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I'm not exaggerating when I say I'm amazed. Microsoft did an outstanding job.
   technofile
Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983

Windows 2000: At last, you can buy a version of Windows that behaves well, but the cost is high


Jan. 16, 2000

By Al Fasoldt
Copyright ©2000, Al Fasoldt
Copyright ©2000, The Syracuse Newspapers

   In a few weeks Microsoft will introduce a vastly improved version of Windows. The new version gets rid of the major problems that plague Windows 95 and Windows 98.
   I've been running this new software, Windows 2000, for a couple of weeks. For the first time, I'm able to run a modern version of Windows that does not crash, does not run out of memory and does not allow other programs to misbehave.
   Almost as a bonus, Windows 2000 even runs everything faster than Windows 98 does. I'm not exaggerating when I say I'm amazed. Microsoft did an outstanding job.
   You can buy Windows 2000 starting Feb. 17 at local software stores and from discounters on the Web.
   But hold onto your wallet. The retail price of Windows 2000 is $320 -- that's not a misprint -- and the upgrade price is $220. Because the upgrade version is useless when you have to do a full reinstallation, the actual cost of Windows 2000 is much higher than any other consumer versions of Windows.
   It's priced that high because Windows 2000, despite all its attractiveness, it not a consumer version of Windows at all. In a decision that seems bizarre, Microsoft has decided to market Windows 2000 as a business-level operating system instead of a consumer-level operating system.
   Microsoft is doing this for two reasons. First, it knows it can charge companies much more for software than it can charge consumers. Second, it wants to steer consumers into upgrading from their current versions of Windows to a version that will come out later this year. That version, Windows Millennium, is not related to Windows 2000 and will be just as prone to crashing and memory problems as Windows 95 and Windows 98.
   As crazy as it may seem, Microsoft may believe it can make more money continuing to sell unstable versions of Windows to consumers than a stable and properly running version. By keeping the price of Windows 2000 so high, the company prices Windows 2000 out of the reach of buyers seeking to replace their operating systems and PC manufacturers who would like to install Windows 2000 on competitively priced PCs.
   At $320, Windows 2000 costs one third of the entire price of a typical new PC. Manufacturers could be forced to continue offering the less robust versions of Windows, saving an estimated $200 per computer, or they could install Linux instead. Linux costs PC manufacturers nothing because it is a free operating system supported by IBM and other major companies. Unlike Windows 95 and Windows 98, Linux does not crash and has no problem dealing with memory.
   An unintended boost from Microsoft's pricing of Windows 2000 could give Linux a boost that no one could have foreseen a few months ago.
   "There are disturbing signs that Microsoft is hopelessly out of touch with reality when it comes to pricing," wrote Paul Thurrott in his weekly WinInfo newsletter. "The onslaught of Linux, which can be had for free or next to nothing, has seemingly not affected the software giant's thinking.... If Linux continues to make inroads in the corporate market next year, you can expect Microsoft's high prices for Windows 2000 to be a defining moment in its loss of market share."
   Windows 2000 requires a lot of memory and a fast processor. My testing shows that 64 megabytes of memory is barely enough, and I recommend 96 megabytes or more. I'm running Windows 2000 on a 233 Mhz Pentium-class PC without a problem, but those who need extra speed for games or intensive business software should consider a faster processor.
   Windows 2000 also needs more hard drive space than Windows 95 and Windows 98. If you do a clean installation, putting Windows 2000 on an empty hard drive, you should have about 2 or 3 gigabytes of space available for Windows 2000 and your normal application software. Many users will need more space than that. (Get the extra drive space if you don't have enough. You should be able to find large-capacity hard drives for $100-$150.)
   Windows 2000 looks and "feels" like Windows 95 and Windows 98 but has a different heritage. It is based on a revised version of Windows NT, the heavy-duty version of Windows used for servers (computers that do operations on networks).
   Windows 2000 isolates programs from each other so that a program that does not run properly won't cause problems for other programs or for the operatng system itself. This is an immense improvement over Windows 95 and Windows 98. Windows 2000 also supervises all activities much better.
   An improvement that puts Windows 2000 leagues ahead of Windows 95 and 98 shows up in the way it deals with memory. The other versions of Windows are notorious for running out of "system resources," which in Windows 95 and Windows 98 consist of very small areas of memory. These areas remain very limited no matter how much memory is available in the PC. (They total 48 kilobytes.) They often run low and force users to reboot. Windows 2000 also uses "resources," but they are virtually unlimited in normal use.
   (Next week: What Windows 2000 is like in everyday use.)