Editor's Note - November 1999

What do you think of Windows 2000?

We asked IT professionals who participated in one of our beta programs for Windows 2000 to tell us what they thought of the operating system. The feedback we received was interesting and exciting. You can see for yourself by reading the verbatim comments.

There is, of course, the good, the bad and the ugly from our perspective. But during a beta, all feedback is important and the thoughts and impressions of our professional customers are especially valuable to us. That is why we would like to hear from you, too.

Have you tried Windows 2000 professional or server yet? If not, but would like to, sign up for a TechNet Plus subscription or the Windows 2000 Corporate Preview program (CPP) to receive your copy.

Windows Technology Center update
The Windows Technology Center has multiplied into three sections. Windows 2000 has information on Windows 2000 Server and Professional. Windows NT covers Windows NT Server and Workstation. Windows 95/98 contains articles and how-to's on Windows 95, 98, and CE.

Aficionados will find it easy to locate information on their favorite versions of Windows: just make your selection from the drop-downs in the left navigation bar. And watch for upcoming chats on Windows 2000.

New Technology Centers: Systems Management Server and Site Server Commerce
Our technology centers are centralized resources for everything an IT Pro needs to know about a specific topic or technology. Be sure to check out the new additions we're unveiling this month: Systems Management Server and Site Server Commerce. The latter features several great new articles on performance tuning and capacity planning for e-commerce sites.

T-shirts for Tipsters
Our first batch of favorite tips from TechNet members is now live in the IIS technology center. We're currently reviewing all the other tips and still accepting more, so feel free to send yours in. You too may be the proud wearer of a TechNet T-shirt.

TechNet Talks: William Stallings
How can you keep your information assets safe from intrusion, infection, and other violations? Beginning November 15, we feature a riveting conversation with security guru William Stallings. The author of Cryptography and Network Security: Principles and Practices, Stallings shares his insider's view about best practices, common sense strategies, off-the-shelf products and current hot topics in a field the Internet makes essential to IT pros.

TechNet Events
Through the end of this year, TechNet is offering Windows 2000-focused briefings that are designed to help you deploy, manage, support and optimize solutions based on the Microsoft Windows 2000 operating system. Search by state on this page to find out if these briefings are available in your area.

We're always interested in learning what topics most interest you and how we can improve the content of our events. Feel free to share your feedback and ideas.

TechNet CD Subscriptions
The November CD subscription issue focuses on the Digital Dashboard, a customized Microsoft Office 2000-based solution that consolidates personal, team, corporate, and external information with single-click access to analytical and collaborative tools. By bringing an integrated view of a company's knowledge sources to an individual's desktop, the Digital Dashboard enables better decision-making by providing immediate access to key business information.

Subscribers will also receive the following with the November issue:

• Exchange 5.5 Service Pack 3

• SNA Server 4.0 Service Pack 3

• Small Business Server 4.5 Resource Kit

• Site Server 3.0 Commerce Edition Resource Kit version 2.0

• Proxy Server 2.0 Service Pack 1

In addition to the above, TechNet Plus subscribers will receive the following beta shipments:

• Microsoft Project 2000 Beta 2

• Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server Training Material

• Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server Beta 3

Until next month.

Tim McBride
Group Manager
Microsoft TechNet

Illustrated portrait by Elizabeth Anderson, MSN Staff