Promising to help its readers master the corporate PC, Windows 2000 Pro: The Missing Manual explains Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional (the OS that\'s meant to replace Microsoft Windows NT Workstation) to the people who use it. Author Sharon Crawford does a fine job of showing how to get Windows 2000 Professional to do what you want, and with the best performance possible. Buy and enjoy this book, if you want to understand your work computer as well as you know your home computer, or if you just want an easy-to-read reference to help you figure out new Windows challenges as they pop up. This book distinguishes itself by the way in which it deals with its subject software\'s deviations from common sense. In a model sidebar, Crawford explains why the Permissions window allows you to set both "Deny" and "Allow" permissions on a resource. She aptly explains why not allowing access isn\'t the same as denying access, and similarly focuses light on other confusing details of Windows 2000 Professional. This approach to software and its quirks is what makes this book different from the (many) other "How to Use Windows 2000 Professional" books that are on the market. Let\'s hope that Pogue Press continues to steer its writers away from ponderous documentation whose structure is dictated by menu contents. Books like this are fresh air, in a genre that invites drudgery. l Topics covered: Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional for the people who use it. Beginning with the barest of essentials (logging on and starting programs), this book proceeds through local area network (LAN) and Internet connectivity, hardware administration, and security. Mostly, this is an introductory text, but it covers the OS thoroughly at the user--as opposed to administrator or programmer--level.