In stark contrast to the excessive hype that surrounded the release of Windows 95 and even Windows 98, Microsoft has encountered unusual skepticism regarding today's release of Windows 2000. Most recently, a report that said Windows 2000 had something like 63,000 bugs got widespread national attention.
Long-time Microsoft customers might be inclined to react, "So few?"
The fine print of the stories was that this was a very broad definition of "bug." Everything from feature requests to actual technical glitches are encompassed in the internal company memo that was leaked. In truth, the situation with Windows 2000 is exactly the same as for any other Microsoft software release: there will be bugs, and if you don't want to be bothered, wait for the first service pack. Same as Windows 95/98. Same as Office 97. Same as Office 2000. What's changed is that Redmond's image has taken a major bath in recent months.
New generations of software products are always a juggling act between time gained from feature enhancements as against time lost from new release bugs. In future issues of TNPC, we'll report on experiences with the actual released retail code of Windows 2000.
For now, a rule of thumb is this: if you are running Windows NT4, there is no compelling reason to upgrade immediately unless you need USB support. Similarly, if you have a PC that's short on processor power or disk space, forget about Windows 2000. However, if Windows 98 is your current operating system and you are pulling your hair out because of repeated crashes, Windows 2000 can bring some relief. Remember, as with previous NT systems, multi-booting is built in, so you always have the option of running Windows 2000 in addition to your existing operating system--and that's a very good idea.
