Windows Me review

With the hornet's nest of lawyers and litigation that is currently swarming around Microsoft, you could be forgiven for thinking that the software giant has more pressing things on its mind than launching new products.

But Bill Gates has stated that it's business as usual, and he appears to be a man of his word. We're about to get yet another Windows.

A year ago, Microsoft had two distinct ranges of Windows operating systems: Windows NT, aimed at corporate users, and plain Windows for home and small business users. In February, NT was upgraded to Windows 2000, which (confusingly) made it sound like a new version of plain Windows 98. It wasn't. While Windows 2000 was an important - perhaps crucial - upgrade for business Windows NT users, it's not at all suitable for most home users. When we reviewed Windows 2000 in May, we advised you to stick with Windows 98 until Windows Me came out.

That day has now arrived. Windows Me is being released on 14 September, and now we have the final version of it in our hands, we can put Microsoft's claims to the test. Is it really easier to use? What new features are there? Will your existing Windows 98 software and drivers work with Windows Me? Read on and we'll tell you if now is the time to step into the brave new world of Windows Me.

A new look

If you're a long-serving Windows 95/98 user and you upgrade to Windows Me, you'll see a product with quite a different face.

The changes in Windows Me appear as soon as the folders slide out, when you click Start and select entries from the menus. These are now the personalised menus first introduced in Office 2000 and then added to Windows 2000. They remember your favourite applications and hide ones you never use.

There's a new-look My Computer, which tucks away entries such as Dial-up Networking and relegates Printers to the Control Panel. The default view for the hard drive gives little information. There are no file icons, though there is a link to My Documents, and you can choose to show the entire contents of the disk if you wish.

New features

It's fair to say that Me could have been more honestly titled Windows 98 Third Edition. However, Microsoft has added plenty of fixes and enhancements, as well as a swathe of accessories such as an automated video editor. There's also a wizard to manage scanners and still-image cameras, and a media jukebox/recorder with support for 'skins'. Adding a skin to an application is a way of making it look funky, and allowing you scope for a bit of personalisation.

The new Windows Movie Maker can record video from an attached camera, or import existing files and divide the video into clips for editing - much like high-end video-editing software. Windows Image Acquisition (WIA) offers a wizard interface that can, with a WIA-compatible camera, preview and manage pictures without downloading them. It runs automatically when a camera is plugged into the USB port.

The new Windows Media Player 7 acts as a web radio tuner, a jukebox, and a file-transfer utility to copy and compress audio files to portable MP3 players and Windows CE devices. Be warned, though: it uses the Microsoft format, not MP3, for compression.

As part of the improvements to Internet access there's a new version 5.5 of Internet Explorer which offers better performance, searching and print previews. IE 5.5 is accompanied by Outlook Express 5.5 and NetMeeting 3.1, but you can also get all of these off this month's cover disc. Windows Me includes several new games, and five of them (Backgammon, Checkers, Hearts, Reversi and Spades) can be played online with other users, via the MSN Gaming Zone.