Windows ME

**Windows ME**

Microsoft Windows ME
Codename Preliminary name	Millennium
Kernel version	16/32 bit hybrid, ver. 4.90
CPU architecture	x86
Release date	14/09/2000
Support end	Expired 11/07/2006
Preceded by	Windows 98
Succeeded by	Neptune / Windows XP

Windows ME retail packaging.

Windows Millennium Edition (referred as Windows Me, codenamed Millennium) was the last 16/32 bit hybrid version of Microsoft Windows. Discovered by Paul Thurrott in September 1997, the codename Millennium initially referred to the next Windows version after Windows 2000, then in development as Windows NT 5.0. Windows NT 6.0 Millennium was originally expected in 2000 and 2001. However, on 7 April 1999, during WinHEC 1999,^[1] Microsoft announced that Millennium would be the next release in the Windows 9x line, succeeding Windows 98.^[2] CEO Steve Ballmer said:

I also want to announce today a new version of Consumer Windows that we will deliver in the year 2000.We weren’t sure for a while what we’d be delivering in the year 2000 exactly.Today, I’m here to tell you there will be a new version of Windows next year targeted for the consumer market.It will continue to be built in the year 2000 on the Windows 98 code base as opposed to the Windows 2000 code base.We will get there eventually with Windows 2000 in the consumer market.It had been our target to bet here in 2000, but we’ve decided to do the things that we all need to do to simplify the experience.The right approach next year is to continue to enhance the Windows 98 product.And it will be focused on the key consumer needs, the simplicity or it just works aspects that I talked about, Universal Plug and Play (UpnP) home networking which I’ll have a chance to show you in a minute, improving the online experience since a larger and larger percentage of what people do with their home computers is to be online, and the handling of digital media, pictures, music, video, et cetera, which is becoming more fundamental to the consumer computing experience.We want to extend the functionality of Windows in the consumer environment out of the box. (Note: Absence of spaces after every full stop/period is in the original text.)
— Steve Ballmer, Steve Ballmer Speech Transcript – WinHEC ’99, ^[1]

Me was released as version 4.9, but Twitter user Albacore (@thebookisclosed) suggests that the kernel version might have been 5.0 initially, citing files from builds 2332 and 2348, with a version number of 5.0 and build numbers pre-2332.^[3]

Windows Me was released to manufacturing on June 19, 2000 and to retail on September 14, 2000.^[4] It was criticized due to its instability, and was sold on the market for a total of 402 days before being superseded by Windows XP on October 25, 2001.^[5] Some components of Windows 2000, such as the TCP/IP stack, were ported to Windows Me.

Prior to the release of Windows Me, Microsoft had planned for Windows Neptune to bridge the gap between the 9x series and Windows NT. However, Microsoft changed its plans in early 1999 and decided to release another 16/32-bit hybrid operating system, postponing the release of Neptune. Later, the Neptune project was scrapped in favor of Windows XP (then codenamed Whistler). Notably, some of the features scheduled for Neptune, such as the Help and Support Activity Center, were included in Windows Me.^[6]

Although generally perceived to be a failure, Windows Me introduced several features which would later be deemed beneficial,^[5] including Automatic Updates,^[7] System Restore,^[8] Windows Image Acquisition,^[9] and Windows Movie Maker. It is also the first consumer oriented version of Windows to natively offer support for USB mass storage devices.