Windows 95 Case Study

Windows 95 was first released on the 24th August 1995. Planning for this operating system began 3 years prior, after the release of its predecessor, Windows 3.1. It revolutionised operating systems as we know it. It was the largest update Microsoft had ever developed and it was the turning point on the design of PCs forever. ‘Although it wasn't the best OS Microsoft has ever built, Windows 95 was the most important, and changed the PC more than any version of Windows before or after.’ (Morris 2015) What made it different from its predecessors? It was seen as a complete Operating System in contrast to a graphical user interface running on top of a MS-DOS. After the boot up process the system completely ran without the MS-DOS environment.

It was released on the 24th October 2004. Ubuntu pride themselves on the fact that their OS has always been free to download, use and share. In order to do this, Ubuntu really rely on the work done by voluntary developers. “The Ubuntu distribution is free open source software, licensed under the GNU General Public License, coupled with various other free licenses.” (Tabassum, Mathew 2014)

Ubuntu puts huge emphasis on maintaining a high level of security within their operating system. It consists of a built-in firewall and virus protection software. In a recent study, the CESG studied the security of various operating systems based on several factors such as; Virtual Private Network, authentication, disk encryption, security policy enforcement etc. According to Canonical, Ubuntu's parent company, "No currently available operating system can meet all of these requirements. Ubuntu however, scores the highest in a direct

It beats Microsoft on several levels yet it is surprising that Windows 10 has 90% more market share then Linux. I believe there are two reasons for this. One, users are not fully educated on Linux desktop and its advantages. It is less well known then Microsoft and people tend to trust a brand they are more familiar with. Two, Windows 10 offer ease of use. Linux has made great improvements in recent years yet it must be said windows 10 triumphs in this department. I predict that Linux will surpass Windows 10, or any other Microsoft product, in the coming years. Users are becoming aware of Linux’s extremely stable systems, the fact that it is free to install and update, there are no threat of viruses, it comes with most of the required software preinstalled, Linux never gets slow and finally with Linux you get the highest level of personal customisation. For all of these reasons, I have personally been converted from Microsoft 10 OS to Linux Desktop