Linux

It’s fairly common to see that most people in this day and age will take advantage of using either a Windows or Apple-operated computer in their homes on a day to day basis. They’re the most popular operating systems after all. However, there’s a small percentage of computer-able people who have opted to use the Linux-based devices instead. Linux is one of the rarer used operating systems, which is assembled under the model of free and open-source software development and distribution. Their system was first released in October of 1991 by Linus Torvalds, a Finnish-American software engineer. In its first development stage, Linux was created as a free operating system for personal computers based on the Intel x86 architecture. However, since that time, it has been ported to more computer hardware platforms than any other operating system.

The Unix operating system, which is what Linux is heavily similar to, was conceived and implemented in 1969 at AT&T’s Bell Laboratories in the United States. Several other operating systems would be created throughout the proceeding years, with MINIX released in 1987. Torvalds, while attending the University of Helsinki in 1991, became curious about operating systems, and because of MINIX being restricted to educational uses only, thanks to its licensing, he began to work on his own instead. He began the development of such by using MINIX and applications written for it were also used on Linux. It later grew and developed, with GNU applications replacing all MINIX components. The product was originally to be called Freax, which was a mash up of the words ‘free’, ‘freak’ and ‘x’, creating an allusion to Unix. After using it for about a year, Torvalds ended up changing its name to Linux, and even provided an audio guide on gow to pronounce it.

Netent Touch

The internet certainly revolutionized the way gamers get their fix of various different casino products. And just like that, the world has also experienced a further revolution as far as gaming on the go is concerned. Following a decade-long run of developing the necessary technology, mobile devices became an immensely popular product to own worldwide in about 2010. Because of the technology included on such, demand for good quality gambling games which could also be played on these increased quite a lot. This is why, in response to this demand, NetEnt took it upon themselves to create their touch-based software. They called this NetEnt Touch, and it was released in 2011.

This software was offered up to numerous different online casinos, who have since been able to incorporate it into mobile versions of their sites to cater to gamers on the go. As such, it provides a range of casino games as developed by Net Entertainment, which can be played on devices that are usually smartphones or tablets, which are powered by mobile operating systems. Originally, the Touch games could only be accessed by those products containing Apple’s iOS, although Android-based devices would follow shortly afterwards, and in more recent times, Windows phones and tablets. It was the decision of the developer to initially convert some of their more popular slots into touchscreen versions, so products like Starburst and Gonzo’s Quest marked the first available mobile games from NetEnt. However, it’s very common today for the company to develop a game and make it available on both desktop and mobile platforms, allowing users of both to access their latest releases at the same time.

Android

For those gamers who have been living under a rock, it might be time to explain first of all what Android is. To put it simply, it’s a mobile operating system (OS) which is currently developed by Google and based on the Linux computer program, designed primarily for touch screen mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets. It was initially developed by Android, Inc., although this company was bought by Google in 2005, and Android was presented to the world in September of 2008.

Originally founded in 2003 by Andy Rubin, Rich Miner, Nick Sears and Chris White of Palo Alto, California, the theory behind creating the product was to develop “smarter mobile devices that are more aware of its owner’s location and preferences”. It was originally meant to be used as an advanced operating system for digital cameras, although was re-directed towards smart phones when this particular market was discovered to be a much bigger draw. As mentioned, Google acquired the Android company for a total of $50 million, with key employees including Rubin, Miner and White staying on afterwards. The operating system has gone through numerous updates since its 2008 release, adding new features and fixing any bugs along the way, with each new version being named in alphabetical order after a dessert or sugary sweet treat, with titles including Cupcake and Donut.

iPhone

The iPhone is a line of smartphones designed and marketed by Apple Inc. All of them run on Apple’s iOS mobile operating system, with the first device being released on June 29, 2007. The user interface is built around the device’s multi-touch screen, which includes its own virtual keyboard. Being a phone, it also has cellular connectivity, so is used as both a telephone and a computer device. There are currently nine generations of iPhone models, each one of which is accompanied by one of the nine major releases of iOS. The original iPhone was a GSM phone and would be the model which provided the design precedents for screen size and button placement. The most recent of the models to be released are the 6s and 6s Plus, which were unveiled towards the end of 2015.

Development of what was to become this particular smartphone began back in 2004, which is when Apple gathered a team of 1000 employees to work on the highly confidential ‘Project Purple’. The team contained the designer behind the iMac and iPod, Jonathan Ive, and while the original idea was to create a tablet-like product (which would later blossom in to the iPad), focus was shifted in order to create a smaller, phone-like item instead. Following its original successful release in the United States, the iPhone was made available in the United Kingdom, France and Germany towards the end of 2007, followed by Ireland and Austria in the spring of 2008. It would only be a short few months later that the product was made available in 22 more countries, and its legacy grew from there on out.

iPad

The iPad has become one of the most popular tablets in this day and age, so if you’re not familiar with it yet, there’s something amiss. These devices are a line of tablet computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The first of these was released in April of 2010, and they quickly gained a vast following, thanks to their ease of usability. The user interface is built around the device’s multi-touch screen, which also includes a virtual keyboard. They have built-in wifi and certain models also include mobile connectivity, enabling users to have it function as both a telephone and a computer. As of January 2015, reports suggests that over 250 million iPads have been sold, although they are only the second most popular in sales, falling short to Android-based ones.

Apple have been churning out tablets since the early 90s as it happens, with their first product being the Newton MessagePad 100, which was powered by an ARM6 processor core. The company would re-enter the mobile-computing markets in 2007 when they launched the iPhone, which pioneered the multi-touch finger-sensitive touchscreen interface of their iOS operating system. It was actually discovered later on that Steve Jobs, Apple’s former CEO, had begun developing the iPad before the iPhone, although initially, it was to be a stylus-based tablet. Since its 2010 release, the device has gone through several different changes, with more recent models being known as the iPad Pro and the iPad Air.

Mac

Mac OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computers. The original operating system was actually first introduced back in 1984 and was quite an integral part to the original Macintosh. It was at this point referred to as the ‘system’. This began with ‘System 6’ and then ‘System 7’. The company would then re-brand its version 7.6 as ‘Mac OS’, which was a part of their Macintosh clone program in 1996. There are two legacies of Mac OS, with up to major revision 9, from 1984 to 2000 being known as Classic Mac OS, while everything from revision 10, from 2001 to present, is branded OS X. There aren’t so many visual differences between these versions, and there has actually been some overlap of application frameworks for compatibility, but they do use very different architectures within.

The computers utiling OS X is, of course, the latest version of Apple’s operating system, and it is this which has provided the precedent for many others that have followed. It was actually used as the basis for creating the company’s iOS, which is used on Apple’s iPad, iPhone and iPod products. There are many people who would consider Mac software as just being an alternative to the Microsoft ‘Windows’ product. In actuality, many people consider it to be a superior system to work with, although many of its functions are very much the same as the Microsoft product, especially when it comes to being able to access your favourite online casino games.