Here I go with a hardware solution again. It sounds like the easiest thing for you to do is invest in an inexpensive router that includes a print server. I saw one of these (with 5 ethernet ports and one printer port) at OfficeMax this week for about $40US. I'm planing to get one myself once I've saved a few more pennies.
The magic of these boxes is that (generally) they assign a local IP address to the printer. That way, it doesn't matter what platform you're sending the print job from, as long as you have the right driver for that printer you're set.
Advantages include low price, no need to buy and install software on either machine (except maybe printer drivers), no need to upgrade the OS on a machine that is working fine with Win98SE (the most stable and flexible of that branch of Microsoft operating systems), and the bonus ability to expand your network later.
Disadvantages include having to pay a little more attention to your network setup, having to find desk/shelf space and an electrical outlet for the box, and a little more cabling.
And Apple tech support was only partly right about your Windows OS. The original Win98 was not really designed for networking. Like Win95, it required additional OS components to work properly. Win98SE, on the other hand, was designed to overcome this shortcoming; the first home network I set up connected Win98 machines, and upgrading them to SE made the network run better.
Good luck.
The magic of these boxes is that (generally) they assign a local IP address to the printer. That way, it doesn't matter what platform you're sending the print job from, as long as you have the right driver for that printer you're set.
Advantages include low price, no need to buy and install software on either machine (except maybe printer drivers), no need to upgrade the OS on a machine that is working fine with Win98SE (the most stable and flexible of that branch of Microsoft operating systems), and the bonus ability to expand your network later.
Disadvantages include having to pay a little more attention to your network setup, having to find desk/shelf space and an electrical outlet for the box, and a little more cabling.
And Apple tech support was only partly right about your Windows OS. The original Win98 was not really designed for networking. Like Win95, it required additional OS components to work properly. Win98SE, on the other hand, was designed to overcome this shortcoming; the first home network I set up connected Win98 machines, and upgrading them to SE made the network run better.
Good luck.