"N. Miller" wrote:

It was speculated back in 2006 that most IE6 patches that
Microsoft released for Win-2K would be easily and seamlessly
usable on win-98

Would you bet your life on untested speculation? Most
parachutists, and rock climbers do not.

Most parachutists and rock climbers do not pack computers running
windows-98 as part of their survival gear.

Any computer that is running mission-critical or life-support functions
should theoretically not have an internet connection and should not
allow the user to "surf the web" while in operation.

So your hyperbolic analogy doesn't really apply.

Microsoft has identified certain reasons to release new versions of
files related to IE6-SP1. The have done so periodically over the life
of that program, and will continue to do so until Win-2K reaches
end-of-life, which I think will happen mid-next year.

When those files are copied to a win-98 system (replacing existing
files) they allow the system to operate normally, with no errors or
lock-ups. That's quite a trick to do given the complexity of how these
files and functions interact with the OS. The slightest incompatibility
usually renders a system inoperable.

The conclusion one can draw from that is that Microsoft would release
the exact same files as part of a win-98 update patch if Microsoft's
support policy for win-98 allowed it.