Customising within Windows:
Customising within MacOS:
Support for media: Operating systems aren't always used for Laptops or Pc's they are also used in some phones like Android and ios. They are used on all different types of electrical devices e.g. Tablet, Phone, Ipad etc. It has updated versions such as the recent update of ios 7 and for android it has a range of updated versions too.
Stability and Reliability: Stability is difficult to measure in absolutes. A good measurement as to the stability and reliability of an operating system is the record of the highest "uptimes." Uptimes are the length of time system has been running without the need for a reboot. Reliability depends on how well known and how fast the operating system is if it's a company with slow speeds and hasn't been heard of much it's more likely to not be as reliable as the main operating systems like Windows, Mac and Linux Os.
Stability and Reliability within Windows:
Previous to Windows Vista, Windows operating systems were consistently reliable and stable. Windows Vista was quite buggy. As well as these bugs, Windows Vista also lacked in privacy, security, performance, driver support and product activation. Because of these faults, Windows 7 was released shortly after and this corrected the majority of these faults.
Utility: Utility software is system software designed to help analyse, configure, optimize or maintain a computer. Utility software usually focuses on how the computer infrastructure operates including the computer hardware, the operating system, application software and lastly our data storage. Due to this main focus, utilities are often rather technical and targeted at people with an advanced level of computer knowledge, which allows users to do things like creating text documents, playing video games, listening to music or viewing websites.
Cost and Support: Cost of the operating system really ranges on the quality, speed and how well known the brand is. The faster operating systems that are more well-known would be more expensive compared to the rest. There is different types of companies that support operating systems and a few examples of these would be Dell, SAS and HP.
Cost and Support within Windows:
Licensing for windows ranges from £30 to £95. For support, Microsoft Windows has a help section, online documentation and help as well as books which are available for each version of Windows.
Research the term 'Open Source'
What is it?
This is denoting software for which the original source code is made freely available and may be redistributed and modified.
What is its purpose?
Its purpose is to be able to modify and re-model codes to suit the programmers or developer’s needs; also it can be used to improve a certain program to allow it to suit their needs.
How does it help developers?
It’s the code computer programmers can use to change how a piece of software works. Programmers who have access to a computer program's source code can improve that program by adding features to it or fixing parts that don't always work correctly. They also can look at it and benefit from the other ways of coding.
What are the implications on users?
One of the implications is that you can get threats happen through using Open Source Programming which is the database that contains the vital company data and information on customers. However, in the past we have seen such systems prone to serious threats and large scale attacks.
Compatibility. Most open source supports open source file types, but may not support proprietary file types. Like open file formats such as HTML - web pages, PDF - portable document format, RTF - formatted text, TXT - plain text.
Lack of Formal Technical Support. Although open source communities are normally helpful, most software lacks formal technical support. Fees may be charged for training and tutorials. Don't complain, take action. You're part of the solution. It's important to share your concerns, ideas, and solutions with other users and developers through forums. Use software discussion forums to search for answers to problems, error messages, and issues.
Lack of Features/Standards. Not all packages meet the users specialized needs required.
User-Friendly Limits. Some software requires more learning time or skills to use it properly and maintain it compared to traditional software.
GUI-graphical user interface
CLI-cost of living index
Advantages of GUI
-You can create a richer and better interface than is possible with CLI.
-Most users will have a smaller learning curve using a GUI.
-Complex, multi-step, dependent tasks can easily be grouped together in a way that is hard to make mistakes.
-Ability to embed media
Disadvantages of GUI
-Large software can waste memory, and reduce the performance of an application.
-Sometimes it is more difficult to allow for advanced/power options in an GUI interface, than it is with a CLI.
-Scripting a GUI interaction is not easily done unless it is just a set of repetitive tasks that don't require a lot of feedback, or actually testing the GUI.
Advantages of CLI
-Most that have computer technology as a career are familiar with using this interface, especially if they have a *nix background.
-Requires a lower threshold for the interface. This means that a relatively simple program like telnet (available almost on all machines) is all you need to interface via CLI.
-Easy to integrate with scripting, and other programmatic interfaces.
-They can be quite powerful in the right hands. Joining multiple commands together, parsing feedback, etc.
-Many of the most common CLI executable in the *nix world are consistently ported, so there is a lot of consistency across systems.
Disadvantages of CLI
-Not intuitive, especially to a lay user.
-No media.
-Complex combinations can be difficult to remember, and slower to type (but that is on a task by task basis, as often you can perform tasks faster with CLI)
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