How to Upgrade Your Computer Operating System

There may be good reasons to upgrade your computer operating system (OS), especially if you are still using outdated system on your PC. You could decide to upgrade your operating system to a newer version or even completely to a different one or just to have a completely new version of a particular one.




Each time the world's most recognized computer companies comes up with a new version of operating system, so many people always wonder if they should change their present OS. Whatever decision you take is completely up to you. But you should never forget that to UPGRADE your now older version is going to cost you extra money, especially when the new version is still new in the market.




You should never forget that Older computer operating system can't just handle the new OS, mainly due to size and compatibility requirements. So you do need to think of this first. Let's say you've got a PC with only 512 megabytes of memory, you certainly won't be able to upgrade Windows 98 to a newer version with much success.




It is easy to Upgrade your computer operating system than most people think. But the first thing you must have to do is to save all your existing data just in case your Upgrade fails to work. Lots of downloadable programs are available on the web today that can assist you in doing this. Norton Ghost and SOS Backup are just two of them.




To Upgrade your older version on your computer with the new Operating System after backing up all your original system files, simply insert the disc which normally comes with every new computer operating system. Your Upgrading will instantly begin. You may have to answer few simple questions that'll come up on your screen whenever they appear. Bear in mind that Upgrading your system do take a lot of time. So be ready to waste that time while waiting for the installation to complete and never turn off your computer while this is still in progress.




After installing the new software, just have some fun playing around with it. If it fails to satisfy your test or requirements, you can still remove the new OS. Just use the Backup Disc to reinstall your system to the older Operating System. Don't forget that any existing software you had on your computer must be reinstalled after upgrading your system.

Android Operating System

The Android system is driven by open source software, based on Linux, and allows for creativity and custom screens to be created en mass. Icon driven screens allow you to place your favorite icons anywhere you want them. Android was created to be the customizable, open source, iPhone killer. The system is quite similar in appearance to the iPhone but the internal operations are quite different.

Requirements for the Android system hardware are virtually nonexistent due to its open source base. There are Android phones ranging in price from $100 to $800+ based on the hardware they are made from. This is due to the system being extremely adaptable from beginning conception to fit all shapes and sizes. If you want a better phone you have to pay for it. If cost is a larger factor you may have a smartphone for in many cases no cost. The ease of availability has pushed Android to the forefront and has allowed it to directly challenge the iPhone for smartphone supremacy throughout the world.

The system is capable of multi core processing, 32 gigabyte removable storage, 1080 screen resolution, full multi tasking, mobile Flash, Chrome browser, multi touch screens, GPS, accelerometers, gyroscopes, barometers, magnetometers, thermometers, and you get the point. If it can be done on a phone it will be done on Android. The Android system is highly prized by techs due its extreme functionality. Android has many branding contracts. As an example most will refer to all Androids as Droids however the Droid is actually a brand of Motorola Android phone. Android has a very fast growing app store with over 500,000 apps and growing rapidly.

On the down side open source and a fast growing app store can lead to malware and security problems as well as system fragmentation issues. During 2011 there was an "unprecedented growth" of mobile malware attacks, with Android up a "stratospheric 3,325 percent", according to a report by the Juniper Networks Mobile Threat Center. For the full article: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hardware/report-android-malware-up-3325-in-2011/18449. One may reasonably protect themselves by installing malware protection on your phone and taking care not to download new apps unless you know the app publisher's name such as Rovio (Angry Birds), Pop Cap (Plants Vs Zombies), and Google (Android) and wait until there are a few legitimate positive reviews about the app. Android should be protected with the same care as you would your PC. The system fragmentation issue is caused by so many hardware configurations being capable of running Android but so many apps being created for low to high end specifications. As a general rule Android developers try for a rough 80% compatibility rate. http://techcrunch.com/2012/06/02/android-qa-testing-quality-assurance/

The Android system has the backing of the Open Handset Alliance and predominantly Google. A large part in the pricing of Android Systems and apps is based on advertisement subsidies. No one advertises better than Google and it shows in the lowering of prices. Android is the only mobile phone operating system that includes Adobe Flash in the browser enabling more internet than any other cell phone. Adobe has however stopped its mobile Flash program due to complications to concentrate on HTML5.

There are 7 versions of the Android system. Currently Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, and Ice Cream Sandwich are the most popular versions. Ice Cream Sandwich is the latest version and Jellybean will be the next. These all differ in functionality and security. Always check to make sure which version you have and if you can update as the next generation may solve any user problems you may have with your current version.

As with any system there are checks and balances. With the open source programming there can be security holes however there is an app for what you want to do and customization to let you do it easily or create the app yourself. Android is very versatile and a great choice if not the best choice for those who don't mind putting a little thought into the use and functionality of their phone.

Operating System - Scheduling and Its Categories

Scheduler is the most critical system of an Operating System. In order to optimize the utilization of processors, several scheduling algorithms are used. When the system has various processes to execute, it must have a capability to make decisions about which process to run at the given time slot. This strategy should keep in view the concepts of maximizing throughput, minimizing latency and also avoiding the process starvation etc. Many scheduling algorithms are widely used nowadays.

Scheduling is the core concept in OS design. In multiprogramming, the processes that are loaded in the main memory strive for the resources i.e. processor time. During the execution of one process, other processes wait for any event to occur or for an I/O operation to be performed. Scheduling regulates the execution of these processes i.e. which process will run and which process will wait. The objectives that must be fulfilled by the scheduling algorithm include effective utilization of the processor time, throughput and turnaround, response time and fairness. OS can be categorically divided into three different types of scheduling i.e. long term scheduling, short term scheduling and medium term scheduling.

Latest multi user systems can run a hundreds of applications concurrently, yet these systems provide some isolation between users. However, absence of isolation may lead some users towards poor performance or intentional or unintentional DoS (Denial of Service). In recent computational clusters, these problems are easily prevented by using the concept of jobs and job schedulers. This postpones the job until resources are available and schedule it after the availability of all the possible resources.

Categories:

An operating system may be the best known software that we run on our personal computers, it's what takes proper care of virtually everything on the computer, while nearly all computer systems we have seen are actually one 'type' of operating-system carrying out exactly the same functions. OS could be branched into a number of different types too. Inside the broad group, you will find many types of OS which are mainly categorized based on the kinds of computer systems they control and also the kind of programs they support.

Depending upon the nature of domain, OS can be divided into some of the following types.

1. Real Time OS:

A Real Time Operating System (Usually known as RTOS) is specifically designed for serving the real time application requests. The major characteristic of a real time OS is its consistency level that it takes to accept and finish any task of the associated applications.

2. Embedded OS:

The Embedded systems are resource limited systems and commonly response time is an extremely significant requirement. As the most important parts of real-time embedded OS, scheduling algorithms are presented to improve the real-time of the embedded systems. The most existing real-time scheduling algorithms are based on the processes with little consideration about the resources in the systems.

3. Network OS:

The network operating system (NOS) is the software that is installed on a server and allows the server to manage data, groups, users, applications, security, and many other networking tasks. The network OS is designed to allow shared file and printer access among multiple computers in a network, typically a local area network (LAN), private network or to other networks.

4. Mobile OS:

A mobile operating system (mobile OS) is designed to control a smartphone, tablet, PDA, or other mobile device. Modern mobile OS combine the features of a personal computer OS with touch screen, cellular, Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS mobile navigation, camera, video camera speech recognition, voice recorder, music player, Near field communication and personal digital assistant (PDA), and many other features.

In 2006, Windows Phone, Android, Bada and iOS were not yet developed and just 64 million smartphones were then sold. Today, nearly 10 times as many smartphones are already sold and the best mobile OS has been promoted as "smartphones" by the market share which includes BlackBerry, Android, Symbian, Apple, iOS, Meego, Bada, and Windows Phone.

5. Distributed OS:

A distributed operating system is the logical aggregation of OS software over a collection of independent networked, connected, communicating, and physically distinct computational nodes. The management components collection and micro-kernel operates together. They provide a support for the system's aim of integrating numerous resources and processing functionality into an effective and established system.

In this article, a review study of different operating system was performed. The ease of techniques that are used supports the statement that the scheduling algorithms provide user friendly, highly flexible and most optimal solution to any ordinary problem related to job sequencing. This work can be extended by considering, reviewing and evaluating the dynamic scheduling algorithms and job sequencing problems in the particular domain.

What's the Next Operating System After Windows 7?

Windows 7 is barely out and people are reporting great results with the operating systemall But what comes next? Will Windows 7 be the last operating system from Microsoft for a few years or will consumers and businesses a next generation operating system to meet the needs and wants of both industry and consumer? The answer to that question will be up in the air for a while but meantime there are many things I would like to see added to Windows 8 when the operating system comes out.

I liked all the eye-candy that was included with Microsoft Vista but the 32- bit version was so unstable that I could not keep it up and running for more than three months without having to reinstall the operating system. After I upgraded to the 64-bit version all those instabilities went away but I still had to add quite a few visual styling programs to create the look and feel I wanted in an OS that was perfect for me.

The major thing I would like to see in the next operating system after Microsoft Windows 7 would be enhanced graphics and customization capabilities. I'd like to see Active Desktop brought back and made secure. I have missed Active Desktop since it was discontinued with 64-bit XP and Vista's widget sidebar which they claim made up for the loss of Active Desktop is no comparison. I used Active Desktop to place animated graphics on my desktop as links to my favorite webpages and would have used it to add animated icons if the ability had been there.

Another thing I would like to see in the next operating system beyond Windows 7 is program launching from your browser & program launching from locally created webpages. I have been trying for years to create my own locally stored webpages and use them as a program launcher & I am not alone in this desire either. Microsoft claims they removed this feature for security reasons, but I would much rather be able to use my computer like I want to than not have the ability. A feature should be added that will easily allow someone to turn on this ability if they so choose for a single or series of webpages that are locally based. There are many other options I can use to launch my programs but I would like to centralize my computer usage around my browser and do everything with it including program launching.

The third thing I would like to see in Windows Eight is native animated icon support. The computers of today have both the processing power and memory capabilities to serve such a feature but it is not offered in any version of Windows and the 3rd parties solutions when available are buggy and do not work well. Native high-res animated icon support is clearly the way to go and would go a long way to soothing my eye-candy addiction. Animated effects on the taskbar, windows, browsers, and program search bars would be welcome additions as well.

The forth thing I would like to see added to Windows 8 is another eye-candy option. I would like the native ability to change the background of individual folder windows just like I can choose an individual icon with the option to include animated backgrounds if I so choose.

The fifth thing I would love to see added into Windows 8 is a free personal edition of Microsoft Office including Outlook, OneNote and Word with the option to upgrade to other features as needed. The advertising supported version of Microsoft Office 10 in Windows 7 is pointless because non-targeted advertising is not worth the money spent creating it and the basic office features I listed above are all a family needs to organize their lives. I would be willing to pay an extra $50 for Windows Eight if it included a non-advertising supported version of the latest Microsoft Office software listed above.

As you can see there are a lot of improvements that can be made to the Windows operating system and I hope that the next operating system after Windows 7 has all of these features and much more. Microsoft, this is an invitation to impress and surprise me!