Microsoft's latest update to its Windows operating system (Windows Millennium Edition or Windows Me) doesn't appear much different on the surface than previous versions. But, under the hood, they've made a lot of changes that make "Me" much improved over its predecessors.

For some, the most obvious change will be the removal of DOS. Actually, the remaining DOS code has been merged into Windows Millennium but there no longer are "Real Mode" (DOS) drivers and any command lines written to the Autoexec.bat and Config.sys files end up merged into the registry. This has made Windows Me the most stable Windows operating system I've ever used, even more stable than Windows NT 4.0. I haven't used Windows 2000 as yet so I can't compare it in this category. However, Windows Me is more user friendly, gamer friendly and plug-n-play friendly than Windows 2000 (which is more for the enterprise environment while Windows Me is aimed at the home market).

You can still get to DOS by using the boot disk created when you first install Windows Me, but Microsoft is clearly de-emphasizing this in favor of doing as much from within the Windows environment as possible. You can still use a "DOS Box," the MS-DOS Prompt from the Start menu but this version of Windows is clearly what Microsoft envisioned when they first released Windows 95, where they wanted to de-emphasize the use of "ini" files and startup files in favor of merging as much as possible into the registry.

As you might have guessed, much of the change is under the hood but they have added a few new features, one of which, "System Restore," is worth the price of admission. "System Restore" is similar to the Adaptec product, "Go Back." However, "System Restore" only protects system files. You don't need to worry if you will accidentally lose data files or other important information when you use this feature because, by design, it only protects the system.

It automatically makes its own restore points and the users can define restore points as well. Before installing an application, you can make a restore point called "Pre Application Name" install and if the installation messes up your system, you can use "System Restore" to return to that pre-defined restore point. I've used it and I can tell you it's a real lifesaver.

They've abandoned "System File Checker" in favor of "System File Protection" and a new feature called "Auto Update." The source of many problems in Windows 98 turned out to be "System File Checker" which allowed you to restore the original file if it happened to be replaced by some application installation, or in the event a system file became corrupted. The problem was, you often had updated your system since your original install and "System File Checker" ended up installing an old version of a file causing additional conflicts or problems instead of resolving issues.

"System File Protection" and "Auto Update" end that situation. Newer files can't be replaced by older files and if it happens, you'll find the system automatically reverts to the newer file when you reboot. Further, you can set your system to automatically receive new updates. When you are online, the update site analyzes your system and determines if you need updated files, you don't even have to be at the update site.

If this is too intrusive for you, you can elect to turn this feature off and go to the update site manually where your system will be analyzed for what is installed and what you need as has been the case with Windows 98.

Windows Millennium has a new "MovieMaker" applet that provides the limited ability to edit small video clips together to make larger clips. Users with home video cameras who would like to edit those "home video movies" will appreciate this new feature.

Windows Millennium is fairly easy to install and after many installations of my own on a clean, freshly formatted hard drive and over Windows 98SE, I found installation uneventful and required very little in the way of user input. However, because of the many changes in Windows Millennium since Windows 98SE, it would probably be advisable for users to do upgrade installs, at least initially.

This will help avoid many driver issues that might come up in a clean install and will help ensure a smooth installation and transition. Once you have familiarized yourself with Windows Me and have learned what drivers you might need to update you can then go ahead with a clean install.

If you have an older system, you might want to wait and buy a new system with "Windows Me" already installed. However, if you have a newer system and you've been looking for a little more stability in your setup with some cool features to take advantage of new multimedia hardware, Windows Me might be a great way to start the new millennium.