Saturday, February 25, 2012

My New Operating System

Nowadays you can find several different OS available. The most well-known are the following:

Microsoft: Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 2008 Server, UNIX-Based: IBM AIX, Hewlett Packard HPUX, and Sun Solaris, Linux-Based: Ubuntu, Fedora, Macintosh OS X.

While all the above OS require a commercial license, there are more than a few OS released under a different kind of licensing arrangement. This is called GNU Public License (GPL).

Commercial licenses typically prohibit users to modify the software in any way. Windows 7, Mac OS X and UNIX are commercial operating systems.

On the other hand, the GNU Public License (GPL) permits users to modify and improve the program, if they want, to better suit their needs. The most common operating systems that use the GLP model are Linux and BSD.

All the operating systems need a specific amount of hardware resources. For example they have minimum RAM requirements, minimum available hard disk space requirements, minimum processor requirements, etc.

Companies usually state both a minimum and recommended level of hardware components. When you install the minimum defined hardware configuration, the computers' performance is frequently poor and cannot support any additional programs. The recommended hardware is always the best option. If you purchase the recommended hardware you will be able to support standard as well as additional applications and resources.

Almost all the OS developers test several hardware components and verify that they are compatible with the OS. Before purchasing and installing a new peripheral or hardware module always confirm that it is certified to work with your operating system.

Picking an appropriate operating system requires numerous features to be considered before making a final decision.

First, you have to make sure that the OS being considered supports totally the requirements of the user. Verify for example if the OS supports the future programs. After that, check if the available hardware resources are sufficient to support the new operating system. For instance check the RAM, the CPU, and the available hard disk space.

Another very important factor that you have to consider is the total cost of ownership (TCO). This is something that can really change your final decision. This not only includes the costs of purchasing and installing the operating system, but also the support costs.

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