Windows Vs Linux Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Windows Vs Linux - Research Paper Example The source code is available to everyone, as to allow people to make the program function properly on their computers and in the way that they want to (Collins-Sussman, 2008). Windows, being closed source, contains a special user license, so that users cannot change the code. They must accept the program as it is. It is because of this that many programs for Linux are free, since they can be altered at will by any given person. The majority of Windows’ programs cost, as they cannot be changed. While Windows is one of the cheaper platforms, it is not nearly as cost-effective as Linux. A lot of this has to do with the use of open source programs in the Linux platform, seeing as many of these do not cost. The Windows platform itself might be cheaper than Linux, but one must still purchase all of the programs for Windows. An example of this is Windows’ need for antivirus software. The use of closed source means that the computer is more likely to get viruses, forcing the user to purchase antivirus software. Linux, being open source, is incapable of getting programs, and therefore not requiring antivirus programming (Easttom, 2006). In the long run, more money is spent maintaining the Windows platform as opposed to Linux. Both platforms use directories to hold and save data, information or files created by the user of the computer. Windows and Linux platforms allow the user to create, delete, rename, copy or move directories or files (Veselosky, 2007). Regardless of which platform someone decides to use, they will be able to keep their files and documents in whichever organized fashion that they wish, and edit them if and when they see fit. Both platforms also offer the use of the command prompt to open and start a program. These programs are the programs that allow the computer to run and effect how efficiently the computer works. Command prompts, while they can be simply the title of the program, can also be special computer

Case study on an historical Civil Engineering failure Essay - 1

Case study on an historical Civil Engineering failure - Essay Example The author also cites other definitions of failure in engineering projects to be occasioned by the lack of conformity between the design and the expectations. In these definitions of project failure in the civil engineering sector, the author comes up with a simplified and precise approach for civil engineering designs that takes care of two basic aspects. On one side of the aspects, the author states that everything likely to go wrong in the project is highlighted in the design while protection measures must be introduced on the other hand. It is therefore correct to state that engineering designs are prepared in contemplation of difficult and disturbing realities that perfect conditions of implementation are inexistent. Engineers proactively introduce certain measures to overcome the challenges of imperfect conditions at every stage of project implementation. However, certain factors not foreseen in design, foreseen but inadequately tackled in the design or totally uncontrollable factors present the most difficult challenge to an engineer. Failure in civil engineering sector has been a matter of debate since antiquity, yet how to completely avoid it still remains elusive. This case study enumerates circumstances and details of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse as a classical example of how devastating it could be in case of a failure in the civil engineering sector. Background information is complemented by causes and responses thereon have been included in the essay. In Tacoma, Washington, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge that is over 850 meters of span was designed and commissioned at a cost of about six and a half million US dollars to connect Seattle and Tacoma to Puget Navy Yard. It was seen as a major transport solution for both economic and military purposes around the Olympic peninsula. The University of Washington reported that the bridge was celebrated as a triumph of man’s ingenuity