The devil made me do it.

My assignment was simple: buy a PC for a client, under $1000. I selected an elegant Hewlett-Packard mini-tower, marked down from $1500 to $799 at Office Depot (2928 N. Ashland). But their monitors were overpriced, so I bought a nice ProView 15-in. unit for $149 at Best Buy (1000 W. North av).

And that was my undoing.

While maneuvering the box into my cart I espied an IBM Aptiva, pre-loaded with Windows 95, at a very attractive price. All too easily persuading myself that I needed it, I bought it for myself, more than wiping out any profit I might have made from the client, and exponentially increasing the rat's nest of cables on my desk.

But this story isn't about impulse buying syndrome. A coupon for a free copy of Windows 98 came with my new toy, and I haven't sent it in yet. I have a low opinion of Windows 95, and just thinking about Win98 gives me the jitters. There seems to be no end in sight to the fiasco launched by MS's latest contribution to computing confusion. Major PC makers have now posted cautions on their Web sites, warning that Win 98 may cause problems on systems purchased more than a few months ago. Some even caution users not to install it on newer units.

But one would think that new systems pre-loaded with Win98 would have been tested and adjusted to work with the only operating system offered. Apparently, this is not the case.

Reader Sid Cato (www.sidcato.com) bought a new Compaq notebook, only to find that his Internet connection wouldn't work, and Win98 crashed repeatedly. He traded it for an older, slower, Toshiba, with Win95, and can at least get his work done. (I'm told that Compaq has now posted a fix on its Web site.)

Where were these guys hiding during the two years MS worked on this wonder? MS and the PC manufacturers must -- or should! -- have known its incompatibilities well before releasing products. Yet, only after thousands of innocent buyers plunked down their plastic are vendors "cautioning" customers that their machines may not work with Win98.

But wait, there's more. And worse.

Esteemed Windows expert Brian Livingston reveals in his July InfoWorld columns that Windows 98 may disable software from Microsoft's competitors. According to Livingston, if Win98's installer finds programs on your drive with newer DLLs (dynamic link library files) than the ones used by MS, it replaces them with older ones. If your programs require the new DLLs, too bad -- they won't run. A fix utility apparently exists -- if one finds and knows how to use it during installation, because it won't help afterwards.

MS says this is to protect system stability. Maybe. Or maybe it's incompetence, arrogance or a reflection of what happens when buyers have no choice in operating systems.

Maybe this will all clear up. Or maybe they'll put a label on the box: "This product may be hazardous to your computer's health."

In the meantime, I may claim that free Windows 98 copy. But I won't install it.

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