Operating Systems on Your Browser?

Yes, you read that statement correctly.

MakeUsOf compiled four great operating systems (excluding the Apple OS, of course, because I hate Apple) that you can actually use on your web browser.

4 Classic Operating Systems You Can Access In Your Browser

I’ll be honest, I really like it. For some of you who do not know, I’m a big fan of old things. One thing that I love (because I grew up with it) is Windows Classic (so much, that with the help of tPenguinLTG, I made Two Shades of Classic) We had our first computer when my brother was born (I think) and all I did on that computer was play Minesweeper or Pinball. Of course, I didn’t have any passion for computers until my 8th Grade year, but I still had some fond memories with Windows that may have led to it.

If you enjoy computers (especially the classic operating systems like Windows 1.0, etc.), I definitely recommend looking at the article and going through the list of operating systems.

A small reflection: when I saw these old operating systems, I began to realise how much this world has evolved. To think that ten years ago, when the social media didn’t exist and computers were still far from their expected powerful prime, we had these devices that are just artifacts to us now.

I suppose that this experience is more of a nostalgic trip than it is a learning one. But I guess it works both ways. Learn the history, fellow readers. Learn it. It’s where it all began.

Keep Chewing!

Bill Gates at the Harvard Campaign Launch

Bill gates is blaming IBM for the infamous yet loved Ctrl+Alt+Del keyboard combination. Typical Gates.

By the way, this was my idea.

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`The Penguin' says...

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates at the Harvard Campaign launch. If you look around the Internet, this video is highlighted for Bill Gates complaining about Ctrl+Alt+Del being a mistake (around 16 minutes into the video). There’s a lot more to the video than that; it’s quite amusing to listen to.

William H. Gates III COL ’77, LLD ’07 Q&A | The Harvard Campaign by Harvard [YouTube]

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Lenovo IdeaPad Z500

NCIX, a computer company that sells computers, parts, PC games and other gadgets, let me demo and review this laptop.

Lenovo IdeaPad Z500

Lenovo is one of the awesome companies that actually sell some darn good computers. Their laptops have true accessibility, performance and power. Although Windows 8 is completely unusable, I’m sure, as a geek, you’ll figure something out. If you’re not a geek, go get a geek. They’re not that hard to find.

The IdeaPad Z500 is a great starter laptop. For those who want something cheap, but has a bang for their buck, this one is a great choice.

SPECIFICATIONS:

• Intel i5-3230M @ 2.6 GHz (Dual-core) with 3 MB Cache
• Intel HD 4000 GPU (shared RAM)
• 6 GB DDR3 SDRAM (2 slots)
• 1 TB HDD @ 5400 RPM
• 15.6″ (1366 x 768)
• 4 cell 5 hour battery

From my personal experience, it holds out. It’s very fluid and smooth when it comes to processing. I gamed on it for a bit (Minecraft) and find it fine on run. Considering Windows 8, I still felt a bit locked out. Other than that, the performance is good, the graphics are great and the sound is fine.

I’m sure the 6 GB RAM can be upgraded to 8 GB, but that’s my only preference. Oh, and install something like Windows 7 (it should be worth it) and get rid of that lousy Windows 8 operating system. After installing Windows 7, you may commence ULTIMATE TWEAKING! Play around with the settings, install all the necessary proprietary drivers, install your own personal theme, the whole nine yards! Then after that, you can finally sleep soundly at night.

Unless, you actually like Windows 8. If so, go to the doctor and get yourself checked out.

In conclusion, the Lenovo IdeaPad Z500 is a laptop that’s doing what it’s supposed to do: work. It’s your typical home, browsing, word processing and gaming laptop. I don’t think it can handle bigger multimedia power (like a heavy session of League of Legends), but it can certainly give what the user wants.

Priced around $700, it’s a great buy!

Lenovo IdeaPad Z500

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Universally Known as the USB

The Universal Serial Bus is one of the most well known and most universal device in the computing world. Almost all of our gadgets have some kind of a USB built in, whether it be the charger we have on our smartphones or our own portable flash drive.

The development of the USB started in the early 90s when the USB 1.0 was released. There were two types, the low speed (1.5 Mbps) or the high speed (12 Mbps). Respectively, these were powerful speeds at the time but were not enough. So, the collective group of computing powerhouses that were developing this next generation standard – IBM, DEC, Microsoft, Intel, NEC and Nortel – went back to work to finish the USB 1.1 Full Speed. The only difference this version had was support and compatibility. Microsoft was very friendly with the current technology and continued to work with it.

By the end of 2001, a group called USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) released the USB 2.0 which is 40x faster than the previous version, the USB 1.1 Full Speed (12 Mbps -> 480 Mbps). It was originally named as the High Speed USB but later was renamed to Hi-Speed USB. The Mini-A and Mini-B connectors are introduced and expanded the abilities of the USB. Many features were created to truly improve the use of the USB such as On-The-Go USB and our useful Battery Charging Spec. which lets your device to be charged into a power plug. Cellphone companies took advantage of this because with such a smal form factor, it definitely helped them decrease the size of their phones (and for some reason, phones are just getting bigger nowadays).  From then on, the USB just took over. Eventually, the USB will become so universal (my last joke, I promise) that the CDs that we have will be obsolete. Imagine buying a video game that’s on a USB! USB 2.0 is still used today in almost 10 billion products and that doesn’t count a billion of smartphones and USB flash drives that almost everyone owns.

Now, the USB 3.0 has entered the game. At approximately 5 Gbps, this is at its finest! One noticeable difference between the USB 2.0 and 3.0 is the port colour. It is blue, which differentiates your USB version (go ahead, take a look at your USB drives). It began on September 2007 when Intel, Hewlett-Packard, NEC, NXP, Texas Instruments and Semiconductors started working on the next-gen USB. By November 2008, they released the 1.0 version. By then, the USB-IF took care of the other business. In 2012, processor companies (Intel and AMD) fully integrated their support for the SuperSpeed USB. Right now, the USB-IF is planning to finish the job by increasing its power to 10 Gbps! 

The USB is universally known. It will surely continue to improve from its older versions. All we need to do now is wait for it.

Keep Chewing!

From Sand to Silicon

Let me establish my feelings for Intel. This should sum it up.

While looking through some YouTube videos, I found this Intel video about microchips. I really enjoyed this video because of the way they showed how they are made and what they do with it. Intel is pretty good with this stuff, especially showing off their products. Take a look at the Silicon Photonics video that I featured a while ago. It shows off 128 GIGABITS! Amazing!

Here’s the video!