There’s no argument that Windows 98 is a better Operating System than Windows 95. Whether Windows 98 is an essential upgrade to Windows 95 is another question -- and it will be answered in this very analysis.
In the very beginning, Windows 98 was only intended to be a minor upgrade and a repackaging of existing components into an integrated whole – a large Service Pack, if you will. Way back in March 1997, WindowsCentral got its hands on the first beta of the product – there was no hype, no DOJ and certainly no reason to believe it was going to be a huge improvement over the last. We were told there would be no upgrade path from Windows 3.1, and that it would be shipping "in a few months".
That few months has since slipped to more than a year – but, thanks to the DOJ and Microsoft’s competitors, we did finally get that upgrade path. "Why thanks to them?" you say. Microsoft never pushed Windows 98 as anything huge until it was put under pressure to release certain features from the incremental update – it soon became the almighty Operating System, the sign of vigilance against a field of anti-Microsoft bandits and ‘innovation-smothering’ governmental departments – and thus had to come up to par in all areas.
Special Thanks...goes to Dennis Gregory for the screenshots used in this article!
There’s no argument that Windows 98 is a better Operating System than Windows 95. Whether Windows 98 is an essential upgrade to Windows 95 is another question -- and it will be answered in this very analysis. 
