Differences between OS systems

The differences between Operating systems (OS)

• What is an OS:

Well your OS (Operation system) is like the gas that goes into a car if you do not have gas the car does not work the same goes for the OS, it is what drives all the electrical components in your computer, without it all your computer would be is a pile of electrical components that might blink and make a noise when you turn it on.

There are different types of OS and they are mostly broken into to two groups: Client and Server.

In this page we will just hit on the most common as most readers that are using an none standard OS will know how it works because a lot of the non-standard operating systems and a lot more complex to set up and to use although they are making great head way into the ease of setup etc.

• Windows 95/98/ME

These are all un-secure OS’s meaning that if someone needs to use your computer or steals your computer all they have to do is turn it on and they have full access to all of your files.  Yes I can hear a bunch of people out there saying but I enter a username and password and if I mess anyone of them up it tells me so and does not let me in.  Well I am sorry but that is just a false sense of security next time you log on instead of entering a username and password just press CANCEL, once the machine is booted up the desktop might be different but all you would have to do is go onto the C: drive and all the files are there.

The big difference with the above Operating systems and the ones that will follow is SECURITY.  Windows 95/98/ME are all good ease of use operating systems and will do pretty much anything someone wants them to do.

So windows 95/98/ME are good for home, gamers and even small businesses (as long as you use it in conjunction with a Server running a different OS in the small business roll and I will go into that a little further down.)

• Windows 2000 Professional/XP Pro/Vista Business/Windows 7 Pro/Windows 8 and soon Windows 10

These operating systems are very close to the above Windows 95/98/ME.  They look and feel the same with a couple of minor changes but unlike those operating systems these have the security and flexibility that the above do not have.  Unlike the above you cannot press cancel and then you are in, you always have to enter a username and password and then if your username and password are on the list you will be allowed to enter the computer (sounds like a night club).  If you do not have the correct permissions on the box you will not have access.  These operating systems allow us to also restrict access to what someone else wants to give you.  This way it is easier for system administrators to stop people from installing and or deleting wrong programs etc. etc. etc.  These Operating systems interact a lot better with the Server Operating systems that I will be getting into.

• Windows Server 2000 to 2012 R2/Any Linux-Unix Flavors

These types of operating systems give you the best type of Security and flexibility.  With that said though it does not make any sense in someone using it as a home system, as it costs about a 100 times more (except the Linux flavors which are mostly free and that is one of the many reasons more and more people are switching) and you need a better machine and you will not use 5% of its capabilities as server operation system.  A server operating system means that it has the capabilities to host files, web pages, data bases, printers etc. etc. etc.  In the OS it has he capabilities to run all of the above and to keep it secure (I will not get into the discussion on which is better at what etc.) and stable for example you can have up to 250 domains using one ip address (it is possible to have more but my experience is try not to go over more than 250 – 300 as it saves a lot of trouble).  That is just one of the examples of what the difference is between a Server operating system and a client operating system are.

So when you hear your tech guy saying that he was working on the server or I need you to save your files on the server, you will now know that the server he is talking about it a computer that is running a different OS than you are and all its job is to hold files etc.

And if you hear someone talking about client OS you know that 85% of the time they are talking about Windows95/98/ME/Vista Bus/Windows 7 Pro/Windows 8.