What are the fundamental differences between Windows®, Mac OS®, UNIX, and Linux operating systems for personal

Question

computers? What unique characteristics do mainframe operating systems have?

Answer 1

You can group these into 2 categories:



Windows: Windows



*Nix: Mac OS (X), Unix, Linux



Windows is, of course, the Microsoft operating system and over the years has picked up some unix conventions (you need to look under the hood a little and know where to look to find them).



*Nix, well, it has a rich history, which is mapped out at this link: http://www.levenez.com/unix/history.html#01



Note: Mac OS X falls in the *nix category because it runs on a variant of BSD. Linux was an attempt to create "minix type operating system". And Unix is of course unix.



I would have to say one unique characteristics of mainframes is their stability. But you can read all about them at this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mainframe_computer.



The Data Analyst - http://www.squidoo.com/thedataanalyst

Answer 2

Windows: Got its start with IBM Personal Computer in the 1980s and that alone caused businesses to focus on it. I can't see anything about Windows that indicates it is targeted at businesses. It just so happens that many small to medium sized businesses like the Microsoft Office software which makes them think Microsoft for the operating system as well. There are two main advantages to Windows: 1. Most companies only train their technical staff in troubleshooting Windows. 2. Almost all games have Windows compatibility even though an increasing number have Mac and Linux compatibility. Mac OS: Based on Berkeley (University of Cal at Berkeley) Software Division version of UNIX and centered on the kernel developed at Carnegie Mellon University. It is the fastest growing operating system (6.7% market share as of September 2007). From the introduction of the mouse and windows (lower case w) to the latest version, the Mac has set the pace for all other home computer systems. Advantages are ease of use, fully integrated hardware configurations thus avoiding conflicts and pre-installed applications that 'just work', no-brainer printer and peripheral hardware setup, second-largest software selection, tremendous power and high security. Linux: Based very roughly on UNIX, it has a small and diminishing following (less than 1 percent market share) and the fewest ready-to-run software titles. The technically-challenged public has little interest in the complexity of partitioning and software tweaking that is often necessary to make it work and keep the computer up and running. Advantage: Lower initial cost and image of the underdog. Mainframe systems: The computer hardware tends to be rigidly configured since they are intended to produce some specific results. Most modern systems are based on UNIX, particularly in government and military because of the tremendous power, versatility and security. The IBM mainframes can use a variety of operating systems, even Linux, but the most popular is z-OS which is UNIX with a multitude of advanced logging systems, security enhancements and Network File System improvements.

Answer 3

It would take a month to write this up. Buy the book.