Comparisons And Contrasts Of Windows Ce, Windows Xp, And Linux

Introduction

There has been an ongoing battle in recent years within the technology arena between the relative merits of Microsoft's Windows versus the open source platforms, Linux being one of them. Typically, discussions center around desktops or servers but an area often overlooked is embedded systems. Examples of such systems are industrial machines, automobiles, medical equipment, and specialized devices. "With the growing ubiquity of smart devices, the device arena offers action every bit as intense" (LinuxDevices). Both Windows and Linux offer solutions for specialized areas that include devices such as PDAs or handhelds, mobile phones, audio/video applications, even robots. Even though Linux has become more unified under Open Source Definition standards, or more specifically Linux Standard Base, and is making considerable strides in the business world, Microsoft still dominates where it counts, market share. Microsoft is an amalgamated goliath with a huge user base, Linux is open source scattered over 500 various distributions. This paper will give a brief overview of Windows XP, CE and Linux operating systems, followed by an assessment of their respective similarities and/or differences.

Windows XP

Microsoft's initial foray into a "windows" system began with what was called the "Interface Manager" and subsequently renamed Microsoft Windows in September of 1981 (FortuneCity, n.d.). According to Microsoft's official history, Windows began on November 10, 1983 (Microsoft, 2003a) with the release of Windows 1.0, although the development was delayed several times and Windows 1.0 did not hit the store shelves until November 1985 (FortuneCity). Since that time "Microsoft Windows products have evolved from a single, one-size-fits-all desktop operating system into a diverse family of operating systems and mobile technologies"

(Microsoft, 2003b). Windows XP is the fifth major release of Windows (Windows 3x, 95, 98, Me) with a release date of October 25, 2001. "The letters "XP" stand for eXPerience" (Wikipedia, 2006). For clarity sake, there are five primary editions of Windows XP (Professional, Home, Tablet, Media Center, and Pro x64).

XP Home: Wikipedia's article on XP states XP Home is "the successor to both Windows 2000 and Windows Me, and is the first consumer-oriented operating system...built on the Windows NT kernel and architecture" (Wikipedia). XP Home is considered even an improvement upon Windows 2000 Professional, such as "improved software (application) and hardware compatibility, simplified security, simplified log-on, fast user switching, a new user interface featuring context-sensitive, task-oriented Web views, enhanced support for digital media (movies, pictures, music), DirectX 8.1 multimedia libraries for gaming" (WinSuperSite, 2001).

XP Pro: Windows XP Professional (XP Pro) was a large step forward compared to previous versions. Unlike Windows XP Home, Microsoft's aim with XP Pro was business, "Windows XP Professional, which has additional features such as support for Windows Server domains and dual processors, and is targeted at power users and business clients" (Wikipedia). XP Pro is more stable than previous versions of Windows. XP Pro's new interface is more user friendly than previous operating systems, especially for those administering or servicing the workstations. The increased ease of PC setup and maintenance with XP's universal "Plug and Play" is an added advantage. Additional key benefits offered in XP Pro for both the user and network administrator alike are according to Microsoft:

Protection - Automatic security updates, Windows Security Center, and Windows Firewall.

Work from anywhere - New "Remote Desktop" feature allowing remote access to users' PC.

Wireless support - XP Pro offers a better wireless support enabling users to connect to wireless networks more easily, whether in their home, office, or out on the road.

Laptop power management: Better power management for laptops extends battery life and more accurately forecasts how long their batteries will last.

Built-in CD-R/CD-RW support (ability to burn CDs without additional software).

Ability to run DLLs in parallel by storing them in different folders during installs. This eliminates the old "DLL Hell" associated with Windows NT.

Recovery - With the new System Restore (the ability to define Restore points), a PC can easily roll back any system or application changes without losing files and other valuable information (Microsoft, 2007a).

XP Pro x64: Windows XP Professional x64 (XP Pro x64) is XP Pro on steroids. XP x64 is "based on Windows Server 2003 and supports AMD's AMD64 64-bit extension of the Intel IA-32 architecture" and was released on April 25, 2005 (Wikipedia). One enticing feature of XP Pro x64 is its huge memory support increase. XP Pro x64 is a 64-bit system rather than the standard 32-bit system of XP Pro. This 64-bit architecture increases RAM memory limits from 4 gigabytes (GB) to 128 GB and increases virtual memory from 4 GB to 16 terabytes (TB). System cache also makes a huge jump from 1 GB to 1 TB. On paper, this would mean the ability to accomplish tasks unheard of with 32-bit system, if not for some serious downsides. In some real-world tests, the promise has not lived up to the hype, at least not yet. In CNET tests, XP Pro x64 had in fact lower bench tests when compared to XP Pro (32bit). Furthermore, according to users there exist many compatibility issues due to lack of suitable drivers as "older 32-bit drivers and services are not supported by 64-bit Windows" except certain audio and video codecs (Wikipedia). CNET's gives a succinct summation of XP Pro x64,

Windows XP Professional x64 Edition promises substantial speed improvements with CAD/CAM, 3D modeling, and other high-end tools that will justify the move to the new OS. For the average user, though, 64-bit Windows is, for now, little more than a curiosity. Compatibility issues far outweigh any potential speed boosts, making it an inadvisable upgrade for all but the most die-hard hobbyists (CNET, 2005).

Windows XP Media Center Edition (MCE): At first one could only get MCE preinstalled or bundled on a new Media center PC purchase but in 2003 Media Center Edition was updated as "Windows XP Media Center Edition 2003". The distinctive feature of this edition of XP from the other editions is "by an exclusive preinstalled application, Media Center, which provides a large-font ("10-foot"),