Computer Page -- Last updated 1/25/2011

Explanations  (sorry for the formatting issues at the bottom of the page. it should be fixed soon.)

The first computers

Okay, the first computers didn't have the internet, or the "Desktop" or Dell, Windows or anything, alright? The first one was just a typewriter and hundreds of switches and dials. You'd type something like, "2+2", set one dial to 2, another dial to 2, one for addition, and about ten seconds later it'd type back, "4".

The Internet

The idea of connecting two computers through cable was first developed in the early 1970s, some people say it's in the first computer, they didn't come out with a web site-making program until 1986. Some people think that the internet was shortly after the telegraph, they're completely off.

Operating Systems and Computers

There is a difference between your computer, and what's on your screen right now. What you see and interact with is the operating system, a large amount of computer data that holds the files and information and the start button and everything. the computer it the actually machine itself. Microsoft makes operating systems. Apple makes computers and operating systems. Dell, HP, Gateway, Acer, IBM, and Be Incorporated make computers. There are some free operating systems on the internet like Linux and soon-to-be Google Chrome OS!

Microsoft Windows

Here are my opinions of the Microsoft Windows Family. Every Windows OS known to be produced and sold.

Windows 8

The soon-to-be-released operating system (hopefully they'll come up with something more creative than Windows 8 before release) will have the same OS for mobile phones, tablets, AND desktop computers. This will fail miserably, as MOBILE OPERATING SYSTEMS JUST DO NOT WORK ON DESKTOP COMPUTERS. Mobile and touch based interfaces require the large buttons and simple design because you're most likely using your finger to interact with it, and you don't have the precision of a mouse. There is no excuse to have giant buttons and a simple OS on desktop computers; because you're interacting with it differently it should have a different operating system.

Windows 7

The latest operating system. It has several new features, such as a button at the right ride of the screen; when you hover over it it turns all open windows transparent; when you click it, it shows the desktop. It also is supposed to be easier to use. The taskbar (The bar at the bottom of the screen) has a new look, and a new way of opening minimized windows. 7 was originally supposed to be released in 2007, and Vista was supposed to have some of the features 7 is going to have. But, 7 wasn't done yet, and Vista's due date was coming fast, so they released Vista in November, 2006 as planned, but some of the features were taken out of Vista and put into 7 because they didn't have enough time to put them into Vista. 7 was supposed to be released in 2008, but people complained about Vista. So, production on 7 was held back for a while, AND they had to install those features that didn't make it into Vista, so 7 was released in stores in November 2009.

Windows Vista

Vista is OK, except for its speed. Vista is very slow and makes even a dusty old Windows '98 look fast. Although it has great and fabulous features. It has customizable "gadgets" on the side of the screen that you can minimize to the taskbar. On your gadgets, you can type in an area/address and it'll show the weather forecast in that area. Vista has a terrible tendency to crash and lock up a lot, which is not what most people want when they're working overtime and suddenly everything they've been working on disappears -- and they haven't saved. Vista also brings us a new color scheme, called "Aero." It has advanced transparent windows and a new glass-like appearance. Vista's new games are Chess Titans, Inkball, and a few others.

Windows XP

Windows XP is a decent OS, it was released in 2001 as an upgrade to the horrible flop that was Windows ME and Windows 2000. On Xp, there's 3 different color schemes, all designed to make the user interface a lot more user-friendly than the plain old grey. It's pretty much Windows 2K with "better" graphics and a "better" user interface. Upon Vista's complete flop as well, most people with a computer actually downgraded to XP [Even though it might be considered an upgrade, seeing as Vista doesn't work].

Windows 2000

Windows 2000 is a fine operating system, it came as a small release after Windows ME. However, since there was a small amount of time after ME and before XP, most people skipped over 2000 and never really got to experience it. 2000 is pretty much just Windows ME without as many bugs in it. IT was aimed toward the professional market and came in four versions: "Professional", "Server", "Advanced Server", and "Datacenter." Also, 2000 was supposed to be a business release, so most people used ME never thought that 2000 would be any better, and they really had no use for a business operating system.

Windows 98 came as a simple upgrade to Windows 95 to enforce the integration of Internet Explorer. Microsoft had heard that most people think that the future of computing consists of simply buying a cheap terminal, and using the internet for online based apps. Hearing this, they wanted to stay ahead of the curve and dominate the internet market by shoving Internet Explorer in everybody's faces. So, Microsoft put the internet everywhere - in as a screensaver, integrated into the main file manager, and even on the desktop - it was almost impossible to avoid. So, people stopped spending money on Netscape and started taking the lazy way out with Windows 98 and this Internet Explorer thing.

Windows '95

Windows 95 brought a drastic overhaul in the user interface of Windows. First of all, you can now store shortcuts to programs on the background, the desktop. Also, minimized programs are no longer scattered about the desktop - they automatically go to this gray bar along the bottom called the Taskbar. And the Start button provided a new place to hold programs, links to settings and documents in a convenient collapsible window. Beforehand, when Windows booted, a window came up titled "PROGRAM MANAGER". It was basically like the Start Menu in window form. It held icons to programs and to Control Panel. Also, when you minimized a window, it became an icon like on the icons on your desktop. There was no real designated area to go to - they just kinda hung about patiently until clicked on, when the icon disappeared and the window was brought up. What's awkward is that the only time the icon is on the desktop is when the window is minimized; so switching to a window that's completely blocked from sight requires minimizing all the other windows until you can see it. So you can see why people liked 95.

Other: Microsoft Windows 1-3, NT, CE, Me, and Server 2003

Now, Windows 1 was definitely a Version 1.0 product and it was very evident how lazily it was put together. Apple (Specifically Steve Jobs) was getting pretty mad at them for making a competing product against their Mac OS. Microsoft was currently supposed to be making software for Apple at the time,  so they tried to avoid making Apple mad because they had the upper hand, and if the deal ended, Microsoft would disappear with it as they weren't the #1 choice at the time. So they tried to avoid copying Mac OS in many ways that limited it drastically. Individual Windows could not overlap, icons could not be placed on the desktop, the file manager did not show files as icons - instead it showed a list of files in the folder displayed. It did not sell well, if you haven't worked that out yet.

Windows 2 was a very big improvement. Individual windows could now overlap and many new graphics made it more user-friendly. There was just one problem: Apple. They ended up suing Microsoft for stealing the "look and feel" of Mac OS. Microsoft ended up winning, as copyrighting and defending the "look and feel" of computer software if pretty hard to do in a court of law.

Windows 3.1 saw many improvements now that they were told they could not get any legal trouble over having a similar look and feel to Mac OS. A new interface showed up - windows now had a much better appearance to them with beveled buttons and a better color scheme. This is the money maker that made Microsoft famous.

Next down the list, NT. NT stands for NeTwork. NeTwork, NT. Same thing. An NT version of Windows was a business version specializing in networking and corporate connectivity. NT is quite the old OS. NT version 3.1 was a business version of Windows 3.1. NT 95 was the business release for Windows 95, and the same thing happened with 98. However, since Windows 2000 forward, the internet capabilities of NT were considered not so terribly special to call it an entirely different operating system, the networking capabilities of NT now come built in.

Next up, CE. CE came between NT and '98. CE is not very special about its main purpose, which is what I don't know and probably will never know. CE is the most unknown Windows OS. I don't know basically anything about CE, CE is to be just "CE" and is best ignored.

Traveling down the list, Windows Me. Just to tell you, this is not a very selfish server. Me stands for Millennium Edition (not "Me, me, Everything me"). It was supposed to be released in celebration of the 2nd Millennium, the year 2000. But, due to flaws, It was released almost a year late in September. Because of this, people saw this as a disclaimer and not as much people purchased it as expected.

Last-but-not-least, Server 2003. Server 2003 is a better version of 2000. It has higher security, better speed, and the logo of an Xp. S-2003 came right before Xp. the only difference is the speed, the looks, and the security.

Apple Inc.

Here is info about Apple, Inc. Apple made about 150 OSes and I Can't really tell the difference between most of them, so...most are not shown. I have to save my Hard-drive too!