What is Linux and why is it so popular?

Linux is an operating system (very much like UNIX) that has become very popular over the last several years.

Linux is as much a phenomenon as it is an operating system. To understand why Linux has become so popular, it is helpful to know a little bit about its history. The first version of UNIX was originally developed several decades ago and was used primarily as a research operating system in universities. High-powered desktop workstations from companies like Sun proliferated in the 1980s, and they were all based on UNIX. A number of companies entered the workstation field to compete against Sun: HP, IBM, Silicon Graphics, Apollo, etc. Unfortunately, each one had its own version of UNIX and this made the sale of software difficult. Windows NT was Microsoft’s answer to this marketplace. NT provides the same sort of features as UNIX operating systems — security, support for multiple CPUs, large-scale memory and disk management, etc. — but it does it in a way that is compatible with most Windows applications.

The entry of Microsoft into the high-end workstation arena created a strange dynamic. The proprietary operating systems owned by separate companies and the lack of a central authority in the UNIX world weaken UNIX, but many people have personal problems with Microsoft. Linux stepped into this odd landscape and captured a lot of attention.

The Linux kernel, created by Linus Torvalds, was made available to the world for free. Torvalds then invited others to add to the kernel provided that they keep their contributions free. Thousands of programmers began working to enhance Linux, and the operating system grew rapidly. Because it is free and runs on PC platforms, it gained a sizeable audience among hard-core developers very quickly.

In general, Linux is harder to manage than something like Windows, but offers more flexibility and configuration options.

Notes

Workstation — сетевой компьютер, использующий ресурсы сервера; to proliferate — распространять; high-end — мощный, профессиональный, высококачественный; высокого класса; с широкими функциональными возможностями.

1. Say what you have learnt from the text about Linux as an operating system.

2. Translate the 2-nd paragraph in writing.

3. Select the topical sentences in each paragraph of the text.

4. Summarise the text.

VIII. Read and translate the text. Do the assignments following it.

How Windows Vista works

The first version of Microsoft Windows hit the market in 1983. But unlike today’s versions of Windows, Windows 1.0 was not an operating system. It was a graphical user interface that worked with an existing OS called MS-DOS. Version 1.0 didn’t look much like newer versions, either — not even Windows 3.0, which many people think of as the first real version of Windows. Its graphics were simpler and used fewer colours than today’s user interfaces, and its windows could not overlap.

Windows has changed considerably since then. In the last 20 years, Microsoft has released numerous full-fledged versions of the operating system. Sometimes, newer versions are significantly different from older ones, such as the change from Windows 3.1 to Windows 95. Other new releases have seemed more like enhancements or refinements of the older ones, such as the multiple consumer versions of the OS released from 1995 to 2001.

Microsoft’s newest version of its operating system is Windows Vista. For many users, upgrading to Vista won’t seem as dramatic as the upgrade from 3.1 to Windows 95. But Windows Vista has a number of new features, both in the parts that you can see and the parts that you can’t.

At its core, Windows Vista is still an operating system. It has two primary behind-the-scenes jobs:

· Managing hardware and software resources, including the processor, memory, storage and additional devices.

· Allowing programs to work with the computer’s hardware.

If all goes well, this work is usually invisible to the user, but it’s essential to the computer’s operation.

Notes

full-fledged — окончательно готовый, полностью отработанный (напр., о разработанной системе программного обеспечения); enhancement — модернизация; совершенствование; расширение (напр., возможностей программных средств); behind-the-scenes — негласный

1. Say what you have learnt from the text about Windows Vista.

2. Ask your group-mates 10 questions on the text.

3. Select the topical sentences in each paragraph of the text.

4. Retell the text.

IX. Read and translate the text.