Operating Systems for all Needs

I remember how constrained we were back in the 1990's when it came to choosing a "usable" operating system. My tryst with OSes started with Windows 3.1, the first GUI based OS from the Microsoft stable that gained worldwide popularity. Even the OS was installed via 3.5" floppy diskettes, about 15-19 of them to be inserted one after the other in sequence.

How dramatically things have changed in 16 years. Today there are hoards of choices.

Linux is available in a dozen or more flavors today: Ubuntu, SuSE, RTLinuxPro, RedHat and the list goes on. Richard Stallman plans to release a OS specifically engineered to serve the engineering fraternity in India. e-Swecha, a variant of Linux and front ended by JNTU (Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University), Hyderabad. The e-Swecha Operating System, has software dealing with the various streams of engineering in it.

Windows is available in about four variations still in vogue. You also have BeOS and few other OS kernels from lesser known names in the market each addressing a specific need.

Richard Stallman plans to release a OS specifically engineered to serve the engineering fraternity in India. e-Swecha, a variant of Linux and front ended by JNTU (Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University)

Now the move is all towards Web based OSes. EyeOS, G.ho.st, Google Chrome are steps in this direction.

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