There is much controversy and speculation as to which operating system on the market is really the best operating system to use.  There are some people who say that one is better than the other, and there's no doubt that everyone is going to have an operating system that they prefer.  Still others never really think about their operating system, so they have no opinion on which one is best.  They just use their computers and go on their merry ways.
 
So which is the best operating system?  Some people prefer Mac OS X.  This operating system was the first to integrate graphical user interface to make it easy to use.  GUI lets the user just point and click to open programs, use the programs, and navigate their system.  Mac OS X is usually used on Apple Macintosh computers and is often preferred by Mac users exclusively.

Linux is a relative newcomer to the operating system scene.  It is based on Unix technology developed as part of a programmer's dream of freeware operating systems that people could download, analyze, change, and then re-distribute.
 
The first Linux systems were completed in 1992 by combining system utilities and libraries from the GNU program which was another freeware based operating system.  Since then, Linux has gained the support of corporations like IBM, Sun Microsystems, Hewlett Packard, and Novell. Linux is predominantly known for its use in servers.  It is used as an operating system for a wider variety of computer hardware than any other operating system.

MS-DOS - short for Microsoft Disk Operating System - is an operating system commercialized by the Microsoft Corporation.  It was the most widely used member of the DOS family of operating systems and was the dominant operating system for the PC compatible platform during the 1980's.  MS-DOS was the first true operating system in the computer market.
 
MS-DOS was originally released in 1981 and had eight major versions released before Microsoft stopped development in 2000.  It was the key product in Microsoft's growth from a programming languages company to a diverse software development firm.  It has gradually been replaced on consumer desktop computers by various generations of the Windows operating system.

UNIX is a computer operating system originally developed in the 60's and 70's by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Laboratories.  UNIX operating systems are widely used in both servers and work stations primarily by large corporations.  The UNIX environment and the client-server program model were essential elements in the development of the Internet and the reshaping of computing as centered in networks rather than in individual computers.
 
Both UNIX and the C programming language were developed by AT & T and distributed to government and academic institutions causing both to be opened up to a wider variety of machine families than any other operating systems.  As a result, UNIX became synonymous with "open systems."

The 64-bit operating system is one that is capable of storing information in memory that is at least 64 bits or 8 bytes wide.  They are also based on registers, address buses, or data buses of that same size.  A bus is a subsystem that transfers data or power between computer components inside a computer or between computers.  The bus is controlled by a device driver similar to those that control outside peripherals like a mouse or printer.
 
64-bit CPUs have existed in super computers since the 1960?s and work stations and servers since the 1990?s.  While this architecture has been around for awhile, 64-bit operating systems are relatively new concepts in the computer world.  Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Mac OS X Tiger are all 64-bit operating systems.

Most people are familiar with Windows, but the reality today is that there are new operating systems being developed every day that are really competing with Windows.  While Windows is still the giant in the world of operating systems, new versions of Windows as well as other products like Linux and GNU have helped make the world of operating system a diverse and changing product all the time.
 
If your system came pre-loaded with Windows, as most new computers are, you may be happy with that as your primary operating system.  However, you can change to a new operating system if you like as the options that are out there are vast and diverse.

GNU - pronounced guh-noo - is computer operating system software comprised entirely of free software.  Its name is a recursive acronym for 'GNU's not UNIX' which was chosen because its design is UNIX-like by being free software without containing any UNIX code.  
 
In 1983, a gentleman named Richard Stallman publicly announced the beginning of development for the GNU software.  His goal was to bring a wholly free software operating system into existence.  He wanted computer users to be free as most were in the 1960?s and 1970?s.  This meant having the freedom to study the source code of the software they use, the freedom to share the software with other people, the freedom to modify the behavior of the software, and the freedom to publish their modified versions of the software.

A real-time operating system (RTOS) is a multitasking operating system intended for real-time applications.  Real-time applications are ones that are subject to a real-time constraint.  Let's use the anti-lock brakes on a car as an example of a real-time computing system.  The real-time constraint with brakes would be the short time the brakes must be released to prevent the brakes from locking.
 
Such applications include embedded systems like programmable thermostats, household appliance controllers, and mobile telephones.  Other applications are industrial robots, spacecraft, industrial control, and scientific research equipment.

The words disk operating system refers to system software used in most computers that provides the abstraction and management of secondary storage devices and the information on them.  For example, you have several files systems meant for organizing data files of all sorts.  Such software is referred to as a disk operating system when the storage devices it manages are made of rotating platters such as hard disks or floppy disks.
 
In the early days of micro computing, memory space was often limited so the disk operating system was an extension of the operating system.  This component was only loaded if it was needed.  Otherwise, disk access would be limited to low-level operating such as reading and writing disks at the sector level.

Solaris 10 is a computer operating system developed by Sun Micro Systems and is certified as a version of UNIX.  Although historically Solaris 10 was a closed source program, it has since been open sourced by Sun.  It is now one of the single largest open source projects in the community, and continues to grow in features, members and applications.
 
In the early 1990's, Sun replaced their BSD (Berkeley Software Distribution) derived Sun Operating System 4 with a version of UNIX System V Release 4.  This was jointly developed with AT & T.  The underlying release name was Sun OS 5.0, but a new marketing name was introduced at the same time:  Solaris 2.  While Sun OS 4 micro releases were retroactively named Solaris 1 by Sun.

Sun Microsystems has come up with an innovative new technology in their Sun Blade 8000 server and the accompanying Solaris operating system.  The company has developed breakthrough computer architecture in this system which boasts performance, price, and reliability along with serviceability and efficiency.
 
The Sun Blade system is great for businesses that require high performance data on several computers connected to a network.  This new technology has put Sun back on the map in the computer server world.  It has given businesses the power and technology to run high data tasks at super fast speeds and with efficiency not seen before.

Even though most personal computers are sold today with Windows pre-loaded, there are alternative operating systems that you can choose to install yourself.  Advances are constantly being made in computer programming that allows computer users to choose what operating system they want to use.
 
Of course, Windows is one of the easiest operating systems to have.  It is loaded on most computer systems, so you can use other systems besides your own with ease and without having to learn a new program.  Windows is designed to be user-friendly with point and click technology that allows nearly anyone to easily become a computer expert.