CS1 - M1 Features and functions of operating systems

Features and functions of operating systems

In this blog I will be sharing the pros, cons, features and function of different types of operating systems or OS.

First up is windows 7, this is the most recent update to Microsoft’s OS series.

Here are the pros of the new system.

Easier on the eyes

Nowadays you need a bit more than a fancy wallpaper and a few cute icons to impress you, but whatever way you look at this OS, it is surely a stunner. From a wallpaper which changed itself to the control group of icons in the area near the clock, this OS puts the things in which you need the most, where you actually need them.

The Action Centre

Windows XP and vista are known for scattering important information all over the system. At the same time, and quite awkwardly, every application you install on vista and XP can pop up annoying messages, always distracting your attention while you are trying to get some work done. Windows 7’s action centre serves as the traffic policeman for announcements which inform, warn and usually get very annoying. Instead of the usual annoying pop ups, it is seen as a flag which is in the notification area which is near the clock which also turn yellow or red, showing it’s need to you.

Security

In comparison to other OS’s windows 7 has a very good security, not only is it easy to set up and use, it is also very tough. Compared to the last two OS’s made by windows, there are many difference that makes this the best. Compared to Vista, the settings are much easier  to access, this way someone who may get confused with the security can easily set the correct settings and in turn secure their data better, it also im much tougher than XP it is a lot less “permeable” or it is much harder to get through.

Here are the cons of the Windows 7 OS.

What if?

Although windows 7 can run better than vista or XP, there are still many PCs which simply can’t handle the OS. It is possible to convert an old PC into a working PC that can handle the OS, however the PC must be less than 4 years old or it may just cause more trouble than you need. It will also cost at least a couple of hundred pounds to get a PC to the right standard.

Upgrading

If you have windows XP upgrading is very, very, very complicated. It is defiantly not as easy and inserting a disk and pressing a few “next” buttons. Infact all files and applications must be backed up, hard drive must also be wiped and you must perform a clean install of the OS. After that’s done you then will have to manually reinstall all your software and replace all the files that you backed up.

The Cost

Windows 7 isn’t cheap at all. It could cost over £75 for the lowest version, and that’s just for the upgrade!

The System requirements

Compared to every other OS by windows, this needs a LOT of space. In fact if you have a 64-bit system it will require a whole 2GB of RAM just to run it! The 32 bit is also 1GB of RAM.

Hard drive space isn’t too bad but it could be better, 16GB for a 32-bit system and 20GB for a 64-bit system is a lot compared.

Next is MacOS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard". An upgrade to apples “Leopard” OS.

Here are the features and functions of the OS.

Exchange

One of the biggest features in this OS is support for Exchange, which is Microsoft’s popular e-mail, contact and calendar server. As a result to this, it has become much easier to incorporate the Mac into a business that have standardised on exchange.

Malware Check

Although this feature isn’t very known, snow leopard actually includes a good degree of built-in protection against malicious software. The normal software on lower versions that would warn you before opening a program now also checks the files for known dangers.

Finder

The finder, the central point for organising and managing files and folders in Mac OS X has actually been completely rewritten, but you would never know the difference for looking. This new version looks identical to the other versions. It is said that this new version, due to the complete rewrite is much more responsive, supported for 64-bit applications and increases threading using Grand Central Dispatch technologies.

Substitutions

Many programs autocorrect what you type, and example is when you type hte it would correct it to the. And a host of utilities for Mac will also do the same trick.

Accessibility

With new versions access ability features have improved quickly, now Snow Leopard is even better. Among these additions is improvements to features such as VoiceOver, a program for the blind where text is read out to you. It also supports Braille displays too!

Next I will be talking about the main features and functions of Linux, an open source operating system.

Free

All codes for this OS can be seen and edited, which allows the community of uses to help the developers fix bugs and problems etc. it is also downloadable for free .

Customisable

Linux can be modified to whatever you want, there are large numbers of window managers and desktop environments for the OS. You can change everything about the way the OS interacts with you.

Viruses

There are very little viruses for Linux, in fact only 2 managed to get into the system, they just exploited a few holes in the old system which have been fixed. All the others were just failed lab experiments. Linux is also immune to all the known spy-ware and malware.

Secure

Linuxes base model gives a true “Unix-like” multi-user environment. You are always signed in as a user and a user cannot install anything with first going through the process of giving them access to its root account. Anything that is installed in the user account cannot affect the wider system and can be destroyed by simply deleting the users directory. This is why virus are completely useless.