Operating Systems
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What is an Operating System?
Generally, it is best to have a fairly new operating system, such as Windows XP or Vista for PC computers, and OS 10.3 or 10.4 for Macintosh computers. The reason for this is newer operating systems usually have less faults, or bugs, in them, and provide more things to do. However, some older computers, in their factory configuration, do not adequately support newer operating systems. Usually upgrading three critical componenets- the processor chip, the system RAM, and the hard drive, is all that is necessary. Besides being able to run a newer operating system, the computer will run faster and more efficently following such an upgrade. What Kinds of Operating Systems Are Out There?This depends on what kind of computer you have. If you have a Macintosh, only Macintosh OS and, in some cases, Linux, will work on it. The current version of Macintosh OS is 10.5, and requires a fairly powerful Mac to run properly. Most Macs will run on either 10.3 or 10.4 much better. Most programs will run on Mac OS 10.3. This is not surprising, as many Macintosh computers will only handle up to this version. However, many programs work better on 10.4. Also, Linux will work on a Mac (As well as a PC). Linux is a free operating system, that is, in most versions, open source, which means anyone can make changes to it. This, however, is usually done in an online collaborative effort. Linux's biggest disadvantage is that it won't natively run programs meant for Windows or Mac. This is why, despite being free, it is not widely used. One of it's best advantages is that it does not get infected from viruses like PCs do, or even as much as a Mac might, and thus, is commonly used in offices and industrial applications, where security is paramount. Mac OS was once popular, in the early 1990s, for gaming, as at that point Mac had better graphics and sound capability. Then as in now, Macintosh computers are usually more stable to run, as the hardware as well as the software, is typically developed by the same company, Apple Computers. On a PC, the computer is made by a different company than the software publisher. About WindowsWindows is the most common operating system. It comes in two basic flavors: DOS-based, and NT-bsed. DOS based Windows is basically a 'shell' on top of DOS, a very early operating system where there was no mouse natively- just a keyboard, and all computer commands had to be typed in. Windows 3.1, 95, 98 and ME are all basically interfaces for the user that run on top of DOS. In reality, DOS is the real operating system. In this case, Windows is not a 'true' operating system', just an interface. On the other hand, the NT based operating systems, such as NT4, 2000, and XP, do not use DOS at all, and are true operating systems in that they process their own commands from the user, rather than just tell some other software what the command is.
Windows 2000 had better native support for new features, such as hot pluggable drives (Such as USB flash drives) and better plug-and-play support for devices such as printers and cameras. On any DOS based operating system, you needed to install specific software for each type of camera and flash drive you might have. Under Windows 2000 and any NT based operating system from then on, you could plug in your flash drive, camera, or other removable storage drive, and Windows would automatically start the drive, and install generic drivers for the device to make it readable by Windows. Cameras would be recognized as a removable disk under Windows 2000, or often as an imaging device under XP. Windows XP introduced man new features into Windows: Wireless configuration was built into the operating system. If you have a wireless network card in your computer, XP can automatically configure it and connect to a network with only a few clicks of the mouse. For Windows 2000 and earlier, you needed to install network configuration software that usually would come with the adapter. This wireless capability is simple to use and it works well. With some wireless cards, the card itself is excellent, but in some cases, the software that came bundled for Windows 98 and 2000, left something to be desired- the software sometimes can actually throttle the card's capability and cause it to drop signal. We have found, and many people have shared this expereience with us, that XP's built in wireless connectivity is superior to what actually came with the card! About MacintoshMacintosh is among the oldest operating systems to have a graphical user interface (GUI), instead of just commands that had to be typed in. Macintosh operating systems were, for a long time, evolutionary. This means they built on the technology of the previous version, adding new features and fixing old bugs. However, with the coming of OS 10 (Also written as OS X), many old programs were no longer supported. This is because the new OS 10.1 was completely rewritten from the base up. To fix this issue, users of Macintosh could first install Mac Classic (The name for older versions- 9.2 and lower), and then install OS 10 for cross-compatibility. This allows for older application and game support, but still lets the computer user run new programs. Nearly all Macintoshed built by Computer System Rebuild, will be loaded with Macintosh OS 9.2, as well as either OS 10.3 (For earlier Macs) or 10.4, for newer Macs. The newest Macintosh computers run Intel based processors, same as a Windows-based PC would. Older versions of Mac, such as 8 or 9 families, will simply not run on Intel based Macs, and further, these Intel based machines require special versions of Mac OS that run only on Intel CPUs. Simply put, if you have a PowerMac or another PowerPC based processor Mac, such as a G3 or G4, the software meant for Intel based Mac will not work on these machines, and vice versa. |
Simply put, an operating system, is the very core software that all other software runs on. An operating system provides an interface between the PC hardware, and the user. It also allows different hardware in the computer to connect and 'talk' to each other.
Windows ME (Millennium Edition), was a transition operating system. It was a testbed for features used in NT based operating systems, but while keeping the old Windows 95 and 98 interface. User experiences varied on Windows ME- some had no problems whatsoever, some had a persistent crashing issue.