Windows 2000, the successor to Windows NT, will be launched today - a year later than Microsoft promised.

The new business-computer operating system may be a signal that the software giant is expanding its presence in the business market after taking control of the consumer market.

Windows NT commands about 38 percent of the business market, while Windows 95 and 98 cover about 85 percent of the consumer market.

But some companies -- tired of waiting for promised new features and bug fixes -- in the meantime may have turned to Linux to run their computer systems.

Microsoft knows the delays have hurt Windows, at least in the short run.

"I think in some spaces we've given a little bit of opportunity," Microsoft President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer acknowledged Wednesday. "I think in all of them we have a chance to come back."

"I don't know if you'd call it a shift in strategy, but it does signify at shift in focus," said Benjamin Chou, president of Personable.com, a Fountain Valley start-up that rents Microsoft applications over the Internet. "Microsoft already owns the desktop market. Everyone has Windows on their PC. By moving into business, there's room to expand. That's a growth market for Microsoft."

"Microsoft is now saying, we understand the needs of enterprise-based, across-the-board networks," said Glen Holmes, president and chief operating officer of FutureLink Corp., an Irvine-based company that rents Windows software to businesses over the Internet.

Microsoft, which spent more than $1billion to develop Windows 2000, said that many of its Fortune 500 customers eventually plan to move to Windows NT.

Some universities and Internet service providers, however, have abandoned Windows for rival Linux.

"Nobody likes to wait," said Larry Augustin, founder and CEO of VA Linux Systems. "What we have is an affordable alternative that will not only cost less, but provide a lot more flexibility."

International Data Corp. reports that Linux now represents 24 percent of the total market for business operating systems, up from 16 percent a year ago.

Over the past year, software developers have started writing more applications to work with Linux, as major computing companies like Intel, IBM and Dell have expressed interest in the system, said Tony Piccardi, an analyst for IDC.

Another problem for Microsoft has been talk about bugs. A survey by the Gartner Group last week estimated that one in four companies will experience software-compatibility problems in upgrading to Windows 2000.

"We think 10 (percent) to 15 percent of all applications written before the Windows 2000 launch are going to need to be either patched, upgraded or outright replaced to work with Windows,'' said Michael Gartenberg, vice president of the Gartner Group.

Neither Holmes nor Chou has seen any bugs in the new system so far, and both have been using it for months.

Unlike some previous Windows offerings, this effort by Microsoft is aimed exclusively at businesses.

The Windows 2000 product line actually consists of four different operating systems, ranging from one dedicated to desktop office machines to others that work with network servers.

The software has a long list of new features, such as tools allowing a network administrator to remotely take care of individual PCs, improved data security, and the ability to group processors together to tackle big jobs such as running a major Web site.

Microsoft is also launching a new program to create a Windows 2000 "certified" logo that will require independent hardware and software manufacturers to submit their products to Microsoft for testing.

This testing is aimed at ensuring the devices and programs follow the rules for interacting correctly with the operating system -- a cure for the many system crashes and freezes caused by poorly written "driver" software that connects hardware and software to Windows.

Register staff writer Chris Farnsworth, Knight Ridder Newspapers and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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