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Windows 2000 (Professional, Server, and Advanced Server) is a server and workstation operating system made by Microsoft that run on Intel/Cyrix/AMD Pentium.
Windows 2000 is Microsoft’s third attempt to provide a reliable desktop operating system. The first attempts were Windows 98 and Windows NT. Windows 2000 was originally planned to combine the ease of use of Windows 98 with the supposed “reliability” of Windows NT, but Microsoft still was unable to accomplish that modest goal and announced plans for a continued two track system (Windows 2000 for “professional” use and Windows Millenium Edition (ME) for desktop use).
Also see the summary at Windows.
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Microsoft ran a series of television commercials claiming that Windows 2000 is reliable and that it can be left unattended for days at a time without human intervention. Windows 2000 is in fact still less reliable and stable than the least reliable version of UNIX (even the free ones), and will require a full time maintenance and administration staff, as well as at least a part time staff or independent consultants for recurring repair work.
Microsoft has been running a series of television commercials claiming that Windows 2000 is secure and immune from hacker and virus attacks. Windows 2000 is in fact still less secure than the least secure version of UNIX (even the free ones), and the Windows family of operating systems (including Windows 2000) is subject to the greatest number of viruses of any operating system family (more than 10,000 as many viruses as the UNIX family of operating systems).
Microsoft has been running a series of television commercials claiming that Windows 2000 can easily connect to other systems and that it is easy to merge operations on separate Windows 2000 systems. Windows 2000 is in fact unable to connect to any other operating system unless the other operating system provides the connectivity (UNIX, NetWare, and the Macintosh provide the ability to connect to Windows). Merging multiple Windows 2000 systems (even just two Windows 2000 systems) is a difficult and time consuming process subject to errors and loss of data. Some businesses have been unable to get a new Windows 2000 system to correctly run their business, even after more than a year of direct Microsoft support.
Also see the summary at Windows.
Click here for sources to purchase a copy of Windows 2000 Professional.
Intended purpose
server/mainframe: Microsoft intends Windows 2000 Server or Advanced Server for server use
desktop/workstation: Microsoft intends Windows 2000 Professional for workstation use, but recommends Windows 98 for desktop use
handheld: not appropriate
real time: not appropriate
Kind of OS: proprietary
Release Date: February 17, 2000w50
Current Version: 1.0
Hardware Supported: Intel/Cyrix/AMD Pentiumw50
Maximum Number of Processors: 2 (Professional), 4 (Server), 8 (Server Advanced)w50
“W2K can use (4) 8 CPU machines for a total of 32 CPUs in a cluster.” —Robert Damian Mauroe122
Number of bits: 32 (Professional and Server), partially 64 (Advanced Server)w50
Kernel: proprietary (microkernel)
POSIX: partially supported
Text Command Shell: DOS command line
Graphic Command Shell: Explorere80
Businesses and organizations with servers powered by Windows 2000: a712.m.akastream.net, BigCharts, Dell, Hotbot.com, Hotmail.com (for the last several months, Microsoft has been in the process of attempting to switch Hotmail from FreeBSD to Windows 2000 — the fact that it is taking Microsoft months and they are only about 10% converted should tell you everything you need to know about the “ease of installation” of Windows 2000), MarketWatch.com, Microsoft.com, MilkSucks.com, MSN.com, MSNBC.com, NASDAQ, OnHealth.com, ValuPage.com, WindowsMedia.comw52
“Windows 2000 has yet to see significant takeup with hosting companies, but this was clearly set out as a goal for Microsoft by Steve Ballmer in the advent of the Windows 2000 launch.”w53
“Although [Windows 2000] provides basic password security, it only provides file-level security if you choose to use its proprietary filesystem called NTFS. Some MIS departments are reluctant to implement this file system (at least on users’ machines), because they feel that recovering from disk problems is hindered by the use of NTFS.” —John Kirsch, “Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 versus UNIX”w22
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| Market share as of January 2002 | Defacements = about 30,000 between April 2000 and February 2002 |
| Microsoft software runs about a quarter of Web servers, but is the target of the majority of successful Web defacement attacks. —Los Angeles Times, February 13, 2002n3 | |
“As Windows users are being plagued by computer viruses, spam, buggy software, and Web pop-up ads, some are questioning why the Redmond, Wash.-based software behemoth has failed to integrate security and repair features that could make computers less prone to problems.
“ ‘Microsoft has added lots of bells and whistles to Windows to protect their operating system franchise over the years, but when it comes to Windows security and reliability, they’ve done comparitively little until recently,’ said Alan Paller, director of research at the SANS Institute, a Bethesda, Md.-based computer security and training organization.
“ ‘It’s like they are selling faster cars with more powerful engines but leaving off the seat belts and air bags — all those critical things that make customers safe when using their products,’ he added.
“Microsoft’s critics say the reason the company isn’t eager to add security features is simple: Doing so wouldn’t help it fend off competitors whose products could undermine the spread of Windows.
“ ‘You would think there would be money to be made in Microsoft having some kind of more effective antiviral program of their own,’ said Andrew Gavil, an antitrust expert and law professor at Howard University. ‘But virus programs don’t present any threat to their operating system monopoly.’ ” —Los Angeles Times, “Microsoft Runs Into Bundling Dilemma”, March 27, 2004n4
Microsoft falsely claimed that it would make security a company-wide priority in its much publicized 2002 “trustworthy computing initiaitve”. Since then, Microsoft Windows (all versions) has become even more vulnerable to viruses and other internet attacks. Security is a purposely false and misleading marketing slogan at Microsoft.
“Ironically, some experts say, product bundling is partly to blame for Windows’ security woes.
“Lee A. Hollaar, a computer science professor at University of Utah, said the widespread proliferation of the Melissa computer virus stemmed from the tight integration of Microsoft’s Outlook e-mail program with its writing application, Word.
“ ‘The Melissa virus exists only because Microsoft expanded Word documents to contain functions that let it access the Outlook address book’, Hollaar said.
“Similarly, he explained, when the Internet Explorer Web browser was folded into the operating system, it exposed Windows to greater security risks from the Net.’ ” —Los Angeles Times, “Microsoft Runs Into Bundling Dilemma”, March 27, 2004n4
Other:
opinion
“The future of Windows is threatened less by the superiority of its competition than the inferiority of Windows, which results from Microsoft’s misplaced priorities. Microsoft’s design decisions are driven more by its attempt to protect its desktop monopoly than by technical excellence.” —Nicholas Petreley, “The new Unix alters NT’s orbit”w74
1.1 MB QuickTime movie of Bill Gates explaining his criteria for selecting the best operating system.
“Microsoft enjoyed its great success not because it had great software but because people were stuck with it. Market domination, not innovation, drove the company’s success,” wrote James Wallace in the book “Overdrive: Bill Gates and the Race to Control Cyberspace”, John Wiley & Sons, September 1997.
“Windows machines have advantages, too, such as more configuration options, cheaper up front cost, availability of software, snappier response on window controls, cheaper components, more peripherals.” —Why Monopolies Are Bad, by Jeff Adkinsw77
Commentary: Quite simply, Windows guarantees more work for the M.I.S. departments — because it computers require far more technical support to do the same work. And when the M.I.S. departments make computer recommendations to management, they tend to look out for their own job security over the best interests of the business. The same reason that many retail stores also push Wintel machines — it guarantees more work for their highly profitable service departments.
In addition to 
Macintosh OS X (formerly 
Rhapsody) (which combines the ease of use and professional content creation capabilities of the 
Macintosh with the power, reliability, and speed of the 
NeXT version of UNIX), 
BeOS, NetWare, and 
OS/2 Warp Server, any of the many free and commercial versions of UNIX offer a better high end operating system than Windows 2000. See John Kirch’s article “Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 versus UNIX” at http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/.
Serious commercial UNIXs include: AIX, Digital UNIX, 
HP-UX, 
IRIX, Macintosh OS X, Mac OS X Server(formerly Rhapsody), and 
Solaris.
Leading free UNIXs include: 
FreeBSD, 
GNU Hurd, 
LINUX, 
NetBSD, and 
OpenBSD.
And in the server arena, the leader is still NetWare.
“Randy Kessell, manager of technical analysis for a Southwestern Bell operation center, notes that because Linux allows his company to do more remote network administration and software loads than was possible with either Microsoft or NetWare products, it has driven down their network management costs.” —Ann Harrison, “In LINUX We…”, Software Magazine, Cover Story, September 1998w51
Study after study has shown that Macintoshes are less expensive to support and maintain than Wintel machines. Wintel computers typically cost four to 10 times as much in support costs. Even Intel’s own internal study showed that it was costing them four times as much to support Windows machines as it did to support their Macintoshes (yes, Intel used Macintoshes for mission critical work — and since that study they have been expanding their use of Macintoshes).
Independent studies over the years continually show that worker productivity is substantially higher on Macintoshes than on Wintel computers. And the difference is greatest in the creative fields (pre-press, illustration, digital photography, 2-D and 3-D animation, 3-D modelling and rendering, film special effects, broadcast video editting, CD-ROM production, multi-media, music composition and performance, sound editting, and web site production), where the Macintosh is the most prevalent computer (even more than the high end graphics work stations — and Macintosh OS X (formerly Rhapsody) brings the Macintosh to the high end graphics work stations). Macintosh OS X is numerically the most used form of
See also: http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/, John Kirch’s article “Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 versus UNIX”
Ethics: Bill Gates is a longtime member of the Augusta National Golf Club, the official site of the Masters Golf Tournament. The Augusta National Golf Club refuses to allow any women join their club and for decades refused to allow Blacks, Hispanics, and other minorities to join, only relenting in 1990 to allow a few token Black members when facing criminal charges for Civil Rights violations. The only reason that Microsoft hires women and minorities is because of tough federal Civil Rights laws. If you are a woman, Black, Hispanic, Asian, or a member of any other minority group, remember that Bill Gates and Microsoft hate you and only take your money becuase they are forced to by law.
(for your convenience, look for this symbol 
marking passages about Windows 2000)
Please send recommendations on additional URLs to Milo.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/guide/platform/overview/default.asp, “Windows 2000 Product Guide”
(Frequently Asked Questions)
http://www.unix-vs-nt.org/ John Kirch’s article “Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 versus UNIX”
http://www.linuxrx.com/WS_Linux/OS_comparison.html “The Linux resource exchange — Operating systems comparison” LINUX, HPUX, Windows NT, BSDi, FreeBSD, IRIX, Digital UNIX, Solaris, Macintosh, OS/2, UnixWare, OpenServere83
http://www.dhbrown.com/pdfs/osscorecard.html “Operating System Scorecard — D.H. Brown Associates”
If you want your book reviewed, please send a copy to: Milo, POB 1361, Tustin, CA 92781, USA.
Price listings are for courtesy purposes only and may be changed by the referenced businesses at any time without notice.
1 Microsoft Way: A Cookbook To Breaking Bill Gates Windows Monopoly Without Breaking Windows (with Linux CD Operating System); by Reginald P Burgess; American Group Publishing; April 27, 1998; ISBN 1891950088; paperback; 208 pages; $17.95
Universal Command Guide; by Guy Lotgering (UCG Team); Hungry Minds, Inc; April 2002; ISBN 0764548336; hardcover with CD-ROM; 1,600 pages; $69.99; cross references all of the commands from: AIX; Solaris; RedHat Linux; Berkeley BSD; NetWare 3.2, 4.11, 5, and 6; DOS 6.22; Windows 95, 98, ME, XP, NT 4 Workstation, NT 4 Server, NT 4 Terminal Server, 2000 Professional, 2000 Server, 2000 Advanced Server; Citrix Mainframe 1.8; and Mac 9
The Complete Guide to Netware 4.11/Intranetware; 2nd edition; by James E. Gaskin; Sybex; December 1996; ISBN 078211931X; paperback; $47.99; includes information on getting NetWare working with Windows, Macintosh, UNIX, and OS/2
The Multimedia Production Handbook for the PC, Macintosh, and Amiga; by Tom Yager; Academic Press Professional; December 1993; ISBN 0127680306; Paperback; 382 pages; $31.96
Software Implementation Techniques: Writing Software in OpenVMS, OS/2, Unix, and Windows NT; 2nd edition; by Donald E. Merusi; Digital Press; November 1995; ISBN 155558134X; paperback; 567 pages; $52.95
If you want your book reviewed, please send a copy to: Milo, POB 1361, Tustin, CA 92781, USA.
Price listings are for courtesy purposes only and may be changed by the referenced businesses at any time without notice.
We are working on providing a second source.
Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional; $279.95
Also see the summary at Windows.
“How many Microsoft technicians does it take to screw in a light bulb?
“Three: two to hold the ladder and one to screw the bulb into a faucet.” —Matt Garrison,MacLine
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If you have an extra or unwanted copy of any official manuals or documentation on this operating system, please send them to: Milo, POB 1361, Tustin, CA 92781, USA. I have the following items: NONE.
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This web site handcrafted on Macintosh 
computers using Tom Bender’s Tex-Edit Plus 
and served using FreeBSD 
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†UNIX used as a generic term unless specifically used as a trademark (such as in the phrase “UNIX certified”). UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, licensed exclusively through X/Open Company Ltd.
Names and logos of various OSs are trademarks of their respective owners.
Copyright © 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 Milo
Last Updated: March 31, 2004
Created: July 30, 2000
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