An operating system is a software that manages computer hardware and software resources and provides common service for computer programs. It supports a computer’s basic functions such as scheduling tasks, executing applications and controlling peripherals. All computer programs, excluding firmware, needs and operating system to function. In our present time, many operating systems has been released but on top of all of these are the MAC, Windows and Linux. MAC OS or also known as OS-X is an operating system made and developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh Line of computer systems. It is designed to run only an Apple computer. The fact that Apple Inc. developed it signifies that this operating system is really something and the question for reliability and security of its technology is unacceptable. On the other hand, it only runs for Apple Computers and we all know that these computers cost much. Financial wise, it is not a suggestible operating system but performance wise, it really is not a question why is it one of the major operating systems available. Windows Operating System is an operating system that was developed by Microsoft to overcome the limitation of its own MS-DOS Operating system. This operating system is a user friendly and it is very easy to use. It does not require a specific type of computer system to run; hence, it is the most popular OS in the world. It has allows a lot of integration for software and hardware, giving users a space for customization depending on his or her needs and taste. Also because of this flexibility, you can adjust your computer depending on your financial budget and accessibility to hardware devices. Also because of this flexibility, a lot of software cracks that are illegal are over the internet which is technically illegal but it can’t be controlled by any government department because of the very wide scope of the case. Lastly, Linux is a Unix-like, Kernel-based, fully memory-protected operating system that was originally built by Linus Torvalds at the University of Helsinki in 1991. Linux is a free OS therefore anyone download and use it without buying a product key for activation and legalization. It is also an open source, so any programmer can modify it due to his/her needs. In general, for security, MAC-OS allows no virus because only Apple Software can only be installed; in Windows OS, various of antivirus can be purchased that would cost you money and in Linux OS, because it is an open source much lesser virus can penetrate to the OS. Financially speaking, MAC-OS would cost you a lot of money, Windows-OS would only cost you depending on budget, and Linux is am open source therefore it is free.
If I were to suggest an operating system that would suit the EE-course and students, I would suggest a Windows OS because first, MAC-OS is very expensive and would be impractical to invest for such operating system. Linux on the other hand is a free Operating but the drawback is that it requires a lot of programming knowledge for you to be comfortable and for you to utilize its capability at maximum level.
Information Technology 101 