Unit 2 P2 & M1

Unit 2

P2: Computer System

The operating system offers many function and services to manage the hardware and software of a computer system. It offers a stable way for the application to deal with the hardware. This makes it easier for the user to interact with the software that is available on the computer. Without the OS on a computer system the users will not be able to run a software program on their computer, which is why the OS is the most important software on a computer system. The OS also makes it easier for users to connect different input and output hardware to the computer. Every operating has device drivers which is a group of files that allow more than one hardware device to connect to the computers operating system. Without device drivers hardware devices will not work as they are not connected to the computers operating system. For example without devices drivers for a computer printer, the printer will not work as it cannot communicate with the operating system.

Firewall is an operating systems security as it prevents other computers that are connects to the same network, to gain access or steal data off of your computer. It only allows authorised programs to access data. You as the user can allow what to receive and what to send out. For example if software data is required on all the computers on the network, you can choose to update or postpone it. The user can also protect their folders by adding a password or providing controlled access, which can limit file access for other users on the computer system. By adding passwords to folders it prevents other users to access it and by providing controlled access it can stop other users from reading, writing, deleting, and renaming or copying documents from the folder. File Management is used by operating system to organise and keep track of files on the computer system. It uses directories to organise files into a tree structure.  

The most popular operating system are:

• Microsoft Windows: Windows is created by a company called Microsoft which released its first OS in 1985 which lacked a huge amount of functionality.  The current Windows OD uses a graphical user interface which allows the user to interact with the computer by using the images/icons. This makes it easier for the user to use the computer as they do not need to type in commands to run.
• Mac OS X: Mac OS X is created by Apple which released their first OS in 1984. The Mac OS created to only run on Mac computers, since 2002 all Mac computers have the OS already installed to it. The Mac OS previously ran on PowerPC-based Macs but since 2006 they have ran on Intel. Same as Windows, Mac OS uses a graphical user interface making it easier for the user to use the computer.
• Linux: Same as Mac OS X, Linux also uses a Unix-based system,  however Linux is a completely open source which allows the user to modify their OS and even create their own from a basic templates from Linux. 

M1: Comparing Windows and Linux

	Microsoft Windows	Linux
Cost	Windows could cost from £70 plus depending on what type of windows the users wants.	Linux is completely free of charge.
Software	Windows has a much more available software programs, utilities and games than Linux. Windows have more because of they have more users than Linux.	Linux has many available software programs, utilities and games.
Software Cost	Windows does have software programs, utilities and games for free however many of the software could cost you from £20 to £200+.	Software programs available on Linux are mainly freeware or open source. However some programs such as Gimp, OpenOffice etc. are sometime available for free or at low cost.
Hardware	Windows have more support for hardware devices, they are almost compatible with every manufactures. Windows are more compatible because they have a larger amount of users.	Linux will still not be support by many hardware devices, however the hardware devices that have driver support they will could work in all versions of Linux.
Security	Microsoft Windows may have made a lot of improvements to the security of their operating system, but they are still very vulnerable to be attacked by viruses.	Linux is much more secure operating system as they hardly get attacked by viruses.
GUI	Windows is a GUI operating system and is very similar to Mac OS, as it uses icons and text to navigate.	Linux is a GUI operating system. As it uses icons and text to navigate around the operating system.
File Management	Windows replaced NTFS and now use Fat32 as it is faster and reliable.	Linux uses ext4 file system type which is slightly faster than Windows NTFS file system type.
User Support	Once the users have purchased the operating system, they can get support by calling up the company for help or visit their website.	Linux users can only get support through the internet, as they have not purchased the operating system so they will have to ask other Linux users for help. E.g. through forums etc.
File System Support	Microsoft support files such as Ext2, Ext3, Ext4, Jfs, ReiserFS, Xfs, Btrfs, FAT, FAT32 and NTFS.	Linux only supports files such as FAT, FAT32, NTFS and eXFAT
Reliability	Microsoft has made many improvements in reliability for the Windows operating system however the reliability is not as good as Linux as they still have many issues.	Many of the Linux operating system versions are very reliable as they can run for months without needing to reboot.
Gaming	Nearly every game is compatible with Windows.	Some games are available on Linux, however some games can only be played through Wine.
'the ability for the user and technicians to customize the system settings and appearance	Microsoft Windows is very user friendly as it is very simple to use. Windows also allows the technicians to customise the operating system to the user needs.	Linux on the other hand is not as user friendly as Windows, as there is not many customisation options for the technician to customise the operating system to suit the user.

"note you may be asked to expand on some of the points, so try to add more to the assignment. Also remember not to copy word for word, as their are now software to check for plagiarism, when marking the assignment, try to complete the assignment your own way." [I am not encouraging you to copy this piece is here for educational purposes]