Operating systems
Guide for newbies
Linux
- Linux is a fairly fast operating system and doesn't look too bad.
- It is an poerating system that is created by everyone who has it as it is a useful operating system for programming and creating new items such as widgets.
- there are over 3,200 developers form 200 companies working on the linux kernal over the last two years.
- over 10,000 lines of codes added daily.
- It's very secure and is easy to use.
- Youtube, Google, Twitter, linkedin all rely on the linux OS.
Windows 8
- you can use things such as touch-screen.
- Almost all accessories are available in windows.
- You can use the cloud, apps, the web at the same time
- released on October 26th 2012
- was in development before Windows 7 was released
- newest Os at time of leaflet creation
- Fairly complicated and had to use at first
Unix
- it is the first ever operating system
- It is rarely used
- was very popular for at it's time
- It was the only operating system until BSD (a sub system) was made
Steam OS
- Valve’s SteamOS is currently in beta. Technically, Steam OS is just a Linux distribution and includes much of the standard Linux software.
- However, SteamOS is being positioned as a new PC gaming operating system.
- The old Linux desktop is there underneath, but the computer boots to a Steam interface designed for living rooms.
Haiku
- BeOS was a lightweight PC operating system ported to the Intel x86 platform in 1998, but it wasn’t able to stand up to Microsoft’s Windows.
- Be Inc. eventually sued Microsoft, accusing them of pressuring Hitachi and Compaq to not release BeOS hardware.
- Microsoft settled out of court, paying $23.5 million to Be Inc. without admitting any guilt.
- Be Inc. was eventually acquired by Palm Inc.
- Haiku is an open-source reimplementation of BeOS that’s currently in alpha.
- It’s a snapshot of what might have been if Microsoft hadn’t used such ruthless business practices in the 90’s.
eComStation
- OS/2 was an operating system originally created by Microsoft and IBM.
- IBM continued development after Microsoft left it and OS/2 competed with MS-DOS and the original versions of Windows.
- Microsoft eventually won, but there are still old ATMs, PCs, and other systems using OS/2.
- IBM once marketed this operating system as OS/2 Warp, so you may know it by that name.
- IBM no longer develops OS/2, but a company named Serenity Systems has the rights to continue distributing it.
- They call their operating system eComStation.
- It’s based on IBM’s OS/2 and adds additional applications, drivers, and other enhancements.
- This is the only paid operating system on this list aside from Mac OS X. You can still download a free demo CD to check it out.
React OS
- ReactOS is a free, open-source reimplementation of the Windows NT architecture.In other words, it’s an attempt to reimplement Windows as an open-source operating system that’s compatible with all Windows applications and drivers.
- ReactOS shares some code with the Wine project, which allows you to run Windows applications on Linux or Mac OS X. It’s not based on Linux — it wants to be an open-source operating system built just like Windows NT. (Modern consumer versions of Windows have been built on Windows NT since Windows XP.)
- This operating system is considered alpha. Its current goal is to become compatible with Windows Server 2003, so it has a long way to go.
Syllable
- Syllable is an open-source operating system forked from AtheOS, which was originally intended to be an AmigaOS clone.
- It’s a lightweight operating system “in the tradition of the Amiga and BeOS, but built using many parts from the GNU project and Linux.”
- Like some of the other smaller operating systems here, it has only a handful of developers.
Sky OS
- Unlike many of the other hobbyist operating systems here, SkyOS is proprietary and not open-source.
- You originally had to pay for access so you could use development versions of SkyOS on your own PC.
- Development on SkyOS ended in 2009, but the last beta version was made available as a free download in 2013.
What is an OS
OS is an abbreviation for the word Operating System. An Operating System is the software that tells a computer how to operate. It controls hardware, executes programs, manages tasks and resources, and provides the user with an interface to the computer.