Q # 1) Make a detailed report on five most popular operating systems being used today in desktop

computers / laptops. Use different websites for the information on each of these operating
systems. Put proper headings in the report.
Answer # 1
What Is An Operating Systems?
An operating system is a set of programs that coordinates all the activities among computer or
mobile device hardware.
It provides a means for users to communicate with the computer or mobile device and other
software.
To use an application, your computer or mobile device must be running an operating system.
An operating system in its most general definition is the software that allows a user to run crucial
applications on his/her computing device. It helps to manage a computer’s hardware resources.
It helps to support basic functions like scheduling tasks, and controlling peripherals.

Five Most Popular Operating Systems:

In this report I will be discussing five most popular operating systems according to my research
which are as follows:
1. Microsoft Windows
2. Ubuntu
3. Mac OS
4. Fedora
5. Solaris

Following is the comparison of the top five operating systems:

Comparison Of The Top Five Operating Systems:

Computer
Target System Security
OS Name Architecture Best For Price
Default Threat
Supported
Workstation,
Apps, Gaming, $119 -
Windows X86, x86-64 Personal Huge
Browsing $199
Computer
Workstation,
Apple Exclusive
Mac OS 68k, Power PC Personal Negligible Free
Apps
Computer
Open Source
X86, X86-64, Power Desktop/
Ubuntu Negligible Downloading, Free
PC, SPARC, Alpha. Server
APPS
 X86, X86-64, Power Desktop/ Coding,
Fedora Negligible Free
PC, SPARC, Alpha. Server Corporate Use
Server,
X86, X86-64, SPARC Workstation, Oracle Database
Solaris Negligible Free
and i86pc. NAS, and Java Apps.
embedded

1. Microsoft Windows
Windows is the most popular and familiar operating system on this list. From Windows 95, all the
way to the Windows 10, it has been the go-to operating software that is fueling the computing
systems worldwide.
It is user-friendly, and starts up & resumes operations fast. The latest versions have more built-
in security to keep you and your data safe.
Following is the screenshot of Microsoft Windows commonly referred to as Windows:

As of October 2020, the most recent version of Windows for PCs, tablets and embedded devices
is Windows 10, version 20H2. The most recent version for server computers is Windows Server,
version 20H2. A specialized version of Windows also runs on the Xbox One video game console.
Microsoft Windows Features:

 A robust User Interface which helps in easier navigation, with a start menu on the left side
by listing out options and representing applications.
 The Task View feature lets the users switch between multiple workspaces at once, by
displaying all the open Windows.
 Two separate user interfaces, one for mouse and keyboard, and the ‘Tablet Mode’
designed for touchscreens.
 Multifactor authentication technology for higher security like BIN, PIN, Fingerprint
recognition, etc.
 Automatically compress system files to reduce the storage footprint.

Verdict:
The Windows software is simply best because of how it has evolved with time. Its security
system is state-of-the-art, its user interface allows convenient usage irrespective of the device
that you are using it on. The only thing that will pinch some is its price.
2. Ubuntu:
Ubuntu is a Linux distribution based on Debian and mostly composed of free and open-source
software. Ubuntu is officially released in three editions: Desktop, Server, and Core for Internet of
things devices and robots. All the editions can run on the computer alone, or in a virtual machine.
Ubuntu is perfect for organizations, schools, and home use. It is free to download, use and share
and that alone should be worth checking this app out.
It is backed by Canonical which is a global software company, and now by the leading Ubuntu
service providers.
Ubuntu is released every six months, with long-term support (LTS) releases every two years. As
of 22 October 2020, the most recent long-term support release is 20.04 ("Focal Fossa"), which is
supported until 2025 under public support and until 2030 as a paid option. The latest standard
release is 20.10 ("Groovy Gorilla"), which is supported for nine months.
Ubuntu is developed by Canonical, and a community of other developers, under a meritocratic
governance model. Canonical provides security updates and support for each Ubuntu release,
starting from the release date and until the release reaches its designated end-of-life (EOL) date.
Canonical generates revenue through the sale of premium services related to Ubuntu.
Ubuntu is named after the Nguni philosophy of ubuntu, which Canonical indicates means
"humanity to others" with a connotation of "I am what I am because of who we all are".
Security:
Ubuntu aims to be secure by default. User programs run with low privileges and cannot corrupt
the operating system or other users' files. For increased security, the sudo tool is used to assign
temporary privileges for performing administrative tasks, which allows the root account to
remain locked and helps prevent inexperienced users from inadvertently making catastrophic
system changes or opening security holes. Polkit is also being widely implemented into the
desktop.
Most network ports are closed by default to prevent hacking. A built-in firewall allows end-users
who install network servers to control access. A GUI (GUI for Uncomplicated Firewall) is available
to configure it. Ubuntu compiles its packages using GCC features such as PIE and buffer overflow
protection to harden its software. These extra features greatly increase security at the
performance expense of 1% in 32-bit and 0.01% in 64-bit.
Ubuntu also supports full disk encryption as well as encryption of the home and Private
directories.
Following is the screenshot of Ubuntu:

Ubuntu Features:

 Ubuntu is an Open Source software, which allows it to be freely downloaded, used and
shared by its users.
 It comes with a built-in firewall and virus protection software, by making it the most
secure OS around.
  You get five years of security patches and updates.
 Ubuntu is fully translated into 50 different languages.
 It works and is compatible with all the latest laptops, desktops and touch screen devices.

Verdict:
Ubuntu is a great option for those with holes for pockets. Its open-source feature is enticing
enough to attract many users. But, it also makes up in quality by providing a robust interface, and
security features that are too hard to pass on.
3. MAC OS
MAC OS previously Mac OS X and later OS X is a series of proprietary graphical operating systems
developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's
Mac computers. Within the market of desktop, laptop and home computers, and by web usage,
it is the second most widely used desktop OS, after Microsoft Windows
MAC OS is the second major series of Macintosh operating systems. The first is colloquially called
the classic Mac OS, introduced in 1984, the final release of which was Mac OS 9 in 1999. The first
desktop version, Mac OS X 10.0, was released in March 2001, with its first update, 10.1, arriving
later that year. After this, Apple began naming its releases after big cats, which lasted until OS X
10.8 Mountain Lion. Since OS X 10.9 Mavericks, releases have been named after locations in
California. Apple shortened the name to "OS X" in 2012 and then changed it to "macOS" in 2016,
adopting the nomenclature that they were using for their other operating systems, iOS, watchOS,
and tvOS. The latest version is macOS Catalina, which was publicly released in October 2019.
MAC OS is based on the Unix operating system and on technologies developed between 1985
and 1997 at NeXT, a company that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs created after leaving Apple in
1985. The "X" in Mac OS X and OS X is the Roman numeral for the number 10 and is pronounced
as such. The X was a prominent part of the operating system's brand identity and marketing in
its early years, but gradually receded in prominence since the release of Snow Leopard in 2009.
In 2020, Apple incremented the major version number to 11 in MAC OS Big Sur, although it retains
the same base as the previous versions of MAC OS. UNIX 03 certification was achieved for the
Intel version of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and all releases from Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard up to
the current version also have UNIX 03 certification. MAC OS shares its Unix-based core, named
Darwin, and many of its frameworks with Apple's other operating systems.
MAC OS Features:

 The new dark mode gives your desktop interface a more dramatic look which is easier on
the eyes.
 A dynamic desktop which helps to automatically organize your desktop files by kind, date
or tag.
  Continuity camera that scans or photographs a document nearby your iPhone and
automatically appears on your mac.
 Discover handpicked apps with the MAC app store.
 New iTunes that allows users to search for songs with few lyrics.
 Prevent websites from tracking your Mac by making your profile more anonymous online.

Following is the screenshot of MAC OS:

Verdict:
Mac’s biggest accomplishment is how dynamic the look and design of its interface appears. It is
probably one of the best looking OS today. Now, Apple is allowing its users to get their hands on
this OS and all its upgrades for free, and this has alleviated a lot of burden from Apple users who
are already paying heftily for the Apple devices.
4. Fedora
Fedora is a Linux distribution developed by the community-supported Fedora Project which is
sponsored primarily by Red Hat, a subsidiary of IBM, with additional support from other
companies. Fedora contains software distributed under various free and open-source licenses
and aims to be on the leading edge of free technologies. Fedora is the upstream source of the
commercial Red Hat Enterprise Linux distribution, and subsequently CentOS as well.
Since the release of Fedora 30, five different editions are currently available: Workstation,
focused on the personal computer, Server for servers, CoreOS, focused on cloud computing,
Silverblue, focused on an immutable desktop specialized to container-based workflows and IoT,
focused on IoT devices.
Fedora is the Operating system that is for casual users and caters to students, hobbyists, and
professionals working in corporate environments.
As of February 2016, Fedora has an estimated 1.2 million users.
Following is the screenshot of Fedora Operating System:

Features of Fedora:

 A sleek new user interface that allows the developers to focus on their code on Gnome 3
environment.
 It offers a complete open-source toolbox with languages, tools, and utilities in all just a
click or commands away.
 Allows digging into powerful virtualization tools to get virtual machines up and running.
  Containerize the own applications or deploy applications out of the box with OCI (Open
Container Initiative) image support.
Verdict:
Although also good for personal use, fedora works best for developers in the corporate
environment. It has all the tools and utilities that a developer needs to work on in their projects
and is free of cost!
5. Solaris
Solaris is a proprietary Unix operating system originally developed by Sun Microsystems. It
superseded the company's earlier SunOS in 1993. In 2010, after the Sun acquisition by Oracle, it
was renamed Oracle Solaris.
Solaris is known for its scalability, especially on SPARC systems, and for originating many
innovative features such as DTrace, ZFS and Time Slider. Solaris supports SPARC and x86-64
workstations and servers from Oracle and other vendors. Solaris was registered as compliant with
UNIX 03 until 29 April 2019.
Historically, Solaris was developed as proprietary software. In June 2005, Sun Microsystems
released most of the codebase under the CDDL license, and founded the OpenSolaris open-
source project. With OpenSolaris, Sun wanted to build a developer and user community around
the software. After the acquisition of Sun Microsystems in January 2010, Oracle decided to
discontinue the OpenSolaris distribution and the development model. In August 2010, Oracle
discontinued providing public updates to the source code of the Solaris kernel, effectively turning
Solaris 11 back into a closed source proprietary operating system. Following that, OpenSolaris
was forked as illumos and is alive through several illumos distributions.
In 2011, the Solaris 11 kernel source code leaked to BitTorrent. Through the Oracle Technology
Network (OTN), industry partners can gain access to the in-development Solaris source code.
Solaris is developed under a proprietary development model, and only the source for open-
source components of Solaris 11 is available for download from Oracle.
Solaris is known for its scalability and several other features that made it possible such as Dtrace,
ZFS and Time Slider.
Features of Solaris:

 Provides the most advanced security features in the world such as process and user rights
management, thereby allowing you to secure mission-critical data.
 It offers indisputable performance advantages for web, database, and java-based
services.
 Delivers high-performance networking without any modification.
 Unlimited capacity for helping in managing file system and databases.
  Allows seamless inter-operability for solving hundreds of hardware and software
problems.
Following is the screenshot of Solaris:

Verdict:
Oracle Solaris is considered as one of the best free open source OS in the industry by most of
them. It allows for scalability, interoperability, data management and security that are all critical
for businesses with the need for high-end operating software.

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Windows
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fedora_(operating_system)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solaris_(operating_system)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacOS#macOS

https://www.softwaretestinghelp.com/best-operating-systems/