Mastering Windows 2000 Professional

Geared more for the desktop than the network closet, Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional has its own collection of features to be capitalized upon and quirks to be accommodated. A couple of esteemed Windows authors--Mark Minasi and Todd Phillips--weigh in on the new and improved operating system in Mastering Windows 2000 Professional. Their expertise and obviously thorough research have yielded a fine book. This is a super choice for power users, systems administrators, and others who want a detailed picture of Windows 2000 Professional's features and how they work.

This is a big, comprehensive treatment of the whole OS, but it manages to avoid the tedium that befalls most of the books in this category. Rather than dryly documenting which interface elements do what, the authors explain how to wring top performance from your computer by telling you rather a lot about the Windows 2000 architecture and its place in networks. Sure, you get the how-to procedures you'd expect, but the prose is the main attraction here. That's where Minasi and Phillips share their knowledge about optimization, troubleshooting, and other tricks of their trade. Lots of OS books claim to be loaded with hints and tricks, but this one really is. Mastering Windows 2000 Professional will answer your novice and intermediate questions, but it more importantly will help you become an expert. --David Wall

Topics covered: Windows 2000 Professional, as it applies to novice and intermediate users who want to increase their level of competence. Early chapters deal with managing files and running applications before explaining how to hook up to the Internet. More advanced coverage goes to networking, performance tweaking, and problem-solving. Though they don't say, it seems likely from this book's ship date that the authors based their research on a late beta version of the OS (probably Release Candidate 2) that was very similar to the final product.