What are the Pros and Cons of Windows 95?

 

No one will object that one of the major events in the PC world in 1995 is the deployment of Windows 95. Is it really as fascinating and powerful as it was advertised? In this article, the pros and cons of Windows 95 will be investigated. Though the coverage may not be complete, interested readers may use this as a reference in deciding whether they should convert to Windows 95.

What is Windows 95?

The minimum configuration for running Windows 95 is a PC with 386 or better CPU, 4MB RAM and VGA monitor. However, for acceptable performance, a 486DX2-66 with 8MB RAM and a Super VGA monitor is recommended.

Some of the benefits and deficiencies of using Windows 95 will be discussed in the sections followed. For more information on Windows 95, refer to the FAQs and various articles and journals. Most of them are available from the Internet.

Advantages of Windows 95

Compared to Windows 3.x, Windows 95 can :

• Provide better system responsiveness and smoother background processing since it is a 32-bit protected mode operating system. It allows pre-emptive multitasking and multithreading support for Win32 applications.
• Protect the user's current investments. Other than Win32 applications, most Windows 3.x applications and DOS applications run on it with faster speed and improved system stability.
• Provide a newly redesigned graphical interface that is not only easier to learn and use, but more efficient and more customizable.
• Improve user friendliness as it allows longer filename support (up to 255 characters). MS-DOS 8.3 filenames are still maintained and tracked by Windows 95 for compatibility with existing Win16 and MS-DOS based applications.
• Provide more efficient file and print support with faster disk/file access and printing.
• Simplify the switching among multiple programs by means of the task bar and lets the user launch applications and open documents more easily.
• Enhance multimedia support with built-in support for sound, midi, fast CD-ROMs and digital video playback.
• Support better network connectivity with simpler and enhanced network support for NetWare, Windows NT Server, Internet and most major network standards.
• Reduce time spent on technical problems and simplify systems management since Windows 95 renders Plug and Play support. Plug and Play-compatible devices can be detected and configured automatically. Users are free from the trouble of manual hardware setup and there is no need to worry about IRQs, DMAs and I/O port addresses when a new component is added to the system.

Disadvantages of Windows 95

Windows 95 is found to have the following drawbacks :

• Items dragging and dropping works on most folders except the Control Panel, Printers, or Dial-Up Networking folders. This inconsistency in the interface may confuse some users.
• Cannot pre-emptively multitask Win16 applications because it uses the same System Virtual Machine (VM) model as in Windows 3.1 to run Win16 applications. Thus, Windows 95 will revert to a cooperative multitasking environment when running Win16 applications and give them exclusive control of the CPU for as long as the applications are executing. As a result, true pre-emptive operation is impossible when multitasking a mixture of Win16 and Win32 applications.
• System protection against buggy applications is weak as compared to other 32-bit OS such as Windows NT and OS/2 Warp. Due to the reason stated above, if a Win16 program hangs, it can tie up critical 16-bit code modules located in the System VM and halt all other processes. To recover from this kind of system crash, the user has to reboot the PC.
• There is a security hole with File and Printer sharing for NetWare networks which may affect data security for corporate users. If a Windows 95 user configures his machine to share files and printers with other users on the network using File and Printer Sharing for NetWare networks, and he enables remote administration or install Microsoft Remote Registry Services, it is possible for another user on the network to gain read-only access to his machine. At the moment when the evaluation was done, Microsoft has already issued an updated driver for File and Printer Sharing for NetWare Networks to fix this bug.
• Windows 95 uses an easily cracked 32-bit key to store the passwords in the PWL file. Again, while the evaluation was under way, Microsoft has released an updated and enhanced security component which uses a 128-bit key and includes enhancements to the way passwords are stored in the PWL file.

Conclusion

In conclusion, despite its deficiencies, Windows 95 is still an excellent choice for today's desktop operating system. Its improvements on various areas over Windows 3.x and the additional new features make it a flexible, powerful and robust operating system. With Windows 95, a user can certainly unlock the potential of a computer.

Computing Services Centre City University of Hong Kong ccnetcom@cityu.edu.hk