Vocabulary practice section 3

1. What do the following stand for?

1. GUI a. graphic user interface b. graphical user interface c. graphical users interface 2. OS a. operating system b. operation system c. operating systematization 3. WIMP a. windows, information, menus, pointer b. windows, icons, memory, pointer c. windows, icons, menus, pointer

2. Decide which of the expressions below best describe a graphical user interface (GUI).

user-friendly slow attractive text-based complex graphics-based

3. Which elements of a GUI would you need to click on to carry out the following tasks?

1. To open a letter that you’d been writing in Word. document icon / program icon 2. To launch your internet browser software. folder icon / program icon 3. To move up and down through a window. drop-down menu / scroll bar 4. To restart or shut down your computer. menu bar / hard drive icon

5. To find out how much space is left on your C: drive. program icon / hard drive icon

4. Identify these interface elements of Apple Macintosh programs.

5. Complete this extract from a wiki entry about Windows Vista.

improvement visual developed vulnerability tools networking viruses features

Windows Vista is an operating system 1….. by Microsoft for use on personal computers. Development was completed on November 8, 2006; over the next three months it was released in stages to computer manufacturers, business customers, and shops. On January 30, 2007, it was released worldwide to thegeneral public, and was made available for purchase and download direct from Microsoft. The release of Windows Vista comes more than five years after the introduction of Windows XP.

Vista contains hundreds of new and improved 2…... The most significant include an updated GUI and 3….. style called Windows Aero, improved search features, new multimedia creation 4….., and completely redesigned 5….., audio, print, and display sub-systems. However, perhaps the greatest 6….. has been to security. Windows XP suffered from 7….. to 8….. and malware, and it will be interesting to see to what extent this has been addressed in Vista.

GRAMMAR PRACTICE SECTION

Articles: a/an, the 1. Match the sentences with the explanations.

1. My friend is a system administrator.	a. We use a/an to describe something.
2. Can you pass me a CD from that box by your side?	b. We use the, if we know which one, as it was mentioned before or it is clear from the situation.
3. We must have a meeting in the IT department.	c. A/an mean “one”, so we cannot use a/an with plurals or uncountable nouns. The is possible.
4. Windows 2000 is a very good program.	d. We use a/an to refer to one of a group of things.
5. The information about this program gives us the chance to be the best.	e. We use the with nationalities and other groups.
6. Where is the laptop?	f. We use the with superlatives.
7. I really admire the Japanese for their IT development.	g. We use a/an to refer to something for the first time.
8. This is the best and the newest model of computers in the market.	h. We use a/an to describe someone’s job, but not areas of business.

2. Decide if these words (which appear in Exercise 5 of Vocabulary Practice Section 3) are countable or uncountable, depending on how they are used in this context.

1. development 2. public 3. security 4. vulnerability 5. malware

3. Fill in the gaps with ‘a/an’ or ‘the’ where necessary.

Breaking Windows

“Google takes its rivalry with Microsoft a step further”

(1) … announcement came as (2) … humble blog post on Google’s corporate website. By promising to launch a free operating system for personal computers (PCs) later this year, (3) … online giant is mounting a direct attack on Microsoft and its dominant Windows operating system. TechCrunch, a technology blog, reported the news as “Google Drops A Nuclear Bomb On Microsoft”.

The bomb has a very long fuse, however. (4) … first machines running Chrome OS, as the new software is to be called, will not be available until late next year. (5) … initial version will only be suitable for netbooks, small, cheap laptops that have proved popular of late. The idea is to provide (6) … compact and simple-to-use operating system that boots up in a few seconds and works securely and easily with (7) … web-based applications, such as social networks and online e-mail. (8) … software will combine Linux, the open-source operating system, with Chrome, Google’s browser.

Microsoft has not yet officially responded. Windows Vista, (9) … most recent version of its operating system, has not been a success. Its forays into Google’s main territory, (10) … web search and (11) … online advertising, have not brought (12) … big gains.

Yet it is much too early to count Microsoft out. It recently launched Bing, (13) … new search service, which has been well received. In October, around (14) … time when Google will make Chrome OS available, Microsoft will release Windows 7, (15) … much-improved next iteration of its operating system. (16) … firm is also spending

billions of dollars on a “cloud”—(17) … global network of (18) … huge data centers—which will rival Google’s infrastructure for web-based applications.

Will there be (19) … clear winner? Probably not in (20) … foreseeable future. That is (21) … good thing: the epic fight between the two giants promises to speed up innovation, which is what the recession-bound IT industry most needs.

READING PRACTICE SECTION