Microsoft Releases Windows 2000 -- Microsoft last week officially released Windows 2000, the successor to the company's enterprise oriented server operating system Windows NT. Although Windows 2000 has consumer-friendly features like USB support and compatibility with more games, it isn't an update to Windows 98, and it's almost certainly not everything that Microsoft's PR would have you believe (walks, chews gum, does Windows). In fact, despite stories like the now-famous "63,000 bugs" article from Sm@rt Reseller's Mary Jo Foley, anecdotal comments we've heard from friends who ran Windows NT 4.0 indicate Windows 2000 is a credible upgrade. From the Macintosh standpoint, Windows 2000 is interesting primarily for the services it provides to Macintosh clients, and reports we've seen indicate those are improved from Windows NT 4.0 - but if you think Microsoft is reaching out to the Macintosh community, check out Macworld writer Philip Michaels' amusing report on what it was like to be a Mac guy at the San Francisco unveiling of Windows 2000 last week. [ACE]

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