Windows, Mac OS, Linux

Today we have a great variety of systems software on our modern PCs. The three most common operating systems today are Windows, Mac OS and Linux. Each operating system aims for a different market and many sub-markets and occasionally they might even overlap. We proudly support and manage all major operating systems. Here’s a little History 101 on the world’s most popular operating systems:

The Windows series of operating systems are developed by Microsoft Corporation. They started in November of 1985 with Windows 1.0 which was basically a user friendly program launcher for MS-DOS with a few extra features, and have come all the way to the latest success with Windows 7, which directly followed Windows Vista and the immensely popular Windows XP.

Mac OS is the primary operating system developed by Apple Inc. (formerly Apple Computer Inc.). The first version was released in January of 1984 and has had a continual evolution since then. It was one of the first operating systems to be entirely graphically oriented, which means that unlike some others at the time, it used a graphical user interface from the very, very start. Recent releases included the highly popular Mac OS X series starting with the codenamed “Cheetah” system. The latest is Mac OS X v10.7 “Lion”.

Linux was first created by a Finnish programmer called Linus Torvalds. He created it as a hobby while studying at the Helsinki University in Finland. The first release came out in 1992, coincidentally around the same time as Tim Berners-Lee created the graphical part of the internet called the World Wide Web. Linux has since become a household name with such names as IBM, Intel, ATI, Google, Oracle/Sun and many others working with it. It can provide a simple command line interface for basic uses or can scale up to an advanced graphics accelerated interface. Some well known releases of Linux are Red Hat, Ubuntu, Debian and Fedora.

You might have seen Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7 on your own PC or a friend’s PC. Mac OS X is installed on the computers of enthusiasts, graphics designers, sound engineers and in some schools. Linux can be seen installed on the computers of enthusiasts, network and web servers, embedded devices such as network routers, mobile/cell phones and everything in-between. Market share as of October 2010 of today’s major operating systems include Windows XP (44.82%), Windows 7 (22.11%), Windows Vista (16.89%), Mac OS X (6.82%), Linux (1.52%), with the remainder between the Apple iOS for iPhone and miscellaneous specialty systems.

If you would like to test drive any of the above systems or are interested in purchasing one of the above operating systems for your own computer or server, call Neuron Computer Services to find out what we can do for you.