Book Suggestion
Software
Software can be broadly divided into the operating system and its supporting files (such as libraries and device drivers), and applications.
The Operating System
The first software decision you have to make when building your own computer is what operating system you will be using. A computer's operating system performs many vital functions, including:
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Keeping track of what devices are installed on a computer and managing communication between the devices, the operating system, and the applications.
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Providing a common default interface by which humans can communicate with the machine and activate applications.
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Providing a common platform and application interfaces to enable programmers to design applications without, for example, having to build into those applications drivers for every single printer on the market.
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Allowing the transfer of data between applications (for example, by using the "clipboard" to "cut and paste" text from a web page to a text editor or word processor).
At the time of this writing, the most popular operating systems among home computer builders are:
Windows
The most popular desktop operating system in most of the world is Microsoft Windows. As of this writing, Windows 7, which comes in several versions differentiated mainly by price and features, is the current Windows version. But because some applications don't run properly on Window 7, Windows XP, which comes in Home and Professional editions, is still available. Windows Vista, which came between Windows XP and Windows 7, is also still available, although it's not very popular.
Because Windows is the most popular operating system, it's also very easy to find applications written for Windows, and virtually all hardware devices come with Windows drivers. In addition, Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate can run a "virtual" Windows XP system on top of Windows 7.
Linux
The second most popular operating system for home computer builders is Linux, which was originally created by Linus Torvalds when he was a computer science student in Finland. Linux is an open-source operating system: The source code (the human-readable programming before it is compiled into machine language) is freely available to all, and it may be modified by those possessing the ability to do so. It's estimated that between 65 and 75 percent of the world's Web servers run on Linux.
If you're considering building a Linux box (and especially if you've never built one before or have never used Linux), then we urge you read this first. In addition, please read our reviews of three popular desktop Linux distributions: Mepis, Linspire, and XandrOS. Also be sure to check out Ubuntu, the popular new Linux distribution that's gaining converts worldwide.
Applications
Applications are programs that allow a computer to perform some specific task, such as word processing, browsing the Internet, editing photos, and so forth.
When selecting an operating system, one important consideration is which applications you need to use. If you have to use applications that will only run on Windows, for example, then you should choose Windows as your operating system.
Freebies
You can find many free applications for Windows computers here.
You can find many free applications for Linux computers here.
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