Overall, it's a simpler interface to use, but all the renamed, merged or moved components will take getting used to. Large organizations will be interested in the new Active Directory feature, but be warned that it takes a lot of planning to get it going. It is Microsoft's first shot in the directory services war and is key in making full use of a Windows 2000 network. For instance, Windows 2000 servers will not let you use Domain Controllers without Active Directory in use. Active Directory helps users to find resources like computers, printers and shared folders in the network.
Help is presented in the familiar, Web-like menu system.
Topics and search tools show up in one window while text is presented in the next. This is a big annoyance and reeks of bad planning. One thing Microsoft was shooting for with this new OS is improved stability. They may finally have hit the mark with Windows 2000. Testing on three different machines has yet to cause a crash resulting in NT's infamous Blue Screen of Death.