The Windows 2000 Terminal Server allows you to run programs, like Microsoft Office, on the Terminal Server machine and not at your desktop. Multiple users can connect to the Terminal Server and all have their own desktops, each of which is accessible only to that user! Although designed for business, Windows 2000 Terminal Services is the ideal solution for large families on a budget, when considered as an alternative to buying several new computers. If you have 5 people in your family, you can run the Windows 2000 Terminal Services on a server and keep your existing hardware. So, even if you have a bunch of 486 computers with 8 MB of RAM running Windows 95, you can still take advantage of all the programs that run on Windows 2000. Although Windows 2000 Server isn't cheap (and you'll need TS licenses for each client), when you do the math, it can still be more cost effective than buying five new machines at over $1000 each.

Here's how you connect to a Terminal Server from a Windows XP machine:

1. Click Start and then click the Run command.
2. In the Run dialog box, type mstsc in the Open text box and click OK.
3. In the Remote Desktop Connection dialog box, click the Options button.
4. Type in the appropriate Computer name, Password and Domain.
5. Click the Connect button. You will be connected to the Terminal Server.