How To Buy A Laptop: And End Up With A Computer You'll Enjoy by Napier Jeff

Author:Napier, Jeff [Napier, Jeff]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Jeff Napier
Published: 2016-03-05T16:00:00+00:00

Windows, Mac, and Others

Table of Contents

The operating systems with which laptops are supplied come in five flavors.

Android: Laptops that run Android are usually low-end netbooks and convertible tablets - tablets that come with attachable keyboards and touchpads. Android is easy-to-use, well-supported, and runs quickly and reliably. It does have some drawbacks. The main drawback is that it doesn't run Windows or Mac programs. If you want to do something special that can't be done in a web browser window, you generally get it from Google Play - the Android app store. There are tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of programs in the store, many of which are free or low-cost. If you do a lot of work with text, you'll find that highlighting, cutting, copying and pasting is slower than with other operating systems. You cannot upgrade an Android computer to Windows, Linux or OS/X, the Mac operating system. Android does not run Java applets within websites. Java is a programming language, a whole system really, that is not much used anymore in web pages, but you may run into it occasionally such as the US government official clock.

Chrome: Five manufacturers are licensed by Google to make ChromeBooks. These are thin, light, low-cost laptops with the "Chrome" operating system. These are essentially web browsers. The idea is that everything you do on a ChromeBook is done within the browser. As long as you are connected to the Internet via WiFi, that's not so bad. You can do word processing through Google docs, handle spreadsheets, and there are millions of web pages dedicated to special tasks. But you cannot run Windows or OS/X programs, and you can't upgrade a ChromeBook to any other operating system.

Linux: Linux is a free operating system made entirely by volunteers. Thousands of people have contributed bits and pieces to make Linux robust and flexible. You can replace the operating system on your Mac or Windows computer with Linux, and a few manufacturers make new laptops that come with Linux pre-installed. Linux uses Firefox as its primary web browser which is fully-functional. Pretty much any website in the world, no matter how complex or bizarre will run well in Firefox. Firefox is also available as a free download for Android, OS/X and Windows. The problem with Linux is that it is fairly uncommon among laptop users. It is harder to find understandable documentation and support for Linux, and harder to find specialized programs and drivers that run in Linux. For instance, if you buy a new printer, it will work fine with OS/X and Windows, but you may have trouble getting it to work right, or at all, with Linux.

Windows: A computer that runs Microsoft Windows is usually called a "PC" or "Windows computer." Windows is the most common operating system, and therefore the easiest to get support from friends and professionals. More specialized software exists for Windows than any other operating system. Microsoft has gone to great lengths to make Windows suit everyone's uses.

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