Microsoft Looks Ahead After Windows 2000 Launch

On Feb. 17, Windows 2000 headed off to retail stores, accompanied by jugglers, laser light shows, and rock bands. At the launch, Microsoft released numerous resources to help customers make sense of the new product and tried to stamp out rumors that it was riddled with bugs. The company is now looking ahead to future releases, hoping to fix problems, scale up to high-volume servers, and scale down to home PCs (see “The Updated Windows Roadmap“). Key developments include the following:

• Microsoft Press has released its training and reference products for Windows 2000. New products include the official Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) course materials, and Windows 2000 Resource Kits that supply print documentation and software utilities for system administrators. Microsoft Press’s Windows 2000 lineup appears at http://mspress.microsoft.com/windows2000. Microsoft offers many other courses and training products for Windows 2000, some free of charge; a searchable list appears at www.microsoft.com/windows2000/training. A library of downloadable technical papers on Windows 2000 appears at www.microsoft.com/windows2000/library.