EXERCISE 2 OPERATING SYSTEMS

1. What operating system you have installed on your home computer? What about school?

At school:

MAX 7.5 (a GNU/LINUX Distribution) and a virtual machine of WINDOWS 7

2. Write at least the name of 5 different operating systems.

 DOS - Disk Operating System - one of the first operating systems for the personal computer. (It was not very "user friendly" )  Windows - The Windows operating system, a product of , is a GUI (graphical user interface) operating system. This type of "user friendly" operating system is said to have WIMP features: o Windows o Icons o Menus o Pointing device (mouse)  MacOS - Macintosh, a product of Apple, has its own operating system with a GUI and WIMP features.  Unix - Linux (the PC version of Unix) - Unix and Linux were originally created with a command-line interface, but recently have added GUI enhancements.  Android is a mobile operating system (OS) currently developed by Google, based on the Linux kernel and designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.

3. Explain why Microsoft operating system is called Windows.

Microsoft works on the first version of a new operating system. Interface Manager is the code name and is considered as the final name, but Windows prevails because it best describes the boxes or computing “windows” that are fundamental to the new system. Windows is announced in 1983, but it takes a while to develop. Skeptics call it “vaporware.”

On November 20, 1985, two years after the initial announcement, Microsoft ships Windows 1.0. Now, rather than typing MS-DOS commands, you just move a mouse to point and click your way through screens, or “windows.” Bill Gates says, “It is unique software designed for the serious PC user.”

3. Indicate the 4 freedoms of free software.

When you speak about Free Software, you speak about freedom. And more precisely, about the four freedoms to use, study, share and improve the software. Thanks to an analogy to a recipe, it becomes quite clear how these freedoms work and why it is important that the source code of a program is available to everyone. 4. Why do you think Windows so strongly dominates the market for PC operating systems?

Microsoft currently has around 90 percent share of the client operating system market with Windows, and while its dominance of the desktop client OS market is expected to continue.

I think it is due to the following:

1) Historically Apple developing its operating systems at the same time with high-quality hardware equipment of course but they are extremely expensive ,especially if the desktop versions comparison between Mac and PC. Now can cost three times a Mac than a PC Windows. Besides Asians have flooded the world with a huge amount of their Pc low price to the number seems small quantity of Macs especially in third world markets. 2) Availability of applications and games is much greater in Windows so most opt for this option. 3) Marketing strategies that allowed Windows is perceived as a system for all users while Mac OS X is seen as a system that is used by specialists mainly from graphic design and GNU Linux perceived as a system for programmers or computer experts 4) Microsoft corporate maneuvers that force many manufacturers have to produce only Windows compatible hardware. 5) Corporate maneuvers to prevent the administration of the states adopt other operating systems

5. Enter statcounter page, http://gs.statcounter.com/ and find the use of operating systems for mobile phones in Spain. Collect the data. Compare to Europe (also copy data) and explains the reasons why you think there is that difference exist.

6. Try to find what “” is. Which is the difference with the “”? Capture an image of your computer partitioning.

In personal computers, a partition is a logical division of a hard disk created so that you can have different operating systems on the same hard disk or to create the appearance of having separate hard drives for file management, multiple users, or other purposes.

For example, when you install an operating system like Windows, part of the process is to define a partition on the hard drive. This partition serves to define an area of the hard drive that Windows can use to install all of its files. In Windows operating systems, this primary partition is usually assigned the drive letter of "C". In addition to the C drive, Windows often automatically builds other partitions during installation, even though they rarely get a drive letter.

The drive letter assignment is the process of assigning alphabetical identifiers to volumes. Unlike the concept of UNIX mount points, where volumes are named and located arbitrarily in a single hierarchical namespace, drive letter assignment allows multiple highest-level namespaces. Drive letter assignment is thus a process of using letters to name the roots of the "forest" representing the ; each holds an independent "tree".