The first thing anyone considering an upgrade to Windows 2000 should know is that the stakes are higher this time around. Microsoft makes it clear from the start that loading up Windows 2000 is "a one-way process", with no uninstall button.
This means that, if you don't like it, the only way back is to erase everything and reload all the old stuff, if you have it stashed on floppies or a zip drive.
The chances are, however, that you will like it. Even after a brief test, it was clear that this operating system is more integrated, and less likely to crash, than previous versions of Windows.
Some improvements were immediately obvious. The fax and file management systems, for example, are smoother than previous versions of Windows.
Microsoft says the new system is more reliable and robust and this is just as well because previous versions were apt to crash for no discernible reason, providing hapless users with error messages in "geek-speak" computer jargon.
The full version of Windows 2000 did not crash, and while a test over a longer period with a beta version did produce a program freeze or two, the new "task manager" system intervened before the rest of the computer could go down.
Despite the millions of staff-hours that went into the creation of this new operating system and the fact that Microsoft is the largest and most successful software company in the world, there are installation "issues" with Windows 2000.
In our test, while most applications worked with the new system, one telephone answering machine and fax program were knocked out of action. The virus detection software seemed to have disappeared.
The Zip disks only half-worked after the installation - the machine recognised the extra drive but couldn't run the software to make proper use of it.
None of these problems is insurmountable, and most software vendors are happy to provide fixes or new applications on their websites, but it is annoying.
Also irksome is the price-tag. The typical PC version costs £310 (€394) in the shops and an upgrade from Windows 95 or 98 is £210 (€267).
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