Hello. I have decided to make this post about operating systems. There are many to choose from, Linux, Apple, Windows, BSD, and of course free versions of DOS….
MicroSoft Windows Vista 
“…and we are releasing our own, and better Windows Operating system, Windows 3.0!”
No doubt MicroSoft has had a monopoly on the computing industry since I was born. Ever since Windows 3.0, there first major success after seperating from IBM all those years ago. But enough of the history of MicroSoft, this part is about Windows Vista.
Windows Vista is the successor of Windows XP which was no doubt a disaster, though it did have its good points. Windows Vista features Windows Aero, which makes windows transparent and pictures flawless. Though the fact that it is based off of Apple’s OS is questionable… But anywho, you can resize pictures to any size you want and they should not have pixel distortion (like when you zoom in with digital zoom). Vista also features ‘widgets’ which are mini-programs that run in the background and help you with small things, such as finding the local weather or showing the latest stock quotes. This is called Windows Gadgets, it was no doubt inspired by Yahoo Widgets and Kapsules (which I shall be doing a review on soon). Another awesome feature of Vista is
‘Windows Flip’ which when you press CTRL + WinKey + Tab it flips through the windows in real time, basically if you have a video playing it will still be playing in real time with the sound. I find this much funner than the ordinary ALT + Tab which doesn’t show you as much of the screen nor uses the power of Windows Aero. The next great feature is that Windows FireWall actually scans both incoming and outgoing things!!!! Windows Media Player 11 is basically WMP 10 with cooler graphics. I don’t thinkI should discuss Internet Explorer 7 but I will. It is slow, large, and a clunker. And it looks kinda odd. Windows Update has been updated to run perfectly in the backround so it will not annoy you if you tell it to download all updates =[)
Price: $99 - $500
Linux
Mess with the best… Die like the rest!
Ah Linux, there are so many things to say about you, because there are so many distrobutions. So I will be brief, and to the point. Linux is the safest of all the operating systems except maybe DOS. It has very limited downloads and support. The main browser in Linux is FireFox. There are 2 types of Linux, USB/CD boot disks and harddrive based, a popular USB/CD one is FeatherLinux.
It has become very popular recently because of its small size (128MB). Check it out here. For normal distros Suse, Fedora, and Ubuntu are the most popular (Suse here) (Fedora here) (Ubuntu here). All of them have different software, different looks, different sizes. The only thing that unites Linux is the kernel, other than that they are entirely different operating systems. Summary of Linux: Small, most times has a terminal to execute commands, and secure.
Price: FREE!
Apple OSX
I know very little of Apple operating systems, but I can still give descriptions and summaries of it.
- Native support by all libraries and frameworks for 64-bit applications, allowing 64-bit Carbon and Cocoa applications. Existing 32-bit applications using those libraries and frameworks will continue to run without the need for emulation or translation.
- Time Machine: an automated backup utility which allows the user to restore any file that has been deleted, misplaced or replaced by another version of a file. A video of how the time machine works can be found here. This video was demonstrated in the 2006 Worldwide developers conference.
- The Complete Package: Front Row and Photo Booth, currently only available with the purchase of a new Mac, will be included with Leopard.
- Spaces: an implementation of “virtual desktops” (individually called “spaces”) for Mac OS X, allowing users to have multiple desktops per user and be able to place certain applications and windows in a desktop.[9] Users can organize certain Spaces for certain applications (i.e., one for work-related tasks and one for entertainment) and switch between them. Exposé will work inside Spaces, allowing the user to see at a glance all desktops on one screen.)
- Upgrades to Spotlight, including advanced search options such as Boolean operators and the ability to search other computers (with permissions).
- Core Animation: a technology that allows a developer to create complex animations while specifying only a “start” and a “goal” space. The main benefit of Core Animation is to enable developers to create complex animations with small amounts of program code.
- Universal access: significant improvements to applications including VoiceOver, along with increased support for Braille, closed captioning and a new text-to-speech engine.
- Enhancements to Mail including the additions of RSS feeds, Stationery, Notes, and to-dos. To-dos use a system-wide service that is available to all applications.
- Dashboard enhancements, including Webclip, a feature that allows users to turn a part of any web page into a live Dashboard widget, and Dashcode to help developers code widgets.
- iChat enhancements, including multiple logins, animated icons, and tabbed chats, similar to features present in Gaim, Adium and the iChat plugin Chax; iChat Theater, allowing users to incorporate images from iPhoto, presentations from Keynote, and videos from QuickTime into chats; and Backdrops, which are similar to chroma keys, but use a real-time difference matte technique which does not require a green or blue screen. iChat will also implement desktop sharing, a feature previously available with Apple Remote Desktop.
Which one? If you need regular updates and alot of software, Vista
Need to make videos and photos? Apple
Need security? Linux
Gabe Morris
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March 1, 2007 at 3:25 am
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