Product Reviews

The launch of Windows 2000 has been accompanied by as much razzmatazz as Windows 95 in August 1995 and Windows 98 in June 1998. Unlike those systems, though, the emphasis for Windows 2000 is business use. This may seem a departure, until you realise that Windows 2000 is not intended as a replacement for Windows 98, but actually the latest version of the business user's darling, Windows NT.

If you already use Windows NT, you'll be delighted with the improvements that Windows 2000 offers. If, on the other hand, you're a Windows 98 user, you'll probably be more interested in the upcoming Windows ME (Millennium Edition), the third edition of Windows 98. Windows ME has all the visual niceties of Windows 2000, plus support for home networking and much better device and games support.

But this review will compare Windows 2000 with both NT and 98, so you can see for yourself. Whichever system you use, you'll see exactly what switching to 2000 could do for you.

Look and feel

Windows 2000 was planned as a follow-on to NT 4, and was originally called NT 5. It has Server and Advanced Server editions, and a DataCentre Server edition will follow later. From the user's point of view, however, it's the Professional edition for desktop and laptop PCs that is the most relevant.

This adopts the Windows 98 interface, and enhances it to reduce desktop clutter and provide personalised Start menu lists (similar to Office 2000's self-customising menus). It also adds the Plug-and-Play, as well as power management features, found in Windows 98. Consequently, it looks a lot like 98, and is hard to distinguish from it when you're using a Windows application such as Word. However, when you begin to dig around, the differences show. The boxout on the right, 'Windows 2000 and 98: A Visual Comparison', shows some examples of the differences between the two - most of which are to do with systems management activities.

So what exactly is Windows 2000?

Windows 2000 differs from 98 because it puts its emphasis on reliability and system management, rather than on the freedom of access, innovative hardware and software features that are prioritised by games and home PCs. It lets companies' system administrators centrally control desktop PCs and networks, applying

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company-wide policies to user data, desktop settings, and software. This means employees can log on to any PC within the company and find the same familiar desktop layout.

2000 helps you hook your network up to the Internet - important for e-business (electronic business) applications. It should improve system availability at your firm by, for example, reducing the need to reboot when hardware or software are installed. It even supports multiple processor machines (with 2 to 32 Pentiums, depending on the edition), and builds in fail-safe operation, allowing one server to take over the load when another server fails. Other clever corporate stuff includes network load balancing, which helps administrators add machines appropriately to cater for increased traffic, or take servers offline for repair or upgrade without interrupting the service to users.

The My Network Places wizard locates shared folders and printers, and sets up Internet connection sharing automatically. There are also useful features such as previews for multimedia files and a text indexing service.

Which Windows is for you?

Windows 2000 Professional is faster than both Windows NT Workstation and Windows 98. With 64 megabytes of memory, it performs on average 25 per cent faster than Windows 98, and you can run more programs and perform more tasks at once. Adding more memory to the PC makes the improvement even greater, and the scope for expansion is enormous - it supports up to four gigabytes of memory, and you can add a second processor (subject to the limitations of your PC hardware). But is it better for you, or should you wait for Windows ME? The answers will vary depending on your type of use.

1 Windows 2000 is potentially the best operating system for the corporate user. Microsoft has invested millions of dollars to make this true, and has succeeded in many respects. However, there are still question marks over management of the global Active Directory, limitations on the level of non-stop operation, and we've yet to see how well the DataCentre edition will compete against the established server systems.

2 If your PC is part of a small business network that already uses NT for the servers, you may want to upgrade from Windows 98 on your desktop PCs and laptops - but don't be in too much of a rush. Wait until there are upgrade packs for your software applications and device drivers for your hardware components before you take the plunge.

3 If you're a game-playing home PC enthusiast, you won't want to upgrade to 2000. You'd have a long list of incompatibilities - with both hardware and software - to cope with, and you may even find that Windows 2000 will simply refuse to complete the Setup. You'd do better to wait for Windows ME, which will give you the same interface as Windows 2000, but without the limitations that it imposes.