Operating systems are now no longer limited to just the Windows OS or the Mac OS, rather there are many operating systems that have come into view and what’s best about them is that they offer it all for free. With the advancement of the broadband internet, many companies came up with their open source operating systems, which could be downloaded from the internet and configured to be used as a regular operating systems. However, anyone using these free wares, must not expect it to perform as brilliantly as the Windows or the Mac OS. They do not have a wide range of technical assistance and all your configuration has to be done based on your research skills about the various operating systems. Given below is a list of operating systems that have got their way about with users and is open source, and you can easily download them.
Free BDS: A Unix descended operating system, the FreeBSD is the abbreviation of Berkely Software Distribution and works just like UNIX, which means it is entrusted as being a very reliable and effective OS.
Like the UNIX, FreeBDS is a fully functional OS that includes kernel, device drivers and all user based utilities. The softwares can be downloaded easily as they too are open source softwares that do not require any payment for using. The earliest version of the software, going by the name of FreeBSD 1 was released in 1993, with the latest version coming out in 2009, by the name of FreeBSD 9. Through each version, different enhancements have been made and features all the latest requirements of the IT world.
Inferno: Initiated at Bell Labs, Inferno was developed based on the Plan 9 platform, also by Bell Labs. It is also a free software that is designed for building distributed network systems meant to work on various devices and platforms. The best thing about Inferno is that it can be used upon an already existing operating system or even all by itself. A user will not be facing any kind of problem using this system as it integrates itself amongst most of the softwares, along with providing high level of security for its users. It gives full support for programs and connections requiring a certificate. A user can also test, debug and analyze all the applications that is downloaded here.
Linux Operating System: Linux can be termed as the initial, free and open source operating system that created a platform for other operating systems to become free source as well. Linux can be downloaded from the net, and is installed on a wide range of hardwares, that includes mobile phones, smart phones and many other technical accessories. Their usage ranges from micro to super computers and is the second most popular operating system after Microsoft Windows.
Open Solaris: Developed by the all famous Sun Microsystems, Open Solaris is an open source operating system, that has now become part of the Oracle Corporation.It provides user with a unique feature of being able to design and build applications and gain easy access to third party applications, 10 year + support life cycle and any latest updates. And like every other software Open Solaris could be downloaded via the internet or via any USB port or CD drives.
These operating systems though effective and are freeware, are a bit complicated to handle, as they do not provide with friendly GUI like Windows OS. Only a user with some knowledge of the computer system, its requirement, its configuration and its setup should consider installing these programs, as any newbie could easily be confused by the technicality.