How The Operating Systems Got Their Name?

By Chris Elliott

MS-DOS, Windows and Mac OS may be the most common names users think about when they mention the well-known operating systems. However, only few people know what “Window XP” and “Windows 1.0 – NT 4.0” stand for or where “Linux” comes from. Now, let's find out how some operating systems got their names.

MS-DOS

MS-DOS, which stands for Micro Soft Disk Operating System, was originally licensed from Seattle Consumer Products’ Quick and Dirty Operating System (QDOS). Because MS-DOS had no graphical user interface (GUI), users had to input everything via a command prompt.

DOS also means “Disk Operating System”, so MS-DOS was just one of many including Apple DOS, AmigaDOS, freeDOS, and many others

Windows 1.0 – NT 4.0

The Windows got its name from the fact that the new operating system and the number or name following “Windows” mentions what version of Windows users have. The Windows 1.0 allows users to interact in the GUI.

Microsoft started to work on its New Technology (NT) branch of the operating system with the numbering scheme for 1.0-3.1. Windows NT 4.0 was the first to implement the new NT kernel and used the Windows 95 user interface.

Windows NT 4.0 was released in 1996

Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7

Windows XP made its debut in 2001 and the XP means eXPerience

Windows Vista was released in 2007 by Microsoft. According to Microsoft, Vista got its name because it symbolized what you were trying to get to at the end of the day. However, the operating system is not as successful as its meaning

Windows 7 is the seventh version of Windows since 1995

Mac OS 8 – 10

Mac OS 8 was introduced in 1997, short time after Steve Jobs returned to work for Apple. It was initially called version 7.7 but was changed to 8 because of a legal loophole that allowed Apple to shut down the 3rd party Macintosh market. Apple then released Mac OS 9, the last of the “Classic” Mac OSs.

OS X (OS Ten) is the tenth version of the Mac operating system and the first Mac OS based on Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD)

Linux

Linux got its name from Ari Lemmke. He ran the FTP server, where the original Linux Kernel was uploaded to. Though the creator of the Linux kernel, Linus Torvalds, expected to call the kernel Freax, Ari still gave him a folder named “linux” to upload his kernel to.

“Linux” came from the Linux kernel creator, Linus Torvalds

Ubuntu

Ubuntu (oo-BOON-too) literally means “humanity towards others” in Zulu and Xhosa languages. Like many Linux distributions, Ubuntu versions have two names for every release, a development code name and a version name. The numerical name for the release is based on the year and month of the release. For example, version 10.04 was released in April of 2010.

The current long term support version is Ubuntu 10.04.2 LTS (LTS stands for long term support)

About the Author:
I am a web developer. I love technology and have a passion of writing articles about technology news, especially new products.

Articles Source: How The Operating Systems Got Their Name?

Top Five Future Weapons

By Zidane Randall

There is a number of weapons humans use from the past to present. Here are the most futuristic ones that people desire to make.

Autonomous weapons

The robotic vehicles which are under search and development can attack against enemies and troops on both ground and up to the air. The robotic vehicles, in theory, receive the sensor data from computers to determine the hostile forces. Then, robotic vehicles will be controled by a remote site to go ahead and attack enemy. Boston Dynamics Robot artificial Cheetah is an early model of this futuristic weapon. Developed by the U.S. Defense Department, the military robot has four legs which could run faster than humans.

Boston Dynamics Robot artificial Cheetah

Space-based weapons

In the highest point, weapons in universe can see and attack any thing on Earth, up in the air or in space. Most importantly, the space-based weapons can protect the world from ballistic missiles.

Space-based hybrid laser weapon

Active Denial System

The Active Denial System (ADS), which is developed by the U.S. military, aims at crowd control. Functioned by electromagnetic radiation (beam of 95-gigahertz radiation), the Active Denial System makes people flee without hitting them.

Active Denial System in graphic

High-energy lasers

The high-power lasers can travel through all directions at speed of lights over thousands of kilometers. The powerful beams set target on a small spot, and then burn the target’s face thanks to heat.

The high-power energy lasers

Hypersonic aircraft

A hypersonic aircraft could amazingly fly faster than Mach 5 and reach any points on Earth within two hours. The hypersonic aircraft is also able to deliver a satellite to low-Earth orbit.

Falcon hypersonic aircraft

About the Author:
I am a web developer. I love technology and have a passion of writing articles about technology news, especially new products.

Articles Source: Top Five Future Weapons

Nokia: Five Most Awesome Concept Phones

By Deepak Saxena

It can not be denied that technology is the fastest growing industry in modern life. Furthermore, Nokia is the world’s leader in mobile phone industry. For a long time, Nokia cell phones are famous for high end features and the durability. Here are some most awesome Nokia concept phones.

Nokia 82 Dragonfly Concept

The N82 Dragonfly concept phone is delicately created as a flair phone with “aesthetically pleasing” features. Designed by Reginald Shola Hingston, the phone’s numerical keypad looks like a dragonfly. The eye-catching remake of the N82 also comes up with an over-sized display, camera and navigation mechanism.

The N82 Dragonfly concept phone

Nokia Scentsory Concept

The Nokia Scentsory is also well-known for the “multi-sensory level”. The phone features two screens with hidden camera, interior scent detectors, stereo speakers and emitter and exterior temperature sensors.

The Nokia Scentsory cellphone concept comes along with airplane origami design.

Nokia Kinetic Concept

The Nokia Kinetic concept phone, designed by Jeremy Innes-Hopkins, is a promising Nokia model. Thanks to the electromagnet in its base, the cell phone will rise automatically on its rounded base whenever you have a call or message.

If you do not want to take the call, just tap the phone down.

Nokia ‘Remade’ Concept

While environmental recycling develops fast in modern life, the Nokia ‘Remade’ is totally designed from recycled materials such as old car tires, aluminium cans, plastic drinks bottles, etc. The device features backlit display that increases the life of the battery.

Nokia ‘Remade’ phone is perfect for environment lovers.

Nokia Eco Sensor Concept

Besides let users stay connected with family and friends, the Eco Sensor concept also keeps users informed about the health and local environment. The phone consists of two parts: a mobile phone and a wearable unit which can sense and analyse your surroundings.

The Eco Sensor concept

About the Author:
I am a web developer. I love technology and have a passion of writing articles about technology news, especially new products.

Articles Source: Nokia: Five Most Awesome Concept Phones

Top Five Free Antivirus Products Of 2011

By Phillips Crook

This year, five free antivirus products are honored including Avast Free Antivirus 5, Avira AntiVir Personal Free AntiVirus 10, Microsoft Security Essentials 1.0, Panda Cloud Antivirus 1.0 and Comodo Internet Security Premium 5.0 thanks to their well-designed interface design, fast scan speed and great malware detection.

Avast Free Antivirus 5

Avast Free Antivirus 5 is ranked No. 1 in the 2011 list of five free Antivirus software products thanks to its easy installation process, well-designed interface design, quick scan speed and minimal impact on system performance. Major benefits of using the software are disinfecting a PC, abolishing all active components of malware infections 80 percent of the time and detecting all infections on your test PC. However, its malware detection isn’t the best.

Avast Free Antivirus is a well-rounded free antivirus package

Avira AntiVir Personal Free AntiVirus 10

Avira AntiVir Personal Free AntiVirus 10 is famous for its great malware detection and block as well as quick scan speed. However, its major disadvantage is unfriendly main interface. The latest version was given 3.5 out of 5 stars by PC Magazine Neil J. Rubenking.

The Avira AntiVir Personal Antivirus detected 98.9% percent of malware rate in August 2009 and was the fastest for both on-demand scans and on-access scans

Microsoft Security Essentials 1.0

Although Microsoft Security Essentials 1.0 features an easy-to-use interface, its scan speed is low and malware detection only gets mediocre. It received the Bronze award for proactive detection of 55% of new/unknown malware, the Silver award for low false-positives (six) and the Bronze award for overall performance by AV-Comparatives.org.

The Microsoft Security Essentials 1.0 hasn't kept pace with newer antivirus products when it comes to detecting malware

Panda Cloud Antivirus 1.0

Panda Cloud Antivirus 1.0 is excellent at detecting known malware and easy to use but its scan speeds are rather low. It can fight malware attacks from malicious Websites or e-mails and completely blocked 68 percent of attacks.

Panda Cloud Antivirus 1.3 update is said to be able to improve its attack-blocking capabilities than the current version

Comodo Internet Security Premium 5.0

Ranked the fifth in the list, Comodo Internet Security Premium 5.0 successfully blocked brand-new malware and included a firewall but its overall detection performance was inconsistent.

The Comodo Internet Security Premium 5.0 features a new user interface theme, application sandboxing and the ability to easily take system snapshots or create restore points

About the Author:
I am a web developer. I love technology and have a passion of writing articles about technology news, especially new products.

Articles Source: Top Five Free Antivirus Products Of 2011

Amazing Figures in Apple’s History

By Henry Funk

Apple Inc., an American multinational corporation, which is best-known for its hardware products including the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone, the iPad and so on. Established on April 1, 1976 in Cupertino, California, the company focuses on designing and marketing consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. As of May 2010, Apple is considered as one of the largest companies in the world. It is also the world’s most valuable technology company. The 35th birthday of Apple Inc. recently reminds us of many important milestones as well as impressive figures in its history.

35 years ago, the April 1, 1976, by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne founded Apple. The company's headquarters is located in Cupertino, California, USA.

The total number of apps downloaded from App Store has surpassed the “10 billion” milestone on January 22, 2011.

In 1999, the second-generation iMac G3 made by Apple Inc featured 5 colors including green, red, purple, blue and orange

In 1993, Apple launched its Newton PDA at $700 with clever advertising. The Newton was the first product to represent the failure of Apple

Steve Jobs owned 5.426 million shares of Apple and 138 million shares of Disney. Jobs has been named as the 43rd wealthiest American

Apple's operating system “Mac OS X” has been seen in the market for ten years. Mac OS X-based iOS has run on the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, and the 2nd generation Apple TV

The first generation of Apple Computer, Apple-1 Computer, was auctioned at the price of $240.000. The Apple-1 Computer has sold about 200 units in 1976 at $666,66.

The year 1984 is an important milestone for Apple Inc. when co-founder Steve Jobs introduced Macintosh to the world for the very first time on January 24, 1984

Over 297 million iPods have been sold until now

About the Author:
I am a web developer. I love technology and have a passion of writing articles about technology news, especially new products.

Articles Source: Amazing Figures in Apple’s History