The definition of an Operating System is “the software that controls the operation of a computer, directs the input and output of data, keeps track of files, and controls the processing of computer programs (Britannica, 2008)”. Each new computer brought home from the store already has an operating system installed and ready to use, but it wasn’t always this way.

When Personal Home Computers (PC’s) were first introduced in the early 1980’s, they didn’t have an operating system; most didn’t even have a hard drive! These early PC’s needed a floppy disk with stored drivers’ n order to get the operating system started. You then had to remove the operating system driver and insert a new floppy that contained the program you needed to work with. This second floppy would not only contain the individual program (word processor, spreadsheet, etc) but all the drivers needed to communicate with the PC as well. This time consuming and frustrating process of switching from floppy to floppy gave birth to the integrated operating system.

An operating system performs many functions; it keeps track of where things are stored on the hard drive, manages each components activity, and allows users to interact with the system by either typing commands on a keyboard or by using a Graphical User Interface (GUI, commonly pronounced gooey).
continue reading "Computer Operating Systems - Understanding How They Work"

The now 6 years old Windows XP almost gets to its end. In 2008 Microsoft stops selling individual XP-licenses of it. After that the support will be reduced and at the end there will be no more updates available.

What kinds of consequences does this have for you, for how long can still you work with XP and what kinds of Windows development can you expect?

Microsoft will still bring out security updates for Windows XP Home and Windows XP Professional for about 7 years from now on.

The next Service Pack (SP3) is announced for the first half of 2008. After that there will be maybe 1 or 2 more, but that’s it.

The normal life cycle of Windows is 10 years. 5 years mainstream support and 5 years extended support. The in 2001 launched XP will be provided with updates until 2014. That’s 14 years. This prolongation is thanks to SP2.
continue reading "Make XP Like Vista?"

The short answer is yes. Those who use Windows Vista for their work, games, and research or for using the Internet expect their system to be very fast to do their task. This can be achieved only if the performance of the system is high. In order for the system to work smoothly without any problem and to achieve the best performance the following have to be taken into consideration namely - speed, windows operating system, file clean ups, security, registry and anti-virus software. Of all these the Windows Registry is very important as it is the storehouse of information of all the files maintained in the system.

The Microsoft Windows Vista Registry may be complicated but cleaning it is not so. The Windows registry repair software helps to get rid of all the unwanted materials that hang around in the windows registry. It is enough if the system is just six months old. It would accumulate a whole lot of junk. You will be surprised as to from where on earth all these unwanted files arise. These files are the left over when certain installations and un-installations are done.

One of the main reasons could be upgrading the windows from Windows XP to Windows Vista. There would have been obsolete software that was deleted while upgrading to Windows Vista. Upgrading and un-installing the earlier version, leaves behind unwanted entries in the registry. This is because the same registry is used that existed in Windows XP that has now been upgraded to Windows Vista. Since it is the same registry, it holds all the junk left behind by windows XP while un-installation. Therefore, you might face the same problem that existed in Windows XP of system slow down and decrease in performance.
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What is an Operating System? A good answer would be “A set of programs that provide a GUI to interact with various devices in a computer”. This definition would hold good until a few years back, when an operating system is just a few icons and menus that you see when you switch on your computer. Operating systems provided file and device management using a Basic GUI.

But with the development of computers, operating systems also evolved a lot. From simple file and device management solution, modern day operating systems should be stable and secure the data stored on a computer. The data stored on a computer can be anything from music, movies and photos to data that you have generated and stored in different files. It takes only a small virus, a power surge or a device failure to destroy data.
continue reading "An Article on Windows Vista"

Every new computer that’s brought home from the store has an operating system installed onto it. But what most new computer users don’t realize, is that without an operating system, that computer would be a simple shell of possibilities. A powered computer lacking an operating system wouldn’t display anything more than a bunch of confusing text messages that describe the computer’s boot process. At the very end of this process, the computer looks for an operating system and if not found, it will prompt the user to tell it where it is.
continue reading "Understanding Operating Systems"

A year after the Windows VISTA (Longhorn) Operating System release, Microsoft’s redundancy remains infamous. The VISTA Registry and operating system does nothing to harm their legacy of improving nothing… “notta”. It appears that once again Microsoft has made changes for the sole purpose of making changes.

If there is any rational reasoning for VISTA, it appears to only be for the purpose of enhancing the company’s bottom line and try to keep the stock holders at bay. It is rife with issues that plagued Windows 2000, was not corrected in Windows XP and remains in VISTA. Microsoft’s strategy certainly has the propensity to backfire this time.
continue reading "No. 1 Tech Disappointment of 2007"