Lec 1 | MIT 6.00 Introduction to Computer Science and Programming, Fall 2008

Lecture 1: Goals of the course; what is computation; introduction to data types, operators, and variables Instructors: Prof. Eric Grimson, Prof. John Guttag View the complete course at: ocw.mit.edu License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at ocw.mit.edu More courses at ocw.mit.edu

Q&A: Would it be easier to build your own computer if google comes out with a downloadable OS?

Question by Jentleman: Would it be easier to build your own computer if google comes out with a downloadable OS?
I’m planning to learn about computers and possibly build my own some day. I’m wondering if it would be easier in the future if we can download the operating system instead of paying Microsoft for the windows 7 license. Plus, if we are moving on towards a “virtual computer” where we can work on and store a lot of documents and pictures online, it would tend to decrease software and memory requirements for our home computers. Less work to build a computer, I hope. Am I right, or just wishful thinking?

Best answer:

Answer by Silent
Well, yes, but there are many free, downloadable operating systems available today.

If you’re interested in such things, give Linux a try. The Ubuntu distribution is particularly suited for people who haven’t used Linux before.

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!