Билет № 12

Прочтите и перескажите текст на английском языке ИИТУ

Windows XP

Windows XP is a line of operating systems developed by Microsoft for use on general-purpose computer systems, including home and business desktops, notebook computers, and media centers. The letters "XP" stand for experience. Windows XP is the successor to Windows 2000 and is the first consumer-oriented operating system produced by Microsoft to be built on the Windows NT kernel and architecture. Windows XP was first released in October 2001. The most common editions of the operating system are Windows XP Home Edition, which is targeted at home users, and 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. Windows XP Media Center Edition consists of Windows XP Professional with new features enhancing the ability to record and watch TV shows, watch DVDs, listen to music and more. Windows XP Tablet PC Edition is designed to run the ink-aware Tablet PC platform. Two separate 64-bit versions of Windows XP were also released, Windows XP 64-bit Edition for IA-64 (Itanium) processors and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition for AMD64/EM64T processors. Windows XP is known for its improved stability and efficiency over previous versions of Windows. It presents a significantly redesigned graphical user interface (GUI), a change Microsoft promoted as more user-friendly than previous versions of Windows. New software management capabilities were introduced to avoid the "DLL hell" that plagued older consumer versions of Windows. It is also the first version of Windows to use product activation to combat software piracy, a restriction that did not sit well with some users and privacy advocates.

Билет № 13

Прочтите и перескажите текст на английском языке ИИТУ

Brief History of Linux

Linus Torvalds was a student at the University of Helsinki in 1991 when he decided to create a new and different "UNIX clone." Torvalds decided the new OS would be named "Linux," a combination of his name and "UNIX." Torvalds had two goals. First, he wanted to create a powerful, feature-rich OS that provided the same functioning of UNIX. His OS would run on almost any computer, regardless of its architecture or the type of applications it hosted. Second, the OS would be completely open; anyone could contribute to its development and adapt or change its code, as long as they made their innovations public and did not take credit for anyone else's work. As part of its openness, Linux would be available for free to anyone who wanted it, although no one would be prohibited from selling their version of Linux as long as they made their innovations public and kept the OS completely open. To achieve these goals, Torvalds decided that Linux would be built from the ground up, without using any code from any commercial version of UNIX. To keep Linux open, Torvalds posted a message on the Internet in 1991 inviting programmers around the world to help him develop the new operating system. The call was taken up by dozens of programmers, who immediately wanted to share Torvalds' dream. Piecing the work out among themselves, different programmers tackled different aspects of the program, sharing code and ideas over the Internet. By 1994, enough pieces had been stitched together and the first version of Linux was released to anyone who wanted to download it.