I'm not a computer scientist, but as a drinker who spends a great deal of time messing around with computers, I think it's safe to say I know a thing or two about operating systems. If you're anything like me, someone who derives a certain amount of gratification from solving tedious little puzzles, then I don't expect you'll get much from this article.
Imagine, if you will, a sea full of zeroes and ones... just kidding. I'll spare you my attempt to wax philosophical for now, but try to imagine your computer/tablet/phone/laptop without an operating system. It just sits there, waiting for an instruction. Its BIOS is probably performing hundreds of unseen checksum routines every few milliseconds to determine what states have changed since its last check:
"Am I 8K?"; "Is the CPU still OK?"; "Anything new plugged in?"; "If everything checks-out, I should start checking again from the top of the checklist! If not, I'd better mark it down!"
LINUX
How much does Linux cost?
Time.
If my computer is running Linux, can I still do Facebook?
Yes. So long as you don't mind watching the embedded video content your friends share without the sound... at least until after your resident computer genius has spent a few hours poking around under the hood.
WINDOWS
How much does Windows cost?
About $100.
If my computer is running Windows, can I still do Facebook?
Yes.
SOLARIS
I'll have to get back to you on this one.
OS X
Call your Linux friend if you need serious help with it.
Imagine, if you will, a sea full of zeroes and ones... just kidding. I'll spare you my attempt to wax philosophical for now, but try to imagine your computer/tablet/phone/laptop without an operating system. It just sits there, waiting for an instruction. Its BIOS is probably performing hundreds of unseen checksum routines every few milliseconds to determine what states have changed since its last check:
"Am I 8K?"; "Is the CPU still OK?"; "Anything new plugged in?"; "If everything checks-out, I should start checking again from the top of the checklist! If not, I'd better mark it down!"
LINUX
How much does Linux cost?
Time.
If my computer is running Linux, can I still do Facebook?
Yes. So long as you don't mind watching the embedded video content your friends share without the sound... at least until after your resident computer genius has spent a few hours poking around under the hood.
 |
| On my Linux Box, Audacity recognized/employed my Roland device. The rest of the desktop shit didn't. |
WINDOWS
How much does Windows cost?
About $100.
If my computer is running Windows, can I still do Facebook?
Yes.
SOLARIS
I'll have to get back to you on this one.
OS X
Call your Linux friend if you need serious help with it.
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