Windows Me — The Last of the Windows 9x Line

Windows Me was released on 14 September 2000 (a Thursday) in the United States and worldwide; the regular Japanese retail edition followed on 23 September 2000 (a Saturday). Japan actually had three dates: an OEM edition sold with motherboards and other hardware came out on Friday 15 September, and a limited-time special package for Windows 98 and 98 SE users went on sale at 4 p.m. on Friday 22 September.

The full name was Windows Millennium Edition, and Me was its short form. In its release of 14 September Microsoft announced immediate availability of the new operating system for home PC users. It succeeded Windows 98 and became the last product in the consumer line that began with Windows 95, the 9x line.

Dates up to release

What was new

Microsoft's release of 14 September grouped the improvements into four areas.

The feature whose name lasted was System Restore. The release described it as letting users roll their PC's software configuration back to a date or time when it was working properly. At the Japanese press event it was demonstrated by picking a point from a calendar, and according to PC Watch a single restore point took about 10 MB.

Steve Ballmer, president and CEO, said in the release that "Windows Me was designed specifically with the home user in mind." The US estimated retail price was $209 for the full version and $109 for an upgrade from Windows 95; until 15 January 2001, Windows 98 and 98 SE users could buy a $59.95 Promotional Step-Up. Me launched in 14 languages, with 28 promised within 90 days.

The Japanese launch: avoiding midnight, and an NT option

On 28 August 2000 Microsoft's Japanese subsidiary announced a 23 September release. There were four packages, regular, version upgrade, academic and a limited-time special package sold until 1 December, all at open prices; the special package had an estimated retail price of 6,400 yen, and the others were described as priced in line with Windows 98.

Only the special package went on sale early, at 4 p.m. the day before. According to PC Watch, the subsidiary explained that midnight launches of operating systems had become something of a custom that inconvenienced shops and users. Akihabara still held midnight sales for the OEM edition on 15 September, drawing about 100 people to four shops, according to AKIBA PC Hotline!.

At the same announcement the subsidiary started a campaign under which, until 31 December, users of Windows 95, 98 and 98 SE could also buy a limited-time upgrade to Windows 2000 Professional, at an estimated 16,800 yen. Home users were in effect being asked to choose between staying on 9x and moving to the NT-based Windows 2000. PC Watch reported in the same article that Windows Me would be the final version of the 9x line, that the Consumer Windows Division would be dissolved, and that its developers would move to the next OS, "Whistler", and other work. Whistler was named Windows XP on 5 February 2001.

Reputation

Windows Me is often held up as the example of a bad Windows. In "The 25 Worst Tech Products of All Time", published in May 2006, PC World placed Me fourth and wrote: "This might be the worst version of Windows ever released". According to the article, soon after Me appeared in late 2000 users reported problems installing it, getting it to run, and getting it to work with other hardware or software. The article also noted the nickname "Mistake Edition".

The same article did credit Me with introducing System Restore, later popularised by Windows XP, adding that it could also restore files users never wanted back, such as viruses they had just deleted. The list was an editorial verdict, not a systematic study of defects.

The end

After Me, home Windows moved to the same NT foundation as Windows 2000 with Windows XP in October 2001. No new 9x Windows has been released since Me.

Support for Me ended on the same day as for Windows 98 and 98 SE. According to Microsoft's notice as quoted by GIGAZINE, paid support and critical security updates ended on 11 July 2006, with no security updates after that.

For the wider Windows lineage see the Microsoft timeline and the operating systems timeline.