The Perfect Operating System

I’ve had problems with every operating system (OS) on the market and I’d like to explain why. Microsoft has done a wonderful job of cornering the market and making a user-friendly and very compatible OS, however they have also produced buggy, glitched OSs that are open to hacks, viruses, and trojans. I remember the first time using Windows 3.1 and thinking, “This is simple and easy to use.” I remember wondering how they could improve upon this. Of course, Microsoft produced Windows 95, which was so different that I was just blown away. It was radically different from Windows 3.1, which I thought was already great. Then I started to noticed bugs and glitches, then viruses started to appear when I was using the Internet. The Blue Screen of Death was my constant companion over the next 5 to 6 years. Yes, Windows 98 fixed many problems and was actually quite stable and reliable but it was still lacking in the secure department.

Then comes Windows XP, (I’m ignoring Windows 2000 as I never really used it), a shining beacon of light in the world of operating systems, or so I thought. Windows XP has been the one OS I have always gone back to, and indeed it is the one that I have found most reliable and secure. Even so, I have still had many problems with it. Lack of DirectX 10 support, for one, and a poor way of managing system resources, let alone the limited use of RAM. However, most annoying of all, is the lack of plug-and-play ability (yes: it works for some hardware, but not for most). I can’t leave out Windows Vista. It, in my opinion, is the worst OS. Vista has been the bane of my computing existence. I have a love-hate relationship with it. At first, it looks sweet as anything but for some reason it always hates my hardware and goes really slow; it always seems to hate the one game I want to play the most. As soon as I have finished playing it on my XP partition it then starts to work on Vista. Then Vista always seems to take up such a huge amount of space it’s ridiculous. I have the upgrade version of Vista Premium and it’s not a huge hassle to install an OS and then upgrade to Vista, but it’s almost double the normal size of Vista. You’d think that an upgrade to Vista would simply delete the old files or at least put them in a place where you’d be able to delete them, letting you choose if you wish to do so. The most annoying thing about Vista, in my opinions, is the fact that Microsoft has put in so many fancy things that the OS is one of the slowest I have ever experienced.

On the other hand, I know most will not use Mac OS (as the majority of us are probably PC users) but I have to say I like it. I like it a lot. In fact, if Mac OS allowed you to use all the PC programs and games then I’d be using it. Now, I understand why Steve Jobs has decided not to make the Mac compatible with PC games, even if I do disagree with him. Mac hardware is now essentially the same as PC hardware and yet the parts are at such a high price it has become a joke. I have seen some hardware selling for over triple the price of the PC version.

Now Mac OS is secure and pretty easy to use, it’s not as easy to use as the PC but it’s very close (although Mac lovers would disagree with me there). Mac’s huge advantage (and huge problem) is the fact that it’s ultra-restricted.

Linux, the one OS that seems to show some hope and alternative, is virtually useless. in gaming terms, its inability to run Windows programs without an emulator brings the usefulness of this OS down so much. Yes, Linux has many different versions and few viruses seem to be found on it, but again: these things may be the case because nothing overly intensive is used on it.

To me, the perfect operating system is an amalgamation of all these. I’d like you to imagine an operating system with virtually no useless extra fancy features, like trails behind the mouse and the ability to fade from one window to another. Indeed all these features make for a great looking OS but every single one slows the computer down. I dream of an OS that is essentially the bare bones of an OS. Windows installs a vast number of the standard drivers onto the hard drive, taking up valuable space. Why not keep these pesky drivers on a DVD and when you want to plug-and-play a device? Simply insert the DVD or CD into the drive and it will automatically pull the drivers from there. It may be a little more annoying but the amount of hard drive space saved would be in the gigabytes.

With a very basic interface that uses icons and a start bar and menu system a great OS can be clean, small and simple to use. I understand the desire for fancy things but there are some of us who would much prefer a computer that is quick, easy to use and never crashes. At least those of us who look beyond the superficial side of an OS would like this simplistic and reliable version. I say close off the OS; make it as simple as possible and therefore more streamlined.

I imagine a day that we have an OS that can run virtually every program around, one that is small, ultra fast, and has absolutely no fancy rubbish. We currently have many different variations of Windows Vista, including: Starter, Home, Premium, Business, Enterprise and Ultimate. Why not add a version called Streamlined? I, for one, would buy it. The extra speed, space, simplicity, security and lack of programs that just get in the way would quite simply become a great new OS version.

I know I’m asking a lot. I know I want an OS that takes the best of all three and combines them into one. Mac OS could become my favorite if they allowed PC games to work on it, or if Linux became compatible with any Windows programs, or if Windows streamlined their OS and made it much less computer-intensive and more stable.

I’d like to think I’m not asking too much. I know Mac OS will never allow all games, and I know Linux is for the techies amongst us, which leaves the great powerhouse known as Microsoft to produce a streamlined version for those who would rather have stability and speed over fancy menus and fading windows.

I think there could one day be a perfect operating system, however it requires us to go back to progress further. Go back to a simpler way of accessing your programs and games.

So dream the dream of a perfect operating system. Who knows: one day we may get one.