Mac or PC? ...Linix, What is THAT?

 I am writing this because my old Royal typewriter has long since gone to the landfill in the sky and you have to write on something!  I doubt many do writing by hand anymore.  It is so convenient to be able to move paragraphs and sentences around without rewriting!  Would never go back to the old way of writing now!

I have a PC however I use my Macbook Pro because I like the keyboard and the fact there isn't constant updates like there are on the PC.  I feel however it is important to demystify the computer world which many people I think are still trapped into so I made a call.... 

Now I had a chat with a friend who has worked with computers and repairs all his life as well as has the training.  Taking to these guys means you have to learn another language!  And I consciously did since I lived with a computer tech!  I will pass on the rumours and rumblings but I cannot say if it is totally accurate since there are techs out there who could put this far better than I can but I will do my best to keep the info intact while simplifying so crash course in computers and lingo.  Easy first but will get a little more into it all.

Disc - that round shiny thing you put into your computer or DVD player you can save information to or even watch a movie from. There are CD and DVD.  Now we mainly hear DVD because most laptops these days I noticed don't have a hard drive disc player or recorder.  

A mouse is the thing that you move the little arrow on your computer screen around with, or the touch pad. Some are connected and some are wire-less (without a wire to use it..also now there is Bluetooth which is like wireless but needs NOTHING to connect it but be able to use Bluetooth.)

The desktop is what you first see when you turn on and have your computer open.

A computer has hardware and software.  The stuff you can pick up and throw around when your angry at is is the hardware.  It has a hard drive which is the component that runs the computer and a slot to pop in more memory and graphics card, etc. The keyboard and touchpad are all hardware but many I believe think of the guts of the machine.   When your hard drive goes for instance, your computer is toast until you get a new one which is why you can back your entire computer up with cloning software but I digress!

Then there is the software.  These days you have apps. however software is like the programs that are in use by the hardware.  A computer with one is not going to do much or be much fun.  

Another word you likely have heard more and more about since even toddlers are learning the language and lingo, is "coding".  All apps, websites, and even Facebook are based on coding which is sort of like the language the computer can understand to run the software.  It is all in the details with coding and it isn't as mysterious as you may think however like everything some folks have a higher aptitude for it than others.   I believe simply put without coding software wouldn't exist.

So the code is in place and the software has been created.  

Now to deal with the hardware. How do you, say make a printer, work with the computer hardware?  How do you put the printer into drive?  That is where the drivers come in.  If something needs to run, then it needs a driver! Anyone who has hooked up an external mouse, printer, writing stylus or any other hardware have had to deal with drivers and also sometimes they also need updating.  These are very necessary to the computer also.

Two other terms you may here is a "command line" and graphic interface".  It is not as big a deal as you thought in layman's terms.  I will elaborate a little but bottomline, when you can only use your keyboard to do everything such as cut as paste short cuts, that is using from the command line I believe.  If you can point and click with a mouse, then it is the graphic interface.  What is considered by most the easier way.

You likely have heard the letters OS which simply means "operating system".   It is the first piece of software that goes on your computer and stores in your memory and then manages everything else on your computer. Without it your computer is just a hunk of hardware sitting and doing nothing!

There are three main OS>WINDOWS, MAC OS, AND UNIX.

Microsoft created Windows which is the most commonly known system.  It is an old DOS operating system (a disk operating system).   If you remember the really old computers, almost all the things you did had to be done on the keyboard without the mouse.  It was a pain for many so in later versions such as windows 2000 they put DOS in the background and started employing the graphics (mouse point an click).  I have been told and I believe it is why it is like saying there is patch after patch on Microsoft operating systems which were renamed each time such as Vista, XP, 7 and so on. Originally the operating system came on a disc you could put in your computer or ANY computer.  Partly this is because it was only DOS (disc operating system), then it came about that you had to buy the disc to use it but it still worked on ALL computers, later you got so many per purchase and now you will find that with windows 10, you will likely have to purchase each time it updates which means each time they change or update something.  They are getting really sneaky putting spyware on your computer and doing manipulations in the background also.  Anything to make a buck!  .  Oh joy!  Corporate greed at it's best but wait, there is more than just Windows and Microsoft which I will mention in a sec. 

So why did apps start appearing on your new computer?  What happened next?  There were rumblings in the technology community of trying to move everyone over to phones and tables and away from laptops and computers which is where Windows 8 came in.  It was a TOTAL FLOP!  So windows 10 came out to bridge the gap between PC and tablets and phones (which you have noticed were getting larger like a tablet, but I see now are getting smaller again over all!).  

If you have ever watched the show "Criminal Minds", or "NCIS", may have heard the word Linix being tossed around among the geeks and squints on the show.  This is the name of another operating system.  It is called Linix based on Unix and is considered the best OPEN SOURCE based operating system out there and it is on everything from your phone to your car and even in your refrigerator. And by OPEN BASED I mean it is FREE!  

Unix was early on and used in corporations and universities but each place developed their own version.  Then Microsoft came along and since they were unified, gained an advantage in marketing.  There were many however who were frustrated with Windows and missed Unix so then came a man named Linus Torvalds who put out the Linux kernel and made it available to the world for free. Torvalds then invited others to add to the kernel provided that they keep their contributions free.  And so Linix was born.  It is out there and it still exists.  My friend swears by it.  He put it on my old laptop since it will run on anything and has many of the same software now and so on, and often better!   I updated it in minutes without a clue of what I was doing thanks to U tube!  

I suspect as it becomes more and more costly for folks to deal with Microsoft, Linix will gain in popularity which isn't now because if it is free why advertise?!?  The interesting thing according to my friend is that Apple incorporated Unix into itself a while back so if you can use a Mac, there is a platform (face) in Linix that is very similar!  Yahoo, since it one thing about it, is that you have more access to the command line we talked about earlier.  There is a reason it is all over the world.  You can manipulate and use it faster when your using only a keyboard and not moving a mouse everywhere.

So now what about Apple?  Well I have noticed sadly, as others have, that ever since Steve Jobs death (likely a change in the board!), Apple has become more like other greedy businesses.  They have made changes and NOT for the better.  I bought my computer in summer of 2016.  Since that time, the screen had an anti-reflective coating come off meaning the screen had to be replaced for free ( the Apple community has been pressuring for a call back but they won't however if you take it in, they will replace it for free thankfully!).  I also had a fan they said was not working due to dust.  Dust?  I didn't live in a desert or basement or barn!  They replaced that for free.  The creator of their processor has also switched to intel which is the same as a PC and frankly most of their hardware has gone to pot.  There are also rumours that the paste they use in the thing to protect it, was downgraded so it will likely burn out long before the older ones did.  If you have an older MAC THEN KEEP IT!  I know folks who had had their Mac for YEARS!  THAT IS NOT GOING TO BE THE CASE WITH THE NEWER MACS.  When this one goes which I suspect won't be in that long considering all the headaches I have had with it already, I should have put the money on a cheap scooter!  Likely would have lasted me longer!

Don't get me wrong Apples WERE great but come on, Apple is being sued for shortening the battery life of older iphones with some cock and bull story when really another ploy to get you to buy a newer phone!  I think they lost.  I haven't checked.  Either way, next computer I get will be a decent PC for half the price of this (or less) and put linix on it!  I have an old laptop as I said, as back up right now!  Pays to know a good computer geek who really is brilliant but don't want him to know that! lol May go to his head!

So be prepared for what is coming.  At some point you will have to decide what you want to do and where you want to go however for now PC is the most common, Apple is the most revered and Linix is the underdog and always will be most likely.

I know this isn't much about writing, but like I said, not everyone wants to type on a typewriter or go back to pen and paper!





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