[The Course]
An operating system is a kind of software, which deals with computer’s hardware and software resources management as well providing computer programs with low-level services, which are essential to ensure their proper functionality. This means that operating system plays a role of mediator between programs installed on the computer and the computer hardware (Dohtre 1). Operating systems can be installed on a wide range of devices containing computer functions such as desktop computers, laptops, smartphones, tablets, different types of servers etc.
At the present moment the most popular desktop operating systems are Windows,OS X and various Linux distributions. The key specifications of their latest versions will be covered in this paper.
The most popular desktop operating system as of April 2016 is Microsoft Windows with a market share of about 84% (“StatCounter Global Stats: Top 7 Desktop OSs on Apr 2016”). The latest version is Windows 10 and the most commonly used version as of April 2016 is Windows 7.
The latest case when Microsoft made significant changes in the Windows usage concept, was introduction of Windows 8 in 2012. The most part of updates was focused at that moment on optimizing Windows usage for the devices with touchscreens due to the fact that by that moment the growth of the mobile devices sales had been the fastest among other segments.
The main and the most controversial feature introduced in Windows 8 was a completely redesigned user interface, which was based on so called Metro principles. In practice this meant that new kind of Metro-oriented applications appeared, which were well-optimized for touchscreens. Alongside with that, a new form of Start menu was introduced. In many aspects it was inspired by the Windows Phone home screen. Unlike earlier Windows versions, Start menu became full-screen and consisted of application tiles, which formed a grid. The tiles themselves could be flexibly adjusted (e.g., could become larger or smaller). Group of tiles could be organized.
All these changes caused a lot of complaints from users, who had been used to classic Windows 7 interface with Start menu being approximately the same since Windows 95 introduction. Though the classic desktop was still available in new Windows, inability to load it directly after computer boot using standard Windows settings also became a big problem for users. They had to learn the new OS usage model almost from scratch. Alongside with this, if a user’s device didn’t have touchscreen capability, it was really difficult to navigate in new interface (Bright).
This led to emerging of third-party solutions like free and open-source Classic Shell package, which allowed users to get all classic Windows features back without downgrade (Zukerman).
Microsoft developers realized that Windows 8 became a big technical mistake and had to perform some actions in order to change the situation for better. The first step was getting the Start button back in Windows 8.1 update, though it still didn’t allow to use the classic menu. The next step was introduction of Windows 10 in 2015, which was preceded by the long-term Windows Insider program, which allowed end-users to taking part in testing of new operating systems and express their opinions on what has to be improved (Newman).
As a result, Windows 10 became a much better balanced product. The Start menu was brought back. Now it is a reasonable compromise between classic user experiences relating to Windows 7 and ability to include Metro application tiles directly into Start menu. Users now have a choice whether to use a new hybrid Windows 10 interface or switch to so called “Tablet mode”, which is similar to Windows 8 interface and comfortable to use on touchscreen devices (Grabham).
A lot of observers say that Windows 10 is the ecosystem which provides users with a good balance between desktop and mobile functionality – the ecosystem which should have been introduced earlier in Windows 8 in order not to cause huge shift in users’ OS experience comparing to previous versions of Windows (Murray).
The second position among the most popular operating systems with a market share of about 9% is taken by Apple’s OS X (“StatCounter Global Stats: Top 7 Desktop OSs on Apr 2016”). The newest available version of Apple’s operating system is OS X 10.11.2 El Capitan, which was introduced in 2015, several months later than Windows 10.
The first OS X was released in 2001. Among the most notable features one could name Aqua user interface with water-like elements inspired by general design concept of Apple products. However, it was criticized for its low performance and high level of the hardware resources consumption.
However, Apple was constantly working on fixing known issues of its OS. Unlike Microsoft, Apple was introducing new OS X versions every second year. In most cases it offered new functionality faster than its competitors. For instance, OS X 10.4 Tiger released in 2005 provided users with the features of high-speed file search and optimized usage of graphic processor – the functionality, which appeared in Windows Vista much later (Kizer).
The very important stage of OS X development was Apple iPhone introduction in 2007. iPhone’s operating system, iOS, was based on OS X. Using the same framework in development of both desktop and mobile iOS allowed Apple corporation to ensure greater compatibility and stability of interconnection between desktop and mobile ecosystems. Later on a lot of new features like flat OS design first appeared in iOS and only after that were added to OS X (“iOS: A visual history”).
Unlike its predecessors, updates in the latest OS X version (10.11.2 El Capitan) are mainly focused on improving system performance and stability rather than implementing new features. In El Capitan update Apple implemented its Metal Framework, which will allow to make graphics processing 40% more efficient comparing to previous version of OS X. In case of 3D graphics in games increase in performance can be even greater.
As for general performance issues like too big delays, spinning cursors etc., about which Apple received complaints before, the company declared, that programs would launch up to 40% faster, apps switching would become twice as fast as it was before and PDF preview would become 4 times more efficient (Fleishman).
Finally, a number of Linux distributions takes the third place by popularity. As of April 2016 their market share is almost 2% (“StatCounter Global Stats: Top 7 Desktop OSs on Apr 2016”). According to Tecmint, the most popular Linux distributions as of 2015 are Linux Mint and Ubuntu (Cánepa).
Linux Mint is a distribution based on Debian and Ubuntu. Its developers are positioning their product as modern, powerful and at the same time easy-to-use operating system (“About us”). Unlike many other Linux distributions, Linux Mint provides the users with the bundled multimedia capabilities, which is mostly based on open-source software as well as some proprietary parts (Khamlichi). Linux Mint allows to run Windows applications using Wine tools or via virtualization software like VirtualBox. Linux Mint allows users to choose from a number of desktop environments including default Cinnamon desktop (developed specially for Linux Mint), KDE, MATE and others. Another advantage of the distribution is that it contains numerous applications developed exactly for Linux Mint, which increases stability and security of the system (“The Linux Mint GitHub Repository”).
Just Like Linux Mint, Ubuntu is also based on Debian architecture. Developers claim that its operating system as a free social software available to everyone on the same conditions (“The Ubuntu Story”). A default installation option of Ubuntu provides users with a number of essential applications like Firefox browser, Thunderbird email client, LibreOffice package. Available desktop environments are Unity (developed exclusively for Ubuntu) and GNOME (“Unity”).
Today the desktop computers users have a wide range of operating systems to choose from depending on their demands and ability to pay for operating systems. The most suitable option for most part of users is Microsoft Windows as it is the easiest-to-use system with a long development history, which doesn’t require purchasing special hardware to work on like in case of Apple. However, Windows can be quite expensive to buy for some categories of customers. Unlike Windows, Apple’s OS X is more stable and secure system due to the fact that Apple is at the same time manufacturing both hardware and software components for its computers. The main Linux advantage is certainly its zero price and open-source principle of the operating systems themselves and the software bundled in them. It provides users with almost the same capabilities as Windows and OS X, but free for charge. And in case some software doesn’t exist for Linux, users can easily utilize emulators like Wine in order to run applications designed for other operating systems.
Works Cited
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Dohtre, Iresh. A. Operating Systems. Pune: Technical Publications Pune, 2009. Print.
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Murray, Mathew. “Windows 10 is What Windows 8 Should Have Been – 3 Years Too Late.” PC Magazine Digital Edition. PC Magazine, Aug. 2015. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.
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“StatCounter Global Stats: Top 7 Desktop OSs on Apr 2016.” StatCounter. StatCounter, Apr. 2016. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.
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Zukerman, Erez. “Review: Classic Shell brings the Start menu to Windows 8 for free.” PCWorld. PCWorld, 31 Jan. 2013. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.
