Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional

Windows 2000 and Windows XP are esentially the same operating system, though are completely different, confused yet? Let me explain:

When Microsoft designed Windows XP, it was created with the intention of being a user-friendly foolproof system for the basic to average computer user. All the complexities of a modern-day operating system are hidden behind a nauseating display of neon colours that is the Windows XP desktop theme.

Most of the Operating system's more challenging elements are kept out of reach, or removed all together to avoid inexperienced users from tampering with them and destroying the system.

In theory it is a good idea, but a serious computer user will find the out-of-the-box version of Windows XP very frustrating and annoying as it's locked-out elements and constant resource-hogging start to grind on them.

It's like a daycare centre, with sponges strapped to every pointy object, and all the toy cares removed from reach to avoid choking. But what about those of us who arn't 3 years old?

Well, this is where Windows 2000 enters. Ok, so Win2k is not the most attractive operating system, it lacks the colour-by-numbers feel that XP has, instead replacing it with a dull grey desktop. If Windows XP is a daycare centre, Windows 2000 is an office cubicle.

It's not all bad though, there's fading menus and stuff that you'll find in Windows XP, and it also shares the improved file system from Windows XP (or did Windows XP take it from 2k?)

Windows 2000 takes an age to boot up howver, so if you're the kind of person who turns off the computer every time you leave it, Win2k is definately not for you. However, when it finally gets going, Windows 2000 is, in my opinion, the best operating system on the market.

Windows 2000 can do everything Windows XP can do, and more. It's the most stable version of Windows yet and can run almost all programs designed for any of the previous versions of Windows, however, like XP there is no DOS mode, so running DOS applications is a nightmare.

Like XP, there are certain issues with older games. Windows 2000 is a 32-bit system, and most older games are 16 bit. But if your game doesn't run, there's a handy compatibily mode (also found in XP) that allows you to run the game as if it were running on an older version of Windows (95, 98, NT, ME).

Likewise with old hardware, if your hardware drivers arn't supported by Windows 2k, they may not run properly. But most hardware manufacturers have a 2k/XP version of their drivers available on their website.

There's not really much else I can say... Windows 2k is like Windows XP without the padding. It runs faster and it's more stable, and you won't need to download hundreds of third-party tweaking devices to get it to run properly.

The main attraction for me is the stability of the thing, no more blue screen of death for me, and if there is any software crash it is handled on the whole much better than in win 98.

Also, MS seem to have succeeded in making win 2000 much more intuituve than previous versions. If I want to do something or have a problem, generally the first thing I think of trying will WORK. Whereas with win 98 the chances of finding the solution to a problem that quickly were at best slim (It says something about Microsoft how surprised I was when I fixed problems with the first thing i tried).

The only problem I had was finding drivers for my old voodoo 2 card, but I eventually located them and now I have no problems. If you have any older hardware you would be wise to check for driver availability BEFORE you buy win 2000.

Installation took approximately 45 minutes and all of my compatible hardware (Webcam excepted ..) was detected and installed automatically - a dream really :)

Cosmetically, Win2K is not really any different to Windows 98 with the odd enhncement - the drop-shadows on cursors are a nice touch as are the fading menus (at least for the first hour of operation), it's when you start to dig about beneath the surface that the OS-formerly-known-as-NT shines out. Security has been tightened up considerably, meaning some installation stuff requires the Administrator rights and happily Win2K is now DirectX compatible, so playing a few games now and again shouldn't be an issue except in the speed department (Win2K is NOT optimised for games).

I did hear disturbing rumours about application software refusing to run before I bought this package, so far I haven't seen anything that won't perform but then I donlt run any DOS only stuff so I suppose I'm lucky.

It's still early days for WIndows 2000 and I'm still feeling my way around the OS, initial impressions are very good however and the combination of greater code stability, extra security features and the various twiddly bits added in this release make it a worthwhile buy for the more seriously minded. Games players are much better sticking with Win98 however as it's DirectX performance is far better than this.