10 Best Information Technology Stocks for 2013

Top Rated Stocks

Every day The Street Ratings produces a list of the top rated stocks. These 10 IT service stocks are rated highest by our stock rating model.

Latest : 19^th March,2013.

Symbol	Equity	Rating
IBM	INTL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP	A+
IT	GARTNER INC	A
ACN	ACCENTURE PLC	A
DOX	AMDOCS LTD	A-
CTGX	COMPUTER TASK GROUP INC	A-
CTSH	COGNIZANT TECH SOLUTIONS	A-
CSPI	CSP INC	B+
VRTU	VIRTUSA CORP	B+
ACXM	ACXIOM CORP	B
INFY	INFOSYS LTD	B

Different types of Operating System types and their Comparisons

Operating system ABCs

An operating system, or OS, is a software program that enables the computer hardware to communicate and operate with the computer software. Without operating system, a computer would be useless.

Operating system types

As computers have progressed and developed so have the operating systems. Below is a basic list of the different operating systems and a few examples of operating systems that fall into each of the categories. Many computer operating systems will fall into more than one of the below categories.

GUI - Short for Graphical User Interface, a GUI Operating System contains graphics and icons and is commonly navigated by using a computer mouse. See the GUI definition for a complete definition. Below are some examples of GUI Operating Systems.

• System 7.x
• Windows 98
• Windows CE

Multi-user - A multi-user operating system allows for multiple users to use the same computer at the same time and different times. See the multi-user definition for a complete definition for a complete definition. Below are some examples of multi-user operating systems.

• Linux
• Unix
• Windows 2000

Multiprocessing - An operating system capable of supporting and utilizing more than one computer processor. Below are some examples of multiprocessing operating systems.

• Linux
• Unix
• Windows 2000

Multitasking - An operating system that is capable of allowing multiple software processes to run at the same time. Below are some examples of multitasking operating systems.

• Unix
• Windows 2000

Multithreading - Operating systems that allow different parts of software program to run concurrently. Operating systems that would fall into this category are:

• Unix
• Windows 2000
• Linux

Operating system listing

Below is a listing of many of the different operating systems available today, the dates they were released, the platforms they have been developed for and who developed them.

Operating system	Date first released	Platform	Developer
AIX and AIXL	Unix and Linux history.	Various	IBM
AmigaOS	Currently no AmigaOS history.	Amiga	Commodore
BSD	Unix and Linux history.	Various	BSD
Caldera Linux	Unix and Linux history.	Various	SCO
Corel Linux	Unix and Linux history.	Various	Corel
Debian Linux	Unix and Linux history.	Various	GNU
DUnix	Unix and Linux history.	Various	Digital
DYNIX/ptx	Unix and Linux history.	Various	IBM
HP-UX	Unix and Linux history.	Various	Hewlett Packard
IRIX	Unix and Linux history.	Various	SGI
Kondara Linux	Unix and Linux history.	Various	Kondara
Linux	Unix and Linux history.	Various	Linus Torvalds
MAC OS 8	Apple operating system history.	Apple Macintosh	Apple
MAC OS 9	Apple operating system history.	Apple Macintosh	Apple
MAC OS 10	Apple operating system history.	Apple Macintosh	Apple
MAC OS X	Apple operating system history.	Apple Macintosh	Apple
Mandrake Linux	Unix and Linux history.	Various	Mandrake
MINIX	Unix and Linux history.	Various	MINIX
MS-DOS 1.x	MS-DOS history.	IBM	Microsoft
MS-DOS 2.x	MS-DOS history.	IBM	Microsoft
MS-DOS 3.x	MS-DOS history.	IBM	Microsoft
MS-DOS 4.x	MS-DOS history.	IBM	Microsoft
MS-DOS 5.x	MS-DOS history.	IBM	Microsoft
MS-DOS 6.x	MS-DOS history.	IBM	Microsoft
NEXTSTEP	Apple operating system history.	Various	Apple
OSF/1	Unix and Linux history.	Various	OSF
QNX	Unix and Linux history.	Various	QNX
Red Hat Linux	Unix and Linux history.	Various	Red Hat
SCO	Unix and Linux history.	Various	SCO
Slackware Linux	Unix and Linux history.	Various	Slackware
Sun Solaris	Unix and Linux history.	Various	Sun
SuSE Linux	Unix and Linux history.	Various	SuSE
System 1	Apple operating system history.	Apple Macintosh	Apple
System 2	Apple operating system history.	Apple Macintosh	Apple
System 3	Apple operating system history.	Apple Macintosh	Apple
System 4	Apple operating system history.	Apple Macintosh	Apple
System 6	Apple operating system history.	Apple Macintosh	Apple
System 7	Apple operating system history.	Apple Macintosh	Apple
System V	Unix and Linux history.	Various	System V
Tru64 Unix	Unix and Linux history.	Various	Digital
Turbolinux	Unix and Linux history.	Various	Turbolinux
Ultrix	Unix and Linux history.	Various	Ultrix
Unisys	Unix and Linux history.	Various	Unisys
Unix	Unix and Linux history.	Various	Bell labs
UnixWare	Unix and Linux history.	Various	UnixWare
VectorLinux	Unix and Linux history.	Various	VectorLinux
Windows 2000	Microsoft Windows history.	IBM	Microsoft
Windows 2003	Microsoft Windows history.	IBM	Microsoft
Windows 3.X	Microsoft Windows history.	IBM	Microsoft
Windows 7	Microsoft Windows history.	IBM	Microsoft
Windows 95	Microsoft Windows history.	IBM	Microsoft
Windows 98	Microsoft Windows history.	IBM	Microsoft
Windows CE	Microsoft Windows history.	PDA	Microsoft
Windows ME	Microsoft Windows history.	IBM	Microsoft
Windows NT	Microsoft Windows history.	IBM	Microsoft
Windows Vista	Microsoft Windows history.	IBM	Microsoft
Windows XP	Microsoft Windows history.	IBM	Microsoft
Xenix	Unix and Linux history.	Various	Microsoft

Linux vs. Windows

Below is a chart to help illustrate the major advantages and disadvantages of each of these operating systems.

Topic	Linux	Windows
Price	The majority of Linux variants are available for free or at a much lower price than Microsoft Windows.	Microsoft Windows can run between $50.00 - $150.00 US dollars per each license copy.
Ease	Although the majority Linux variants have improved dramatically in ease of use, Windows is still much easier to use for new computer users.	Microsoft has made several advancements and changes that have made it a much easier to use operating system, and although arguably it may not be the easiest operating system, it is still Easier than Linux.
Reliability	The majority of Linux variants and versions are notoriously reliable and can often run for months and years without needing to be rebooted.	Although Microsoft Windows has made great improvements in reliability over the last few versions of Windows, it still cannot match the reliability of Linux.
Software	Linux has a large variety of available software programs, utilities, and games. However, Windows has a much larger selection of available software.	Because of the large amount of Microsoft Windows users, there is a much larger selection of available software programs, utilities, and games for Windows.
Software Cost	Many of the available software programs, utilities, and games available on Linux are freeware or open source. Even such complex programs such as Gimp, OpenOffice, StarOffice, and wine are available for free or at a low cost.	Although Windows does have software programs, utilities, and games for free, the majority of the programs will cost anywhere between $20.00 - $200.00+ US dollars per copy.
Hardware	Linux companies and hardware manufacturers have made great advancements in hardware support for Linux and today Linux will support most hardware devices. However, many companies still do not offer drivers or support for their hardware in Linux.	Because of the amount of Microsoft Windows users and the broader driver support, Windows has a much larger support for hardware devices and a good majority of hardware manufacturers will support their products in Microsoft Windows.
Security	Linux is and has always been a very secure operating system. Although it still can be attacked when compared to Windows, it much more secure.	Although Microsoft has made great improvements over the years with security on their operating system, their operating system continues to be the most vulnerable to viruses and other attacks.
Open Source	Many of the Linux variants and many Linux programs are open source and enable users to customize or modify the code however they wish to.	Microsoft Windows is not open source and the majority of Windows programs are not open source.
Support	Although it may be more difficult to find users familiar with all Linux variants, there are vast amounts of available online documentation and help, available books, and support available for Linux.	Microsoft Windows includes its own help section, has vast amount of available online documentation and help, as well as books on each of the versions of Windows.

Command line vs. GUI

Below is a table to help illustrate the major advantages and disadvantages of each of the interfaces.

Topic	Command line (CLI)	GUI
Ease	Because of the memorization and familiarity needed to operate a command line interface, new users have a difficult time navigating and operating a command line interface.	Although new users may have a difficult time learning to use the mouse and all GUI features, most users pick up this interface much easier when compared to a command line interface.
Control	Users have much more control of their file system and operating system in a command line interface. For example, users can copy a specific file from one location to another with a one-line command.	Although a GUI offers plenty of control of a file system and operating system, the more advanced tasks may still need a command line.
Multitasking	Although many command line environments are capable of multitasking, they do not offer the same ease and ability to view multiple things at once on one screen.	GUI users have windows that enable a user to view, control, and manipulate multiple things at once and is much faster to navigate when compared with a command line.
Speed	Command line users only need to use their keyboards to navigate a command line interface and often only need to execute a few lines to perform a task.	A GUI may be easier to use because of the mouse. However, using a mouse and keyboard to navigate and control your operating system for many things is going to be much slower than someone who is working in a command line.
Resources	A computer that is only using the command line takes a lot less of the computers system resources than a GUI.	A GUI requires more system resources because of each of the elements that need to be loaded such as icons, fonts, etc. In addition, video drivers, mouse drivers, and other drivers that need to be loaded will also take additional resources.
Scripting	A command line interface enables a user to script a sequence of commands to perform a task or execute a program.	Although A GUI enables a user to create shortcuts, tasks, or other similar actions, it doesn't even come close in comparison to what is available through a command line.
Remote access	When accessing another computer or networking device over a network, a user will only be able to manipulate the device or its files using a command line interface.	Although remote graphical access is possible. Not all computers and especially not all network equipment will have this ability.
Diverse	After you've learned how to navigate and use a command line, it's not going to change as much as a new GUI. Although new commands may be introduced, the original commands always remain the same.	Each GUI has a different design and structure of how to perform different tasks. Even different versions of the same GUI, such as Windows, can have hundreds of different changes between each version.
Strain	The command line allows the user to keep their hands on the keyboard and rarely have to move from the keyboard to the mouse. Moving back and forth between a keyboard and mouse can cause additional strain and may help contribute to Carpal Tunnel.	Although shortcut keys can be learned to help reduce the amount of times you have move from the keyboard to the mouse, you will still be moving much more between the keyboard and mouse with a GUI.

Although it appears that a command line wins this comparison, it is not meant to be a suggestion to stop using a GUI such as Windows and only use a command line. It is more beneficial for a computer user to learn and understand both a GUI and CLI and know the strengths and weaknesses of each interface.