Windows v/s Linux - Assignment Example

 Windows v/s Linux 1.0 Company Description Cisco Systems Inc. is a multinational corporation located in the United States. The companies headquarter is in San Jose, in the state of California. It mainly deals with manufacturing and selling of networking equipment. Cisco needs to use an operating system that is compatible with some of the products they produce for the clients. The company categorizes its products into three segments that include Small Business, Home and Enterprise and Service Provider. The enterprise and service provider is also known as the corporate market and includes Borderless networks, collaboration, IP NGN and Datacenter and Virtualization. The small business comprises of the technology-based start-ups and home businesses. Examples of small business startups include Borderless Networks, Security and surveillance, Routers and Network storage systems. The third segment comprises of the home users, which includes or refers to individuals who require the services Cisco offers the comfort of their homes. The Home user includes broadband and flips video. Based on the nature of the products that the company offers it must involve the use of a stable operating system that is capable of withstanding and coordinating its activities. 2.0 Introduction Both Windows and Linux are examples of an operating system. An operating system commonly referred to as an OS is a program that when loaded into a computing device can manage all the programs within that computer. The programs that an operating system manages are known as applications. The application programs work in collaboration with the OS by making requests through an interface known as the application program interface. The computer users can interact with the operating system directly by using the command language. An operating system is essential for the operations of a computer based on the manner in which interacts with the applications. Some of the functions of an operating system include · Manages how other applications shared memory in the computer, which is essential for the computer operations. · The operating system can send messages to the user on how each of the application works · In circumstances of multitasking, it determines the programs that should run fast and in which sequence. · The operating system controls the input and the output of the computer. · The OS can make the management free by offloading the batch jobs that makes the computer slow. · An OS also manages a program in a manner in which both runs on the processor at a time. All the computer platforms including both software and the hardware make use of the operating systems. Some of the operating systems include VMS, AIX, Linux, OS/400, z/OS and Windows. From the operating systems, Linux and Windows are the most commonly used based on the nature in which they operate and their accessibility. This paper will, therefore, focus on comparing Linux and Windows operating systems. Figure 1: comparison of windows and Linux 2.0 Linux Linux is an operating system commonly used in many gadgets. Linux is computer software that makes it possible for the applications and the computer user to get access to the devices that make the computer perform some of the desired functions (Wayner, 2000). Linux, in this case, relays information from the application to the processor of the computer. After the processor has performed its functions, it then sends the feedback to the application through the OS.Based on such explanations Linux is similar to some of the other operating systems such as OS X and Windows. One of the defining parts of the OS is the Linux Kernel developed in 1991 by the founder Linux Torvalds. Linux was made as a free OS for Intel x86 for use in the personal computers, but it has been ported for use in other computer hardware platforms compared to other operating systems. Linux is the leading OS on the servers and the big iron systems such as the supercomputers and the mainframe computers (Wayner, 2000). Linux OS is not commonly used in the other desktop computers with the percentage of usage in the desktop computers ranging to 1.5%. The OS is also used in the embedded system that includes devices built in a firmware. Examples of the embedded systems include network routers, tablet computers, mobile phones, televisions, and facility automation controls.Android, one of the most selling operating system used in phones and tablets was developed on Linux kernel. Linux is one of the examples of the free and open-source software. Because it is open source software, the source code can be distributed, modified and used by anyone for commercial and non-commercial purposes. The OS is packaged in a form that is popularly known as Linux distribution that is used for both server and desktop purposes.Linux mainstream distributions include Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, Linux Mint, Arch Linux and openSUSE. One of the reasons why people prefer Linux is where it can be used. The OS is found in the computing devices that includes laptops and the desktop computers. Figure 2: Title: Tux the penguin, mascot of Linux 3.0.1 Advantages of Linux Cheap- compared to other operating systems such as Microsoft, Linux is cheap since it free to get. Linux operating system can be placed in more than one computer without paying. Security-The operating system is secure compared to other operating systems. The software developed in the early nineties has been able to secure the computing devices despite the widespread realm of viruses that attacks many computers. Freedom- The power of an individual choosing what they want is a greater Linux benefit. Individuals using Linux are able to manage every aspect of the OS. One of the major features that an individual has control of includes the desktop look. Software- muchsoftwareexist when it comes to an individual conducting a specific task. By searching the text editor, an individual is able to find the results of some of the soft wares that exist. Software found in Linux comes packed with other features than those that come with other software such as windows. Hardware-it is the best type of software for the old computers. Flexibility – an individual does not need to handle cases of anti-piracy schemes when using this kind of software. 3.0.2 Disadvantages of Linux Compatibility-Because of the free nature, itis at times, behind especially when it comes to instances of new hardware compatibility. The OS is therefore not compatible to many programs thus limiting its usage. Understanding- knowing the operations of a Linux system is something that requires an individual to be patient. 4.0 Windows Windows is a graphical operating system that is sold by Microsoft, which is a multinational corporation.Microsoft introduced the software in 1985 to operate as a graphical operating systemshell (Morimoto, 2004).The developer of this software has come with many families of the windows targeting a specific sector within the industry. This includes the Windows NT, Windows Server, Windows Embedded, and Windows Phone. There includes the recent versions of windows produced 2014 that are able to operate in server computers, smartphones, embedded devices and personal computers. Figure 3. Windows logo 4.0.1 Advantages of windows Compatibility- almost all the applications are compatible to windows. In windows 7 for instance all the programs run in asuitable way. Speed-the booting time of the OS is faster as Microsoft spent much of their time making the start menu right. Lesser requirement of hardware- the Windows OS is capable of working on a lower end of the computer hardware. Search and organization-the developed search tool makes it easier to use windows especially 7. One does not also need all their files in one place due to the concept of the documents Desktop and interface- Windows contribute greatly to the changes on the interface of the OS. The interface changes aim at improving the experience of the users especially when using the tablets or any other touch screen device. The fresh user interface is based on the Microsoft’s metro design language (Wiseman & Jiang, 2010). Taskbar- the task bar or the menu has not changed for a long time but it had been improved. The task icons are now big compared to the way they used to be. The task icons are placed in a group together and one can easily access them. Security and safety- Windows now have boosted security measures since Microsoft came up with two authentication methods and the addition of antivirus to the system (Wiseman & Jiang, 2010). Available software-many software exists for use in collaboration with the windows operating system (Nissim, Moskovitch, Rokach&Elovici, 2014). 4.0.2 Disadvantages of windows Poor security- windows is not secure compared to other soft wares’. Basedon the manufacturer’s statement, their operating system is not made for security purposes. Virus susceptibility- most of the computer viruses target Microsoft windows according to the research conducted. Despicable license agreements- the agreements provided for an individual to install windows are very many and irritating and therefore many people do not read them. Poor support staff- most of the technical staff in Microsoft do not understand the security or high end enterprise matters making it difficult to assist clients at times. 5.0 Conclusion All the operating systems perform better based on the manner in which it is made.Linux for instance are Secure compared to other operating systems. It also has the Freedom of an individual choosing what they want. Linux is a good operating system although it is not compatible to many applications. Windows on the other hand is compatible to other applications but is insecure. References Morimoto, R. (2004). Microsoft Windows Server 2003 insider solutions.Indianapolis, Ind: Sams. Nissim, N., Moskovitch, R., Rokach, L., &Elovici, Y. (2014).Novel active learning methods for enhanced PC malware detection in windows OS. Expert Systems With Applications, 41(13), 5843-5857 (Nissim, Moskovitch, Rokach&Elovici, 2014) Wayner, P. (2000). Free for all: How Linux and the free software movement undercut the high-tech titans. New York: Harper Business. Wiseman, Y., & Jiang, S. (2010). Advanced operating systems and kernel applications: Techniques and technologies.Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference. Read More