PC Operating Systems

PC operating systems (OS) have been a route to riches over the last 30 years, or so, for some people. The current incumbent (and almost) monopoly supplier is the US company Microsoft which recently launched its latest operating system called Windows 7. Why has it done this? What are the alternatives? If you are a Microsoft OS user, should you upgrade?

What Are PC Operating Systems?

When you buy a PC (or a Mac, the Apple proprietary variant) it usually comes with some basic software to turn it from an inanimate object into something that can be loaded with applications software. Applications software enables you to do things like type, or calculate, or browse the internet. A PC needs some software to be able to run these applications and that is the operating system software. (It’s a bit like an orchestra; it needs some musical notation on paper, and a conductor to make, well, music).

When you switch on a PC, it automatically loads the OS from the hard drive into semiconductor (volatile, but quick) memory. It typically takes several minutes to do that, during which time you can make tea, study a knitting pattern or file down your nails. (Some users avoid this wait by never shutting down their PC or telling it to ‘hibernate,’ at the end of a session. Hibernating copies the current state of the PC to the hard drive. Then when it restarts it simply fetches the saved state from the hard drive rather than starting from scratch. It’s like the orchestra paused mid symphony, but didn’t break for tea and biscuits, avoiding a lengthy re-tune period).

The OS then allows the user to start applications and use peripherals like a printer or a router for broadband internet access. In fact it tells the PC what devices are available, like a keypad, a mouse, a display, a Wi-Fi adaptor or dongle. (The members of the orchestra are told where to sit, which instrument to play and what part of the musical score to use).

There are three main PC OSs available today, out of the many hundreds that have been created;

Windows
In very early (IBM-compatible) PCs the OS was called DOS (disk operating system) and Microsoft supplied IBM with its DOS software, called PC-DOS. This was used in the original IBM PC. (IBM-compatible PCs manufactured by others used MS-DOS). It was developed, after several years, into Windows and became the first, and still is, mass-market OS for PCs with approximately 95% share of the OS market. There have been many releases; beginning with Windows 1.0, moving on via several more iterations to Windows 95, 98 and Me, then to Windows 2000, followed by Windows XP, Windows Vista and now (October, 2009) to Windows 7. Windows Vista, with around 25%, and Windows XP, with around 70% share of the market, dominate the PC OS scene. The latest version (Windows 7) improves on speed and introduces some new features, such as touch screen navigation.

Mac OS X
Apple developed its own OS called Mac OS followed by Mac OS X, which is now in its tenth release known as Mac OS X version 10.6. (This is only available to run on Apple PCs).This has around 4% of the PC OS market and is bundled with Apple Macintosh PCs. The latest version improves on the stability, speed and efficiency of previous releases and reduces the amount of disk space needed. (Continuing the musical analogy, this amounts to a chamber orchestra, rather than a full symphony orchestra, but with the same musical output).

Linux
Linux , with around 1% of the PC OS market, is ‘open source’ software, developed from Unix, a mainframe OS, (also used on business computers because of its security and stability) and may be downloaded free of charge, depending on the ‘distribution’ used. The most popular is Ubuntu, followed by Fedora. Linux distributions are bundles of software, making up the OS, offered and supported by different organisations. The software may be ‘free’ (mostly) but the support is not. The latest Ubuntu release is in October 2009, six months after the previous release. It will be release 9.10.

The Linux community has a reputation for being ‘techie’ and more interested in the underlying code rather than the user benefits. This is unfair. Most supercomputers, mobile devices and servers use Linux software. They are late into the PC sector, mainly because Microsoft’s OS has been bundled with PCs as a matter of course, but it is now gaining share in the PC OS market. Several major PC manufacturers now offer Linux as an alternative to Windows, bundled with their machines.

The Need for Upgrades

Upgrades to PC OS are usually designed to improve on usability by introducing new features to the graphical user interface, improve stability by reducing random system crashes, reduce the time to do things and improve system security to prevent virus and other malicious software from infecting the PC from a network.

Software support is, of course, vital. (The orchestra needs to be told where the next venue is, and taken there). Software suppliers phase out support for older releases over time, to reduce their costs, and to encourage users to upgrade. This means patches to fix problems will no longer be issued (which includes Microsoft’s so-called Service Pack releases, which aggregate many patches into a package that may be downloaded in one go, rather than as separate mini-upgrades).

All of the mainstream OSs are built on a software core or kernel. In the case of Linux it is a Linux kernel, derived from Unix. Microsoft’s later releases are built on its NT (for New Technology) kernel. Mac OS is built on a Unix core. The improvements to the OS are built on these, and add user interface improvements or other attributes to make the OS better at doing its main job of running applications. (Going back to the orchestra analogy, each upgrade removes dead members of the orchestra and repairs broken instruments).

Windows 2000, which will be supported until July 2010, is built on NT 5.0. Windows XP, built on NT 5.1, will be supported until April 2014. Windows Vista and Windows 7, built on NT 6.0 and 6.1 respectively, are the current OSs. All other versions of Windows are no longer supported.

Another reason for upgrades is to take advantage of improvements in hardware and the availability of new services and applications. (Someone wrote some new musical scores). More memory, faster processors and new applications, like internet access, have all contributed to the need for better OSs. (A new musical instrument was invented). Competition between the OSs has also led to new releases, but that is secondary, given Microsoft’s domination of the market.

What Should You Do?

If you don’t own an Apple Mac, and the chances are that you don’t, you really have two alternatives; Windows and Linux. You probably have a version of Windows on your PC, and that is most likely to be XP. As support from Microsoft ends in 2014 you don’t need to do anything, especially if you are happy with your PC’s performance.

If you have Windows 2000, you will need to upgrade to something else before July 2010 if you want to be sure of reliable trouble-free service. Other versions of Windows (Vista and 7) will be supported beyond 2014.

If you are buying a new PC you could choose Linux or Windows, or if you want the latest in thin-ness and graphical user interfaces, an Apple Mac. The choice is yours. If Linux, you may get it free from one of the downloadable distributions, but you will have to pay for support, should you need it? (An advantage here is that you will not need to buy anti-virus software, as Linux is inherently safe, and no one writes viruses for it).

If you choose Windows 7, for example, it will be supported free of charge for the next ten years (probably), but you need to ignore Microsoft’s biennial blandishments to upgrade. Remember, ‘if it ain’t, broke don’t fix it’.
Also, when you upgrade, you must check that all your current applications software will be supported by the new OS. Otherwise you may find that the orchestra has gone on a foreign tour without you.