this nostalgia fool you, Windows 98 was a nightmare of an operating system. It did more for the malware industry ‘than all the hackers in China’. Microsoft had no idea about security back then. Not like now. Of course.
