Operating System Fundamentals
Differences Between Operating System Platforms
The gap between the three major Operating Systems (Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux) has been narrowing over the past few years. Much of the user interface interaction is duplicated across the platforms and communication with and sharing documents between each OS has improved to the point that you can run all three in a networked environment with very few problems. This has resulted in a quite a few mixed environments where you will be expected to support any (and all!) of these operating systems.
Windows
As you already know, Microsoft Windows is the dominant Operating System in terms of market share. Currently, Windows holds a commanding lead of around 90% of the PC OS market.
Microsoft Windows has been around since the early 90s, but today’s OS barely resembles Windows 286 and Windows 3.0. There are several versions of Microsoft Windows you should be aware of:
· Windows 3.11 for Workgroups: a networked version of Windows 3.0. This version of the OS was an overlay on top of DOS and was very limited in its features.
· Windows 95/98: Still had a core of DOS underneath, but started moving into a much more user friendly OS. Windows 95/98 are often referred to as Windows 9x which can also include Windows ME.
· Windows ME: Windows Millenium Edition was a stepping stone from the 95/98 OS to Windows 2000 and subsequently Windows XP. A problematic OS which was supposed to integrated new multimedia functionality. Anyone moving to this OS was promptly recommended to move off of it with all of the issues and problems it had.
· Windows NT: Came in two “modern” versions: 3.51 and 4.0. Designed as a business operating system and lacked many of the features consumers came to enjoy such as “plug’n’play.” Added security in the form of users and groups, business networking features, and NTFS (New Technology File System). All of us who had to support Windows NT have a special place in our heart for this rigid OS – it was a great learning experience!
· Windows 2000: The upgrade for Windows NT for businesses, Windows 2000 combined many of the features we love on the consumer side (plug’n’play) with the stability of NT. Windows 2000 was a stable and easy to use OS – I kept it installed on one of my machines for many years after XP was out – it just worked!
· Windows XP: The melding of the consumer side and business side into one code base. Windows XP came in several “flavors”: Windows XP Home, Windows XP Professional, Windows XP Media Center Edition (MCE), and Windows XP Professional x64 edition. Windows XP was a big step forward for Microsoft in terms of integration of their product set and creating a stable platform by which to launch many new desktop applications. Last report I saw has Windows XP market share in the low 80s, even after Vista has been on the market for months.
· Windows Vista: Released in 2007, Windows Vista is the next step forward for Microsoft. Windows Vista includes many new features to help users take a step forward with productivity – and to add a little eye candy. It’s the first major interface change for Microsoft in many years, so getting used to where everything is organized in the new OS will be the biggest challenge for users and support technicians.
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