Compare & Contrast
Law Technology Product News (Volume 6, Issue 1, p. , col. )
March 1999
In Today's Law Office, Not Much of a Choice
OPERATING SYSTEMS, in a nutshell, are programs that interface with your hardware and software to enable you to use the computer. In years gone by, these were cryptic command line structure s (not to say that certain operating systems aren't still cryptic).
But today, with the invention of the graphical user interface (GUI), using the operating system to control your computer is as easy as baking bread! (Have you ever tried to bake bread? It ain't easy!)
For the average law firm you will find one of the following Operating Systems installed on your desktop: Windows, Mac, Linus/UNIX or OS/2.
Some of the more adept readers will write me saying that no one would run Unix or Linux (the open source upstart created by Linus Torvalids and the talk of the computer world) on their desktop. I beg to differ.
Why you ask? Because just the other day, Corel Corp., the latest makers of WordPerfect have announced that they have ported (re-written) WordPerfect so that it works on Linux! So, now you can recycle those old 486 machines and have word processing stations!
But caveat emptor: For you less savvy law firms, don't go running out and think this is your answer to saving money! Linux is not for the computer novice. It will be a foreign operating system. If you are used to Windows, you will be entirely lost in Linux (or Unix).
| OPERATING SYSTEM |
COMMENTS |
| DOS |
This OS is completely dead, as of the
Year 2000. |
| Windows 3.1x |
This is no longer supported and you
should upgrade. |
| Windows 95 |
Hey, it works. |
| Windows 98 |
I'm not impressed. |
| Windows NT Workstation |
For those who need a hearty desktop environment. |
| Linux & UNIX |
For those brave-hearted techies. |
| OS/2 Warp 4 |
For those who love a dying horse and a great operating system ? or so I've been told. |
| MAC OS 8.5 |
For those who publish, a must have! |
| Vendor |
Product |
Minimum System Requirements
(what works) |
Comments |
| MICROSOFT |
DOS, v.6.x |
286 with 1MB or RAM |
Obsolete |
| |
Windows 3.1x |
386 with 8MB RAM; 16MB for better performance |
Obsolete |
| |
Windows 95 |
Pentium 233 with 32MB RAM, CD-ROM, 4GB hard drive |
Today's workhorse. |
| |
Windows 98 |
Same as Windows 95 |
Either this or Windows 95 |
| |
Windows NT Workstation |
Pentium 233 with 64MB RAM same as Windows 95 |
For more intensive desktop applications where true 32bit computing must be done |
| Multiple vendors, |
LINUX, CALDERA, & WALNUT CREEK |
486 with 8mb RAM, CD-ROM, 1.2GB hard drive; Pentium based system and 16MB of RAM is better |
Not for the faint of heart. For X-Windows, a including RED HAT |
| IBM |
OS/2 Warp 4 |
Pentium 233 with 32MB RAM, CD-ROM, 1.2GB hard drive. |
I personally know of no one who runs OS/2. However, I have read how great the system is in magazine articles. |
| APPLE |
MAC OS 8.5; MAC OS X coming soon |
Apple with PowerPC processor, 16MB RAM; w/virtual memory set to 24MB |
Get a G3 to run this OS, otherwise you'll get no response! |
Wayne Spivak is president of Bellmore, N.Y.'s SBA*Consulting.