Apples and Windows and Linux, Oh My!

So it's hard to believe that it's already June 1st. Sorry for not posting sooner...

Moving along, I want to teach a little vocabulary lesson. I have three words that I want to define; Hardware, Software, and Operating System.

First we'll look at "Hardware". Wikipedia defines it as: "Hardware is a general term for the physical artifacts of a technology. It may also mean the physical components of a computer system, in the form of computer hardware." That's a good definition. Let me see if I can expound on it a bit for you. Hardware is the stuff you can touch physically, your computer case, motherboard, memory stick, disc drive, hard drive, and yes, your keyboard and mouse would be considered "hardware". When something goes wrong with hardware, it can usually be "seen", i.e. a button is missing, a transistor is fried, etc. Sometimes the easiest (and cheapest) way to fix a hardware issue is to simply replace it. And hardware has to be "upgraded", not simply "updated" as software can be.

Software, again according to Wikipedia means: "Computer software, or just software, is a general term primarily used for digitally stored data such as computer programs and other kinds of information read and written by computers." Again, I will add a little to this definition.
Software is the programs and applications that we use on a daily basis on our computers, smartphones, etc. When you have a problem with your software, it will most likely be in the "code" that the program is written in. "Code" is the language of the software. Other problems can be "bugs" or "viruses". A software bug may be a programming error that can be fixed most usually by a "software update". A virus will most likely come from the internet, but can also get into your system via a disc, or file transfer of some sort.

That leaves us with the last definition, what is an Operating System . I will again refer to the Wikipedia definition. "An operating system is the software on a computer that manages the way different programs use its hardware, and regulates the ways that a user controls the computer." An operating system is the environment that all other software runs in, and that tells your hardware devices what to do. An operating system will be doing many different functions at once. No matter if you're simply writing a letter in a word processor program, or surfing the internet, know that a LOT is going on behind the scenes, so to speak.

For example, your computer's hard drive's temperature must be regulated so that it will not get too hot, which can ruin the drive itself. You have probably heard your internal fan running before. That is keeping your drives and motherboard/processor cool. The brightness of your screen is set by controls in your operating system. These are just 2 examples of the MANY processes running in your operating system while you compute.

Now as for the title of this blog, unless you live under a rock or are Amish, (no offense to the Amish, just trying to make a little joke!), you know that there are 2 MAIN operating systems in today's world of computers: Apple Computers use "MAC OS X" as their operating system, and PC's mainly use "WINDOWS". There is another, Skywalker....sorry, just quoting Yoda...! :) But seriously, there is another operating system that is gaining quite a bit of popularity. It's called Linux, and like Windows has "XP", "Vista", and now "Windows 7", it comes in various "flavors", a popular one is "Ubuntu". I will say this; personally I prefer Apples and Mac computers, and as long as I am able I will not ever use a PC again. If I do HAVE to use a PC, then I will put Ubuntu(Linux) on it, as opposed to using Windows, in ANY form ever again. I think you know where I stand. I will continue to fix friends' PC's, because they will continue to have problems, and in a later post I will explain the differences between the operating systems and why some are more prone to viruses and some are not.

So I bid you all a fond farewell for now. Keep clicking on the ads you see posted, it's how I'm going to get to Bible College!! :) And check out my "ad-free" theological blog, "Reformation Reality" at http://reformationreality.blogspot.com/.

I welcome all comments and corrections and suggestions for future blogs...

BONUS: Who can the first to tell me how many times I used "quotation marks" in today's blog?....

May the Lord Jesus Christ bless all who read this.

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