Whatever buzz is accompanying Microsoft's latest version of its operating system largely comes from the publicity generated by the Justice Department's antitrust suit against the company. "It probably made Windows 98 a bigger focus that it would be otherwise," said Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies Research International in Campbell, California. "They should have invited Janet Reno as a thank you." Microsoft's efforts to promote Windows 98 pale in comparison to what grounded the launch of Windows 95. Then, Microsoft enlisted musical help from the Rolling Stones for ads and got Jay Leno to appear at the welcome party. There were 3,500 people at that celebration, along with giant tents and a Ferris wheel.

Seattle-based Microsoft officiallykicks off Windows 98, the successor to Windows 95, at a waterfront bash in San Francisco Thursday. Hundreds of software testers, computer vendors, and reporters received "Route 98" maps inviting them to see chairman Bill Gates show off the new program. When Windows 95 was launched in August 1995, lines of buyers snaked out of software stores and millions of copies of the program were sold in the first few weeks. The upgrade spurred development of new application programs and boosted PC sales.

Promise of greater stability, improved multimedia performance.

Most people buying Windows 98 are expected to get it with a new computer, rather than go out and buy an upgrade to Windows 95.

The new version catches up with three years of fixes to Windows 95, promises greater stability and improved multimedia performance. It supports digital television and a new class of easier-to-add peripherals. But Windows 98 does have a striking new feature, the incorporation of Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser into theoperating system. That allows users to find and manage information stored on the PC's hard drive as if they were surfing the Web, clicking on back and forward buttons. The browser and its relationship with the Windows operating software are at the center of the Justice Department's antitrust suit against Microsoft. Federal prosecutors accuse the company of using its operating-system dominance o promote its Internet browser and stifle competition. The government claims Microsoft forced computer makers who put Windows on their PCs also to include Internet Explorer, illegally "tying" under antitrust law.

Microsoft, however, contends the browser is integrated into the operating system and therefore legal. It won a victory Tuesday when a federal appeals court reversed a judge's decision barring the company from packaging the browser with Windows 95; the ruling could have a bearing on the broader antitrust suit.