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Do you still remember windows98? It was my favorite operating system from windows. Here is the brief history of windows 98.

Windows 98 – codenamed Memphis – was released by Microsoft Corporation on June 25, 1998.  Windows 98 was the successor to Windows 95 and presented a hybrid 16-bit/32-bit monolithic product which was based on MS-DOS.

It was quickly followed by an updated to the operating system with Windows 98 SE (second edition) as Microsoft attempted to fix many bugs that were present in the original version.

Among the newer features of Windows 98 were better AGP (accelerated graphics port) support, functional USB (universal serial bus) drivers, and support for multiple monitors and Web TV. Read the rest of this entry →

The first Linux systems were completed in 1992 by combining system utilities and libraries from the GNU project which is another operating system we’ll address next.

Predominantly known for its use in servers, Linux is used as an operating system for a wider variety of computer hardware than any other operating system including desktop computers, super computers, mainframes, and embedded devices such as cell phones.

Linux is packaged for different uses in Linux distributions which contain the kernel along with a variety of other software packaged tailored to its intended use. Read the rest of this entry →

The UNIX operating system was developed in the 60’s and 70’s by a group of AT & T employees at Bell Labs.  Unix is used by both servers and workstations and is the basis for a wide variety of other operating systems.

The operating system under UNIX consists of many of the utilities listed above along with the master control program which is called the “kernel”.

The kernel helps start and stop programs, handle the file system, take care of other common high level tasks that most programs share and schedule access to hardware to avoid conflicts if two programs try to access the same resource or device simultaneously.

Besides the main kernel, UNIX systems also had micro-kernels which tried to reverse the growing size of kernels and return to a system in which most tasks were completed by smaller utilities. Read the rest of this entry →

In 1984, Apple Computer introduced the Apple Macintosh personal computer.  The first version was the Macintosh 128K model which came bundled with the Mac OS operating system then known as the “System Software”.

The Mac is often credited with popularizing the graphical user interface (GUI).

The Mac OS has been pre-installed on almost every Macintosh computer ever sold.  The operating system is also sold separately from the computer just as with Microsoft Windows.

The original Mac OS was heavily based on the Lisa OS previously released by Apple for the Lisa computer in 1983.  It also used concepts from other operating systems previewed by Apple executives.

In 1984, Apple partnered with Microsoft in an agreement that would have Microsoft creating versions of Word and Excel for the Mac OS. Read the rest of this entry →

Back in the late 1970’s, two enterprising young computer programmers named Paul Allen and Bill Gates developed an adaptation for the BASIC computer language that would help run newly created personal computer just coming on the technology market.

As with any technology, their original creation changed and grew.

The two friends decided they had the product and the capability to become successful, so they formed a company now known as Microsoft.

Over the years, Microsoft has grown to a giant in the computer industry with successes never before seen by a “from scratch” endeavor.

Microsoft was responsible for the development of not only several computer languages like COBOL and PASCAL, but also for the development of the earliest operating system MS-DOS.

In partnership with IBM, who was just introducing the personal computer to the individual consumer, all of the IBM computers used MS-DOS on their systems.  The year was 1981.

Windows 3.1 was the first product to fully utilize graphical user interface for ease of controlling what the computer would do. Read the rest of this entry →

As a user, you normally interact with the operating system through a set of commands. For example, the DOS operating system contains commands such as COPY and RENAME for copying files and changing the names of files, respectively.

The commands are accepted and executed by a part of the operating system called the command processor or command line interpreter.

Graphical user interfaces allow you to enter commands by pointing and clicking at objects that appear on the screen.

But that really doesn’t address the various ways that operating systems make your computer work easier and more efficiently.

Their specific capacities are what make them help your computer operate as a user-friendly device.  Let’s look specifically at what an operating system does. Read the rest of this entry →

The earliest of computers didn’t have an operating system.  By the early 1960’s, commercial computer vendors were supplying quite extensive tools for streamlining the development, scheduling and execution of jobs on batch processing systems.

Through the 1960’s, several concepts were developed which drove the development of operating systems.

The IBM System 360 produced a family of mainframe computer that served consumers with differing capacities and prices.

A single operating system was planned for these computers rather than developing generic programs for every individual model. Read the rest of this entry →

Just because there is a supercomputer displayed on a computer showroom doesn’t mean you have to buy it.

A computer can last longer but since technology advances quickly and software requires new technology that after four or five years, your new computer is considered outdated.

So what should you?  Upgrade?  Replace? Sell it?  It is not funny if you will still keep your old computer.  You can still use it for testing purposes, word-processing and internet surfing.

If you are deciding whether to upgrade or replace your computer, think again.  There are things that you still need to consider with this kind of decision especially if you have a tight budget for a new computer. Read the rest of this entry →

This windows vista tweaks can help you with Windows Vista and how it operates on your computer. If you want to get the most out of Windows Vista, these tweaks can give you the speed and ability to do so.

I recently bought a new computer. Of course it came with Windows Vista and I’m a Windows XP baby. My initial feelings about Windows Vista were something I can’t talk about in a review.

Needless to say I didn’t like it. Then I found these tweaks that have helped me tremendously.  One of the first things I found on the tweaks was how to make the search engine faster in my start menu.

I want results quick and was able to get that on my other computer. With the tweaks I was given advice on how to make this search much faster. That was a big plus and kept me looking for more help. Read the rest of this entry →

While an operating system is a central part of your computer system, knowing the definition of an operating system is not integral to knowing how to use one.

However, when you do know the definition of an operating system, you can better understand what it is doing inside your computer to make it run and to make using it easier for you.

In its basic form, the definition of an operating system is as follows: a set of computer programs that manage the hardware and software resources of a computer system. Read the rest of this entry →