Operating systems

Command line interface

A command line interface, also known as; character user interface or
console user interface, is a way of entering commands into the computer
programme. These commands are types in lines known as command lines.
In the mid-1960s the command line interface was the only means of
interaction between the user and the computer programme. The interface
has a programme called a command line shell. This programme allows
you to enter text and it will convert that text into the command for the
specific function. Command line interfaces are used less now due to the
creation of the GUI.

Graphical use interface

A graphical user interface, or GUI for short, is a way of interacting with a
computer using Icons and images relevant to the function of the
programme. GUIs were introduced because of the requirements to use the
command line interface. There was a steep learning curve for command
line interfaces. As well as computers GUIs can be found in; phones, mp3
players, tablets etc. Its goal is to make the use of computers easier for all
ranges of people and ages. The main way for the user to interact with the
user is to use the mouse. The mouse controls a pointer which allows the
user to interact with icons on the GUI. This is the easiest way of using a
computer.

Windows
Windows is an operating system created by Microsoft. The windows
operating system was originally DOS rather than GUI. This meant that you
had to enter commands into the command line interface for the computer
to complete the function you require. Most Windows operating systems
now consist of GUIs and GUIs only. This is because they are seen as
easier and friendlier to use. It is safe to say that Windows is the most
widely used operating system that is around. This is because of its
compatibility and its ease of use. There were many different types of
Windows that came before the ones we have today, For example;
Windows 3.1. Windows 3.1 was the first widely used operating system that
Windows had created. It worked on a WIMP environment, WIMP stands for;
Windows, Icons, Menus and Pointers. After Windows 3.1 there came
Windows 95, Windows 95 was just GUI based only. There was also a
different version of Windows 95 released called Windows NT, whereas
Windows 95 is used for personal and home use, Windows NT is
predominantly used for business use. After these versions of Windows
there came; Windows 2000 (which Windows XP formed from), Windows

98, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 and now Windows 10. For
windows you need a license to use it on your computer.

Linux
Linux is an operating system which is a Unix-type operating system
created by Linus Torvalds, who received help from developers from all
around the world. Anyone with internet access can download the source
code for Linux. Linux is still widely used, but not as much as windows in
some cases. It was designed to be a free operating system for intel-86
computers. Windows is the leading operating system for desktop and
laptop users but Linux is widely used for servers, supercomputers and
mainframe computers. Linux uses what is known as an embedded system
which means it is in the firmware which means it is fitted to the system.
This is normally found in phones, tablets, routers and Televisions. Linuxs
source code can be downloaded by anyone, changed by anyone and sold
commercially or non-commercially if the person has a licence. Linuxs
distributions normally comes with the Linux Kernel and multiple software
utilities to fore fill the users needs.

Mac OS
The Mac OS is multiple GUIs created by Apple for their range of
computers. Created by Steve Jobs, it was the system said to make the GUI
system more popular in the 80s and the 90s. The latest version is OS X,
there have been many older versions such as; system 6, system 7, major
revisions 9 and major revisions 10. The whole idea of the Mac OS was to
draw attention away from the command line interface and draw more
attention to the mouse and Icons and ease of use of a graphical user
interface. Updates were done usually on a floppy disk or hard drive.

DOS
DOS is short for disk operating system. This operating system dominated
the PC market from 1981-1995. It has many related operating systems, for
example; M-DOS, PC DOS, FreeDOS and ROM-DOS. MS-DOS was the most
commonly used variation of DOS, it was used on most Microsoft
computers as it stands for Microsoft Disk Operating System. MS-DOS
was created because IBM wanted it on their latest line of PCs, so Microsoft
bought the rights to 86-DOS and began to modify it to IBMs required
specification. This was the key product of Microsofts growth, having eight
versions before being discontinued in in 2000.

Machine + peripheral management

Machine management is what is used to manage all the programmes and

utilities on the computer. It displays a screen which allows you to control
certain programmes and utilities but also does some for you, like manages
when the screen times out and knows when to turn the monitor off if it has
not been in use. It can also tell manage systems such as sound so that
when a device like headphones has been taken out of the phone a
message saying so will appear. If you were to record a piece of audio the
plugged in microphone will have its sensitivity adjusted by the machine
management. Peripherals are computer devices that is not part of the
essential computer but are close to it. Peripherals can consist of devices in
or outside of the computer system. Some of these devices are mounted
inside the case of the computer as a part of the main computer which
could be anything from hard disk drive to the CD-ROM drive. Other
peripheral may consist of devices outside of the computer such as printers
or portable hard drives. This tells us the peripheral management means
the management of these devices within and outside of the computer.
This means the peripheral management managers all of these devices so
it adds to the ease of use. This means you dont have to manage these
peripherals manually. This is good because it managers all peripheral
devices in the computer for you, this adds to the ease of use.

Device drivers
A device driver is a computer programme that controls a device within the
computer or out of the computer, any device really. A device driver allows
the computer to access hardware without knowing all the fine details, by
using a software interface. The device driver uses communication bus to
communicate with drivers and to initiate commands. Drivers are also
operating system specific and hardware dependant. The purpose of a
device driver is to act as a translator between the operating system,
hardware and devices.

Security
Computer security consists of anti-virus software. This anti-virus software
stops Malware from harming your PC. This security system allows you to
perform scans on the whole computer, specific devices and specific files
and allows you to clean parts of the computer, and also provides a backup
system sometimes. Computer security never normally fails but in some
cases viruses can pass the anti-virus system. Computer security is
normally bought and installed via disk. Cyber security is used to prevent
any viruses from harming your computer when using the internet. If there
is no antivirus system then your PC can be infected within minutes. A

great feature of this security is that it tells you when it has found a
possible harmful file and then asks you what you want to do with the file.

File management
A file manager is an interface in which you can see all of the files on your
computer so that they are easy to manage and arrange. The interface
shows icons of all the files and folders stored on your PC. The interface
also comes with options to copy, paste, delete and move files into a folder
from another one. Because of the interface with the icons, it is easy to
navigate and manually manage your files as well as it doing it for you. The
file manager can arrange files and folders into nearly any category or you
can do it manually by just telling the file manager where you want
something saving and it will move it to that position or you could drag or
copy the file easily. This is great for user that may not be totally familiar
with computer systems because nit is simple and easy.

Functions and features of windows 7 and Linux

Ability to customise
Windows
Microsoft created windows so that you do not have to change the code it
is made from. Microsoft created multiple configurations that try to appeal
to most users. So in some cases customisation isnt necessary.
Customisation options could consist of;
New themes, backgrounds, gadgets, mouse pointers, user images.
This gives you new ways to how your PC looks and functions so that
you can get it to just how you want it to look.

Linux
A big part of the Linux community is dedicated to customisation of their
operating system. But it can be frustrating as it needs to be customised in
the code that it is made from. But this customisation can lead to new ways
of making your work. Some customisation features may consist of;
Themes, wallpaper, icons, main menu icon, Dock (mac OS x like), widgets
and fonts.

Support for the user

Windows
Windows 7 has been known to have a good support system because it was
created by Microsoft. Microsoft have been well known for their good user
support. The user support offers things such as; Good customer service,
solutions to most problems, a simple and easy to us GUI etc. They also

have good websites in which you can easily find which tell you all different
things that can your windows 7 operating system work faster and to your
taste.

Linux
Linux may not be as widely used as Windows but that does not mean it
has a band support system for the user. Like most operating systems it
has a good GUI, maybe not as easy to use as windows, which is simple
and customisable. It offers a range of programs already installed with it
like a version of word or PowerPoint. The support system is similar in the
way that there is many websites in which you can find help, for example
the Linux wireless support page.

Security
Windows
Windows 7 security simplifies security for users. It also finds and gets rid
of threats quicker and more efficiently. It reduces the risk and damage
that can be done to your computer by viruses and harmful spyware.
Windows 7 also includes an improved back up system so that all your files
can be saved in case a virus does infect your PC. It also has an improved
parental settings so that the whole family is protected.

Linux
Linux has always been seen as a high security operating system but it
does have its problems. For example, Hackers could infiltrate your system
and delete important information. This can be stopped by Linuxs two part
security system, the authentication and access control. This makes sure
that the person attempting to get into the system is the actual owner and
user of the PC. The access and control system is responsible for
controlling which recourses are available to each account.

Reliability
Windows
Windows 7 has normally had good reports on its reliability. When windows
7 was released it was released with a reliability monitor. This reliability
monitor check and recorded all the times that windows 7 encounter a
problem. The nice touch is when you get a nice graphical report of all the
programmes that have crashed and why. This monitor also shows when
the drivers and other programmes were updated. It has been said that
windows 7 usually has a good reliability, but may have problems on some
days.

Linux
Linux has been considered as a very reliable operating system, this is
why; Background process management. Linux has been said to have a
better background process management. Once a background process is
activated the operating system only keeps it running for as long as it
needs to be. Once it is not needed it is shut down. Another reason why
Linux may be more reliable is because windows and Mac have a sort of
"let me do this for you" system, and this may mean things may happen
when you do not want it too whereas Linux doesnt do that at all.

Associated utilities
Windows
Windows has always had many associated utilities, many which are useful
in your own way. For example; sticky notes, these can be useful because
they can have anything on them from reminders to birthdays etc. Another
good utility would be the magnifier. The magnifier does what it says in the
name really. It is a little task bar that comes up where you can increase
the zoom on the screen of use it as an actual magnifying glass if you need
to read something. One more good utility windows has is the snip tool.
This acts as a sort of crop button but on your desktop. If you want a
certain part of a picture just use the snip tool.

Linux
Just like windows, Linux has a variety of useful utilities. For example the
disk utility. This allows you to take control of any hard drive with great
ease. Tasks such as formatting, wiping or clone the hard drive will be
much easier thanks to the disk utility. The next useful utility on the list is
the additional drivers utility. This is a graphical method of installing
hardware drivers and being able to activate and deactivate them. This is
the easiest way of installing new drivers. The last utility on this list is what
is known as WinFF. WinFF is a programme that provides a GUI for when
converting FFmpegs. It will allow you to convert nearly any file FFmpeg
will convert.

Cost
Windows
Microsoft usually offer their operating systems at a much higher price.
Windows 7, for example, can cost from 73-230

Linux
Most Linux operating systems are free or at a lower price than most
Microsoft systems such as windows.

Connectivity to portable media

Windows
Connectivity to portable media means the connectivity ports or devices
that portable devices can connect to within the pc that the operating
system included. With windows these consist of;

USB

CD
Sync
Bluetooth
Wife
It is good that windows offers multiple options because different devices
sometimes connect one way but not the other, or they connect to multiple
ones but work better if connected into a specific one. All in all windows
have a good variety of connectivity to portable media.

Linux
Connectivity to portable media in Linux is not as good as windows
because it does not support hardly any portable media connectivity at all,
you have to download software to increase the connectivity options. This
is bad because some users may expect portable media connectivity to be
applied with Linux instead they have to download software. This is bad
because it could draw attention away from Linux and more onto windows.

Ease of management
Windows
Because of windows' popularity now, people seem to know how to use it
more and are able to figure how it works fairly quickly. This is because not
its simple GUI with easy to read writing and relevant icons to the relevant
programme. This is good because users will find windows friendly and
easy to use therefore making it a more preferred operating system.

Linux
Lately Linux has greatly improved in the area of ease of management but
because the operating system is what is known as open source, if you
want to change anything you need to know programming language to do
so. In a way it is good that they have improved but having to know
programming language may be a downfall for the ease of use because

most people dont know programming and it isnt something easily picked
up.

File management
Windows
Windows' file manager is as simple and easy to use GUI system that us
very user friendly. The GUI file manager shows things like if you want to
copy, delete, move or rename files and all of this is displayed on a GUI
which is easy to read and use because of its relevant icons to the relevant
function for the file. This is an improvement from the old file management
in the old windows because it is easy to use and is the most practical file
manager.

Linux
Linuxs file system has the same sort of system as windows 7. It has a GUI
system that projects files in a GUI arranged in order just like the windows
GUI file manager. IT also gives the options of copy and paste etc. The only
real difference is that some things are in the opposite place, for example
the window and close options are the other side of the GUI. This is good
because it makes it easy to use which means more people will be
appealed to it.

Peripheral management
Windows
Windows has peripheral management because when another system is
connected to the computer, for example; a printer, then the drives are
installed automatically most of the time. This is good peripheral
management because people like things to do them for them, so this
appeals to users of windows because it does things for you, windows have
been known for this.

Linux
With Linuxs peripheral management it is basically the opposite of
windows peripheral management. When a peripheral is connected to the
compute the dives have to be installed manually, it is not done
automatically for you. This may be considered bad unless you like to do
things you way. It could be bad because people may not have the time o
may just not be bothered to install dives manually.

Command line interface

A command line interface, also known as; character user interface or
console user interface, is a way of entering commands into the computer
programme. These commands are types in lines known as command lines.

In the mid-1960s the command line interface was the only means of
interaction between the user and the computer programme. The interface
has a programme called a command line shell. This programme allows
you to enter text and it will convert that text into the command for the
specific function. Command line interfaces are used less now due to the
creation of the GUI.

Graphical use interface

A graphical user interface, or GUI for short, is a way of interacting with a
computer using Icons and images relevant to the function of the
programme. GUIs were introduced because of the requirements to use the
command line interface. There was a steep learning curve for command
line interfaces. As well as computers GUIs can be found in; phones, mp3
players, tablets etc. Its goal is to make the use of computers easier for all
ranges of people and ages. The main way for the user to interact with the
user is to use the mouse. The mouse controls a pointer which allows the
user to interact with icons on the GUI. This is the easiest way of using a
computer.