Windows 2000 faces a slow start.

Microsoft has finally launched Windows 2000, the latest version of the operating system used on most of the world's PCs. But the new system is intended - to start with at least - for business, rather than home users, and unlike Windows 95 and 98, pundits are predicting a slow start to sales.

Many businesses are treating the new version with caution - especially after a leaked Microsoft memo claimed that there could be as many as 63,000 potential defects in the first release. But Microsoft claims that figure simply isn't true and that it includes requests for additional features or minor mistakes in the documentation.

True or not, some who have tried early versions recommend that users wait until the summer when the first update is due to ship. And for home users, it's worth waiting even longer. While originally Windows 2000 was supposed to join the separate business and consumer strands of Windows together in one product, there'll be another update for home users - Windows Millennium - later this year and only some time after that will everything be brought together in one version.

Microsoft says that Windows 2000 will be the most reliable version of Windows yet. But even as heads of major companies were wheeled out at the launch to sing the praises of the new system, some voices of dissent were audible. Even figures on the performance of the system were questioned, with Microsoft saying it works better than previous versions on old systems, like a Pentium 133MHz with 64Mb of memory. Major PC makers like Dell, however, recommend at least a 400MHz system with 128Mb of memory.

With so much conflicting information, about the one thing of which you can be certain regarding Windows 2000 is that unless you really need to, you're sure to be better off sitting back and watching the show than upgrading your own PC.

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