Windows 2000: Finally, an NT for the Desktop

I’ve spent the last few years dual-booting: Windows 98 for games and hardware support, and Windows NT 4.0 for actual work. NT was stable, but it was a pain to use-no Plug and Play, no USB support, and a very dated interface. Today, that compromise ends. Windows 2000 is here.

The NT Kernel for Everyone

Windows 2000 (which was originally going to be called NT 5.0) brings the robust NT kernel to the mainstream. It features true preemptive multitasking and a protected memory model. If an app crashes in Windows 2000, it stays in its own memory space. It doesn't take the entire OS down with it.

For those of us coming from the fragile world of DOS-based Windows 9x, this is a miracle. I’ve had my machine running for three days straight without a single reboot.

NTFS 5.0 and Active Directory

The file system has been upgraded to NTFS 5.0, adding support for disk quotas and encryption. But for business users, the real star is Active Directory. It’s a massive improvement over the old NT Domain system, allowing for hierarchical organization of users and resources.

# Managing services from the command line is much better now
net start "World Wide Web Publishing Service"

The "Management Console" (MMC) is another great addition, providing a consistent way to manage everything from hardware to web servers.

Looking Ahead

Windows 2000 isn't meant for home gamers yet-DirectX support is there, but many legacy DOS games still struggle. However, for developers and power users, it is the only choice. It’s clear that Microsoft is moving toward a single, NT-based codebase for all their operating systems. Windows 2000 is the bridge that gets us there. I don't think I’ll ever go back to a 9x-based system again.