Windows 2000 Previews to Raves for Reliability. Microsoft previewed Windows® 2000 at Comdex '99. Consensus buzz? "Reliable." "Manageable." "Heavy-duty." View Steve Ballmer's and Jim Allchin's press conference or Bill Gates' keynote. The Windows 2000 Server Newsroom also has links to Microsoft announcements at Comdex.
We're Gonna' Be Coming to Your City or Town. The free Windows 2000 Customer Preview Tour visits 40 cities across North America from now to December. Check the schedule for the date and site nearest you. To get Release Candidate 2 with no-fee support for your testing and pilot programs, join the Corporate Preview Program. Introducing Windows 2000 Server. Windows 2000 Server integrates reliable Internet, application, and networking services to help businesses lower overall infrastructure costs.

• DNS: We're Taking Names. The Domain Names Services (DNS)in Windows 2000 support business networks, whether they provide back-office services, intranet-based information services, or Internet-based e-commerce. Here's an overview, plus a comprehensive technical white paper.
• Windows Management Instrumentation: Background and Overview. For systems managers and developers: A new technical overview of the industry-wide Web-Based Management Enterprise initiative, and how Microsoft's implementation, Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), simplifies the road to well-integrated management applications.
• Roll Your Own Apps: A Technical Overview of Windows 2000 Application Services. An integrated set of technologies in Windows 2000 help companies quickly build and customize their own distributed applications, using component-based software. In our tech library, download a new, in-depth overview.
• Group Policy Simplifies Administration. The Group Policy feature in Windows 2000 allows network admins to control users' access to data, applications, and your network. A powerful management tool; here's a technical overview.
• Active Directory: Here's the Drilldown. The Active Directory^TM service is the key to harnessing the full power of Windows 2000 Server for your net. Our tech library has an in-depth architectural overview for network admins and other IT pros.
• Windows 2000 Terminal Services. We've beefed up our technical library's section on Terminal Services for Windows 2000 Server. An overview shows how you can reduce TCO and provide access for non-Windows desktops. A licensing white paper simplifies the messy task of managing client licenses. New guidelines explain how to optimize apps for Terminal Services and do remote administration.
• Planning a Migration from Windows NT. A new IT white paper steps you through planning how to move your enterprise from Windows NT domains to Windows 2000.
• Ready for the Technical Details? For IT professionals who need more detailed information about Windows 2000 Server: A special technical area, including architectural overviews, functional specifications, and usage scenarios.
• Ready to Deploy? You've read the details, you've got the code, and you want to start evaluating Windows 2000 Server. In the Deployment area, you'll find technical walkthroughs with illustrated, step-by-step instructions for installing and configuring Windows 2000 services in a test or lab environment.

• Speed Me Up, Scotty: Meet the Windows 2000 Performance Team. New on our Beta Users' site, another profile of the people behind Windows 2000 development. We think of the Performance Team as our plumbers. Find bottlenecks in the OS. Clear them. Nadine Kano reports.
• Preferred Authentication: Windows 2000 Implements Kerberos V5. Customers and ISVs tell Microsoft that Kerberos is the network authentication protocol they prefer. Here's an overview of Microsoft's implementation of Kerberos, and its interoperability with Windows 2000.
• Windows 2000 In Stores February 17.  Windows 2000 Professional, Server, and Advanced Server remain on schedule to release to manufacturing this year, and should be available via retail, channel, and hardware manufacturers on Feb. 17. An advance pricing announcement will help customers plan and budget deployment.
• 64-Bit Windows: Higher Performance, Scalable, and On Its Way. Microsoft has made the Windows 2000 code base 64-bit ready, and plans to deliver a fully featured, fully compatible, 64-bit operating system next year. An overview for IT pros and developers.
• Six Free Windows 2000 Briefings Offered Through Year's End.  Six new Microsoft TechNet briefings for IT pros--on deploying, managing, and supporting Windows 2000--are available free at up to 250 sites worldwide. Search the TechNet Events listings for a location near you.
• Learn to Deploy Windows 2000 in One Day.  A one-day course for IT pros on installing, deploying, and configuring Windows 2000. At a Microsoft Certified Technical Education Center near you (United States only). Available for Professional and Server.
• Significant Positive Impact on Overall Cost. A new, independent Arthur Andersen study assesses the high-level Return on Investment impacts for organizations migrating from Windows NT Server to Windows 2000 Server. Download the full report.

Last Updated: Tuesday, November 23, 1999
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