File Processing and Programming CapabilitiesEssay Preview: File Processing and Programming CapabilitiesReport this essayTo start off, Windows XP has finally started using threads to complete processing of data. In the older versions of windows, if one process slowed down the computer, everything that was attempted until that process completed would be bogged down severely. In XP if you start the same slow process, and attempt to process some other data, it is not bogged down as bad, thus showing the effective use of threading (Bowers, 2004, p. 2). In Red Hat Linux, at least in version three, there is the use of multi-threading capabilities. The multi-threading capabilities in this version are several degrees of magnitude higher than of previous versions. Both Windows XP and Red Hat Linux take advantage of threading of processes.
As far as program capabilities go, XP has quite a few, and compared to itself, has made a huge turnaround. Considering the installation of XP, there are a few nice capabilities, such as the “Compatibility Test.” For most users, this test will give an accurate picture of what will happen, and if it can happen. It should let the user know what programs will have to be re-installed, and what drivers will have to be upgraded (Bowers, 2004, p. 1). Multi-user support on XP is another upgrade, which in previous versions, the programs of user that is logging off, would cease, where as in XP, the programs continue to run. One downfall, is of you connect remotely to the XP console; the current user will have to log off. It will ask the user if it is o.k., it does not simply knock them off (Bowers, 2004, p. 4). Another down fall of XP is that sometimes through IRQ; the system may still want to hang up. Users can avoid this by using the IRQ Steering Box, but doing this may result in certain things not working, such as sound cards (Bowers, 2004, p. 5).
Considering the installation of Red Hat Linux, there are several known problems, and the fixes are not patches. To fix these problems, you must command it to do a few things. For example, during installation, there may be an error that pops up about the XPDF package. It tries to read this from the second disc, but sends the error. To overcome this, you must have the first disc in and let it ask you for the second disc. Open the tray, remove the first disc, but leave the tray empty. This will cause an error when trying to read an empty drive. Insert the second disc, and everything should go as planned (“Installing Guest Operating Systems”, 2006).
Back to Windows, with a look at Windows XP Media Center edition, this is another version of XP. Basically, it is looked at as XP with a few kicks. Media Center is an OS with all the upgrades to fully support almost any audio or video task. From TV capture to high-end audio output, Media Center has it all. It has been constructed to be very user friendly, but still powerful. Basically, with Media Center, a person is able to turn their computer into a PVR, or Personal Video Recorder, something UNIX has not done. The computer is still operating an XP operating system, so there is still the same functionality that a normal Windows OS would have (“Windows XP Media Center Edition Capabilities”,
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Media Center is probably the most powerful of the 3 desktop options. It has three main advantages: Windows Media Center does not allow for much to be done with any kind of audio or video output. Because of the limitations of XP and the lack of video output for most of the desktop formats, it does not work well with the media center. It has to be very powerful to play video. It uses native HD audio output.
There are other differences between Media Center and XP and between the desktop versions. Since an XP user has all of the settings needed for their entertainment, Media Center does not share any of the same features with his desktop PC. In fact, it looks like some of the features can be shared with Media Center without any of the necessary addons. This is actually a major issue for a standard Windows Vista/7 PC, because of the “no more options needed” part; Media Center does not add a “No more options needed” button even in XP. There are a few exceptions (1) that are needed so that when someone is using a Windows XP PC to play video and audio at the same time (eg, playing CD2 from a computer) such as a movie, a movie might not end if the user (or the computer administrator) tries to download and install another program from a CD player. Even if you have a Windows XP PC playing a “no more options needed” video file, these can’t be added to your media center menu and the user loses more progress.
Media Center is not a desktop format. To play a different video file, a PC on a XP computer must first load a new video file that can be streamed to an XP desktop device. The only video file you can use Media Center on a PC is a standard video output as this works well for most of the media center format. The Media Center display features can be selected by a PC right after the display starts up, and the same desktop devices can be connected in the PC. This feature is not a feature in Windows Vista/7 and the Media Center display must be turned off. To access the Display menu there must be some graphical user interface to look at your display. A large number of settings have to be added during the setup. These include, but are not limited to: A high-res window on your desktop. This must be turned on to view graphics. A display (like a regular display on the computer) that does not have any graphics input.
A window which was not visible for an extended time (e.g., for a desktop).
A window that was displayed a few seconds after your video playback started. This is sometimes needed for some purposes (e.g