The uniqueness of UNIX

The features that made UNIX a hit from the start are:

    * Multitasking capability
    * Multiuser capability
    * Portability
    * UNIX programs
    * Library of application software

Multitasking

Many computers do just one thing at a time, as anyone who uses a PC or laptop can attest. Try logging onto your company's network while opening your browser while opening a word processing program. Chances are the processor will freeze for a few seconds while it sorts out the multiple instructions.

UNIX, on the other hand, lets a computer do several things at once, such as printing out one file while the user edits another file. This is a major feature for users, since users don't have to wait for one application to end before starting another one.
Multiusers

The same design that permits multitasking permits multiple users to use the computer. The computer can take the commands of a number of users -- determined by the design of the computer -- to run programs, access files, and print documents at the same time.

The computer can't tell the printer to print all the requests at once, but it does prioritize the requests to keep everything orderly. It also lets several users access the same document by compartmentalizing the document so that the changes of one user don't override the changes of another user.
System portability

A major contribution of the UNIX system was its portability, permitting it to move from one brand of computer to another with a minimum of code changes. At a time when different computer lines of the same vendor didn't talk to each other -- yet alone machines of multiple vendors -- that meant a great savings in both hardware and software upgrades.

It also meant that the operating system could be upgraded without having all the customer's data inputted again. And new versions of UNIX were backward compatible with older versions, making it easier for companies to upgrade in an orderly manner.
UNIX tools

UNIX comes with hundreds of programs that can divided into two classes:

    * Integral utilities that are absolutely necessary for the operation of the computer, such as the command interpreter, and
    * Tools that aren't necessary for the operation of UNIX but provide the user with additional capabilities, such as typesetting capabilities and e-mail...

..An operating system that was initially created as a hobby by a young student, Linus Torvalds, at the University of Helsinki in Finland. Linus had an interest in Minix, a small UNIX system, and decided to develop a system that exceeded the Minix standards. He began his work in 1991 when he released version 0.02 and worked steadily until 1994 when version 1.0 of the Linux Kernel was released. The kernel, at the heart of all Linux systems, is developed and released under the GNU General Public License and its source code is freely available to everyone... There are now literally hundreds of companies and organizations and an equal number of individuals that have released their own versions of operating systems based on the Linux kernel. More information on the kernel can be found at our sister site, LinuxHQ and at the official Linux Kernel Archives. The current full-featured version is 2.6 (released December 2003) and development continues.

Apart from the fact that it's freely distributed, Linux's functionality, adaptability and robustness, has made it the main alternative for proprietary Unix and Microsoft operating systems. IBM, Hewlett-Packard and other giants of the computing world have embraced Linux and support its ongoing development... Linux is being adopted worldwide as a server platform primarily. Its use as a home and office desktop operating system is on the rise. The operating system can also be incorporated directly into microchips in a process called "embedding" and is increasingly being used this way in appliances and devices...

The company posted to its Microsoft Developer Network Web site "beta 1 release candidate" versions of Avalon, a 3-D graphics technology it's developing; and Indigo, software for building peer-to-peer applications. Microsoft plans to include final versions of both in the next version of Windows, code-named Longhorn and due late next year. Microsoft also released to developers on Monday code for building apps that use InfoCard technology, potentially a new way for PC users to store credentials to Web apps.

This is the second time Microsoft is making code available to select audiences. These releases are aimed at developers who are getting ready for Longhorn, which would be the first major new version of desktop Windows since 2001. These--plus special compatibility extensions for the beta version of Microsoft's next set of development tools--follow "community technology preview" versions of Avalon and Indigo released in March. Microsoft since then has also made the APIs to Avalon and Indigo available to users of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.

Microsoft is slated to release a beta version of the operating system this summer.

Here's what's changed under the hood of the code Microsoft released Monday:

• Indigo gets a feature called "peer channel" for building apps such as online chat, business workspace and virtual whiteboard programs, and multiplayer games, without the need for centralized servers. It works with HTTP or TCP.

• The Indigo code also includes improved integration with older Microsoft technologies MSMQ for messaging, and the COM+ object model, lead product manager Ari Bixhorn says.

• Avalon apps will support online video, and Microsoft delivered technology for reading documents built with Metro, a PDF alternative under development for viewing and printing documents without the app that created them.

• This is the first time developers get their hands on code for InfoCard, which would let users create a virtual index card containing information they need to log on to apps built with Indigo. Users' data would live on their PCs or on the computers of E-commerce companies they deal with, but not on Microsoft's servers, says Michael Stephenson, director of product management. "This is designed to put control back in the hands of end users.

As the newest major release of the world’s most advanced operating system, Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger continues Apple’s blazing pace of innovation with more than 200 breakthrough new features.
What’s Included with Tiger
In the Box

    * Installation DVD
    * Xcode 2 developer tools
    * Installation and setup guide
    * Welcome to Mac OS X Tiger user guide

Applications

    * Address Book 4
    * Automator
    * Calculator 4
    * Chess
    * Dashboard
    * Dictionary
    * DVD Player 4.5
    * Font Book 2
    * iCal 2
    * iChat AV 3
    * Image Capture 3
    * Internet Connect
    * iSync 2
    * iTunes 4.7.1
    * Mail 2
    * Preview 3
    * QuickTime 7 Player
    * Safari 2
    * Sherlock
    * Stickies
    * System Preferences
    * TextEdit

Utilities

    * Activity Monitor
    * AirPort Admin Utility
    * AirPort Setup Assistant
    * Audio MIDI Setup
    * Bluetooth File Exchange
    * ColorSync Utility
    * Console
    * Digital Color Meter
    * Directory Access
    * Disk Utility
    * Faxing
    * FileVault
    * Grab
    * Grapher
    * Installer
    * Keychain Access
    * Migration Assistant
    * NetInfo Manager
    * Network Utility
    * ODBC Administrator
    * Printer Setup Utility
    * Setup Assistant
    * System Profiler
    * Terminal
    * VoiceOver Utility
    * X11

Key Technologies

    * AppleScript[SIZE=14]
    * Aqua
    * Bonjour
    * CDSA security architecture
    * Cocoa, Carbon and Java
    * ColorSync
    * Core Audio
    * Core Image
    * H.264
    * Inkwell
    * OpenGL
    * PDF
    * Quartz Extreme
    * QuickTime 7
    * 64-bit computing
    * Spotlight
    * Sync
    * Unicode 4
    * Universal Access
    * UNIX based
    * USB and FireWire peripheral support
    * Xcode 2
    * Xgrid

Languages:

    * English, Japanese, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese