Twenty-seven years ago today, on August 31, 1998 (July 10, 1998 in the lunar calendar), the Chinese version of Windows 98 was released. Windows 98 Classic Launch Interface Late at night on August 31, 1998, in the square in front of the Haidian Theater in Zhongguancun, there was no silence at night. From midnight, Microsoft's Chinese version of Windows 98 was launched here. A large number of reporters and some employees of domestic software companies watched quietly behind the crowd. The launch ceremony had not yet officially started. In front of the stage lit by brilliant lights, anxious computer enthusiasts had already formed a long queue, and for a while, it was impossible to see how many people were there. People standing in the distance, looking at the sudden lively scene, suddenly, a feeling of not being real floated. The Chinese version of Windows 98 came too soon. When Windows 95 was released, the Chinese version was delayed for 6 months. Three years have passed, and 6 months have become 2 months. In the past three years, Microsoft China has grown up, and the staff of Microsoft China Software Development Center has exceeded 70 people. It has recruited a large number of domestic software talents like Liao Hengyi (one of the main programmers of Chinese Star), which has greatly improved Microsoft's development capabilities on the Chinese platform. Microsoft has already "one word" in the Chinese computer market. The release of Windows 98 has received strong support from Lenovo, Founder and Tongchuang. Lenovo announced that it will pre-install Windows 98 in 90% of its computers, which is enough to make Microsoft China company rest assured. At midnight on September 1, Microsoft's Chinese version of Windows 98 was officially launched. The long line of computer enthusiasts, each holding a thick wad of money, slowly moved forward between the two teams of people lined up by the staff of Lianbang Software Store. Windows 98 is not cheap, and the price of 1998 yuan is not a small number for many people. Among these buyers, there are not many unit users, and many people buy Windows 98 for their own use. This makes those domestic software companies that only sell software for about 100 yuan surprised. At 1:38, the first hot sale of Microsoft's Chinese version of Windows 98 sounded the end of the gong. According to statistics, 78 sets of Windows 98 were sold in Beijing, 74 sets were sold in Shanghai, 58 sets were sold in Guangzhou, 52 sets were sold in Chengdu, and 75 sets were sold in Fuzhou. Within 98 minutes, 337 units were sold from five launch sites across the country, worth about 600,000 yuan. 600,000 yuan is certainly not a big number, but for the Chinese software market, it is a quite meaningful number, and it can be seen that there is very little "water". What kind of product is Windows98, worthy of such eager expectations from domestic computer enthusiasts? Some industry commentators believe that Windows98 has not made too many changes on the basis of Windows95. It is more like a combination of Windows95 (1997 OEM version) WindowsPlus 4.0. In addition to supporting some new features such as DVD, there is no qualitative improvement. The reason why Windows98 is famous is more or less related to the lawsuit between Microsoft and the Department of Justice. It is hard to come up with an explanation for why domestic users are paying a third of the price of a computer to buy a Windows 98. What is worth re-examining for domestic software companies is that there is already a desire at home, a desire to use genuine software and real purchasing power. China's genuine software market is about to enter a new world.