Related Entries
The following all have something to do with your query:
Linux
Believe it or not, one of the fastest, most
robust, and powerful
multitasking
OSes
is available for free. Linux can be
downloaded for free or be
purchased on CD-ROM for a small service charge. A handful of companies
distribute Linux including Red Hat, Debian, Caldera, and
many others. Linux is also possibly available for more
hardware combinations than any other
OS (with the possible exception of
NetBSD. Supported
processors include:
Alpha,
PowerPC,
SPARC,
x86, and
68xx. Most processors currently not
supported are currently works-in-progress or even
available in beta. For example, work
is currently underway to provide support for
PA-RISC,
65xx,
StrongARM, and
Z80. People have even successfully
gotten Linux working on PDAs. As
you may have guessed, Linux can be made quite
lightweight. Linux is a
variant of UNIX and as such, most
of the traditional UNIX software
will run on Linux. This especially
includes the GNU software, most
of which comes with the majority of Linux distributions. Fast, reliable,
stable, and inexpensive, Linux is popular with
ISPs, software developers,
and home hobbyists alike.
FreeBSD
A free
variant of Berkeley's UNIX, FreeBSD is similar to Linux
in many respects and typical users would have trouble
spotting the differences. Its advocates would argue that
it has a better design than Linux, however; Linux
advocates would argue that it is not as well supported.
Regardless, FreeBSD currently only supports x86 and Alpha
platforms (although rumor is a SPARC
port is underway).
See also:
http://www.freebsd.org/
FreeBSD
A free variant of Berkeley UNIX
available for Alpha and
x86 based machines. It is not as
popular as Linux.
Parsec
Network
space combat for Mac OS (both X and classic), Windows '95
/ '98, and x86 Linux.
See also:
http://www.parsec.org/
Java Runtime Environment
The Java Runtime Environment (JRE) for MS-Windows,
Solaris, and Linux. It'll allow the running of Java
programs.
See also:
http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4/
JDK
The Java Developer's Kit features everything required to develop Java programs under Solaris, Linux, or various flavors of MS-Windows.
See also:
http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4/
RealPlayer
The
RealPlayer Basic will run on Windows 95 / 98, Windows
2000, Windows NT, Mac OS, Linux, Solaris, IRIX, and AIX.
See also:
http://www.real.com/player/
Linux
Possibly the
world's most popular free OS,
Linux is another UNIX work-alike designed to work along with the
GNU Project.
It supports many different hardware platforms,
including x86,
PowerPC,
SPARC,
Alpha,
68xx, and many
more. Also, in spite of the fact that Linux is a free
OS, numerous
commercial software packages are now available for it in
addition to the typical free packages.
See also:
http://www.linux.org/
proprietary
This simply means to be supplied by only one vendor. It
is commonly misused. Currently, most
processors
are non-proprietary, some systems are non-proprietary, and every
OS (except for arguably
Linux) is proprietary.
Amaya
Amaya runs
on Windows '95 / '98 / NT / 2K / XP / Vista, Solaris, Linux, Mac OS X, HP-UX, IRIX,
Digital UNIX, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, and more. It
offers the most advanced
HTML
support of all the browsers.
See also:
http://www.w3.org/Amaya/
PA-RISC
The PA-RISC is a RISC
processor
developed by Hewlett-Packard. It is currently produced only by HP.
At the moment only one OS runs on PA-RISC
based machines: HP-UX.
There is an effort underway
to port
Linux to them, though.
Net BSD
Another
free variant of Berkeley's UNIX, NetBSD supports a far
broader selection of hardware than FreeBSD. It supports
x86, PowerPC, SPARC,
Alpha, 6800, MIPS, and more. It is
similar enough to Linux and FreeBSD that typical users
would have trouble telling them apart.
See also:
http://www.netbsd.org/
Tucows Downloads
A
large collection of software for Mac OS, all flavors of
MS-Windows, OS/2, BeOS, Linux, Newton, Palm, EPOC, and
more. The downloader must be a little careful though as
not all software on Tucows is freeware; shareware,
crippleware, nagware, and commercial software demos also
live on this site.
See also:
http://www.tucows.com/
CNET Downloads
A
large collection of software for Mac OS, Windows '95/'98,
Linux, Palm, Windows CE, and EPOC. This site is much like
a less extensive version of
Tucows
-- the downloader must be a little careful as not all
software on the site is freeware; shareware, crippleware,
nagware, and commercial software demos also abound.
See also:
http://download.cnet.com/
OpenBSD
Yet
another free variant of Berkeley's UNIX, OpenBSD supports
more hardware platforms than FreeBSD but fewer than
NetBSD. It supports x86, PowerPC, SPARC, Alpha, 6800, and
more. It is similar enough to Linux, FreeBSD, and NetBSD
that typical users would find it hard to tell which is
which.
See also:
http://www.openbsd.org/
OpenOffice
OpenOffice (originally StarDivision's StarOffice but
acquired and modified by Sun Microsystems) is completely
free, offers 100% binary compatibility with MS-Office data
files, and works on far more machines than MS-Office does.
It currently runs on Windows '95 / '98, Windows NT / 2K, Windows XP, Windows Vista,
Solaris, Mac OS X, Linux,
JavaOS, OS/2, etc.
See also:
http://www.openoffice.org/,
http://www.neooffice.org/
Stuffit Expander
Stuffit Expander is a program that is
capable of undoing most of the encoding / packaging done
for downloading / e-mailing. It will work on most flavors
of MS-Windows, Mac OS (both X and classic), Linux, and
Solaris. It has the ability to
unzip,
unstuff,
ungzip,
unbzip,
uncompress,
uncompact,
unarc,
unlharc,
unrar,
uudecode,
untar, and
disentangle several other processed formats besides.
See also:
http://www.stuffit.com/expander/
POV-Ray
Want to try
your hand at some complex 3D
modeling or do you just want to make some simple
3D pictures? Either way, the
"Persistence of
Vision Raytracer" is
the tool to get the job done. It is available for Windows
'95 / '98, Windows NT / 2K / XP, Windows Vista, Mac OS,
MS-DOS, Linux, Solaris,
AmigaOS, and more.
See also:
http://www.povray.org/
Mozilla
Arguably the most feature-rich and standards-compliant of all
the browsers, Mozilla is essentially a more advanced version of
Netscape.
Mozilla will run on most OSes, including
Windows '95 /
'98,
Windows NT, Windows XP,
Windows 3.1, Mac OS
(both classic and X), Linux,
Solaris,
HP-UX,
IRIX, Digital UNIX,
FreeBSD,
NetBSD,
OpenBSD, OS/2, and more.
See also:
http://www.mozilla.org/,
http://www.mozilla.org/releases/,
http://www.mozilla.org/projects/seamonkey/,
http://www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/,
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/seamonkey/
SPARC
The SPARC is a RISC
processor
developed by Sun. The design was more or less released to the world,
and it is currently produced by around a dozen different companies
too numerous to even bother mentioning. It is worth
noting that even computers made by Sun typically sport
SPARCs made by other companies. A couple different
OSes run on SPARC based machines,
including Solaris,
SunOS, and
Linux. Some
of the newer SPARC models are called UltraSPARCs.
PowerPC
The PowerPC is a RISC
processor
developed in a collaborative effort between IBM, Apple, and
Motorola. It is currently produced by a few different companies, of
course including its original developers. A few different
OSes run on PowerPC based machines,
including Mac OS,
AIX,
Solaris,
Windows NT,
Linux,
Mac OS X,
BeOS, and
AmigaOS. At
any given time, the fastest processor in the world is
usually either a PowerPC or an
Alpha, but sometimes
SPARCs and
PA-RISCs
make the list, too.
Alpha
An Alpha is a RISC
processor
invented by Digital and currently produced by Digital/Compaq and
Samsung. A few different OSes
run on Alpha based machines including Digital UNIX,
Windows NT,
Linux,
NetBSD, and
AmigaOS. Historically, at
any given time, the fastest processor in the world has usually been
either an Alpha or a PowerPC
(with sometimes SPARCs and
PA-RISCs making the list),
but Compaq has recently announced that there will be no further
development of this superb processor instead banking on
the release of the somewhat suspect
Merced.
Netscape
One of the most popular browsers in use today,
Netscape is also one of the most feature-rich and offers
the most advanced
JavaScript support of
all the browsers. Be sure to also take a peek at
Mozilla to learn
about future Netscape directions and try out upcoming
betas. Netscape will run on most OSes, including
Windows '95 /
'98,
Windows NT,
Windows 3.1, Mac OS
(both classic and X), Linux,
Solaris,
HP-UX,
IRIX, Digital UNIX,
FreeBSD,
NetBSD,
OpenBSD, OS/2, and more. It can be used for both browsing the web and gopherspace.
See also:
http://www.netscape.com/computing/download/
ARM
An ARM is a RISC
processor
invented by Advanced RISC Machines, currently owned by Intel, and
currently produced by both the above and Digital/Compaq. ARMs are
different from most other processors in that they were
not designed to maximize speed but rather to maximize
speed per power consumed. Thus ARMs find most of their
use on hand-held machines and PDAs. A
few different OSes run on ARM based
machines including Newton OS,
JavaOS, and (soon)
Windows CE and
Linux. The StrongARM is a
more recent design of the original ARM, and it is both faster and more power
efficient than the original.
Merced
The Merced is a RISC
processor
developed by Intel with help from Hewlett-Packard and possibly Sun.
It is just starting to be released, but is intended to eventually
replace both the x86 and
PA-RISC processors. Curiously, HP is
recommending that everyone hold off using the first
release and instead wait for the second one. It is
expected some day to be roughly as fast as an
Alpha or
PowerPC. It
is expected to be supported by future versions of
Solaris,
Windows-NT,
HP-UX,
Mac OS X, and
Linux. The current
semi-available Merced processor is called the Itanium. Its overall schedule is
way behind, and some analysts predict that it never will
really be released in significant quanitities.
virus
A virus is a program that will
seek to duplicate itself in memory
and on disks, but in a subtle way
that will not immediately be noticed. A computer on the
same network as an infected
computer or that uses an infected disk (even a
floppy) or that
downloads and
runs an
infected program can itself become infected. A virus can
only spread to computers of the same
platform. For example, on a network
consisting of a WinTel box, a
Mac, and a
Linux
box, if one machine acquires a virus the other two will
probably still be safe. Note also that different
platforms have different general levels of resistance;
UNIX machines are almost immune,
Win '95 /
'98 /
ME /
XP is quite vulnerable,
and most others lie somewhere in between.
UNIX
UNIX is a family of OSes,
each being made by a different company or organization but all
offering a very similar look and feel. It can not quite
be considered non-proprietary,
however, as the differences between different vendor's
versions can be significant (it is still generally
possible to switch from one vendor's UNIX to another
without too much effort; today the differences between
different UNIXes are similar to the differences between
the different MS-Windows;
historically there were two different UNIX camps,
Berkeley / BSD and AT&T / System V, but the assorted
vendors have worked together to minimalize the
differences). The free variant Linux
is one of the closest things to a current,
non-proprietary OS; its development is controlled by a
non-profit organization and its distribution is provided
by several companies. UNIX is powerful; it is fully
multitasking and
can do pretty much anything that any OS can do (look to the
Hurd if you need a more powerful
OS). With power comes complexity, however, and UNIX tends not to be
overly friendly to beginners (although those who think
UNIX is difficult or cryptic apparently have not used
CP/M).
Window
managers are available for UNIX (running under
X-Windows) and once properly
configured common operations will be almost as simple on
a UNIX machine as on a Mac. Out of all
the OSes in current use, UNIX has the greatest range of
hardware support. It will run on
machines built around many different
processors.
Lightweight versions of
UNIX have been made to run on PDAs,
and in the other direction, full featured versions make full advantage of
all the resources on large, multi-processor machines.
Some different UNIX versions include
Solaris,
Linux,
IRIX,
AIX,
SunOS,
FreeBSD,
Digital UNIX, HP-UX,
NetBSD,
OpenBSD,
etc.
x86
The x86 series of processors
includes the Pentium, Pentium Pro, Pentium II, Pentium
III, Celeron, and Athlon as well as the 786, 686, 586,
486, 386, 286, 8086, 8088, etc. It is an exceptionally
popular design (by far the most popular
CISC series) in spite of the fact
that even its fastest model is significantly slower than the
assorted RISC processors. Many
different OSes run on machines built
around x86 processors, including
MS-DOS,
Windows
3.1, Windows '95,
Windows '98,
Windows ME,
Windows NT,
Windows 2000,
Windows CE,
Windows XP,
GEOS,
Linux,
Solaris,
OpenBSD,
NetBSD,
FreeBSD,
Mac OS X,
OS/2,
BeOS,
CP/M, etc. A couple
different companies produce x86 processors, but the bulk of them are produced
by Intel. It is expected that this processor will
eventually be completely replaced by the
Merced, but the Merced
development schedule is somewhat behind. Also, it should be noted that the
Pentium III processor has stirred some controversy by
including a "fingerprint" that will enable individual
computer usage of web pages etc. to be accurately tracked.
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