Everything electronic these days is touting the “SMART” designation. Just how smart these devices are has yet to be determined, but one thing is for certain, the end user needs to be “smart”, in a tech savvy way, in order to get all these devices doing what they should be doing! One thing that the informed consumer needs to know is that in the design strategy of electronic manufacturers the ultimate goal is to have all of your devices “linked” via the internet or over Wi-Fi networks and using their system. That not only means that all of these devices need to be connected to the internet on your home network, either hard wired or wirelessly (Wi-Fi), but they also have to speak the same language!
Computer manufacturers and operating systems manufacturers are not just making computers these days. They are making phones, gaming consoles, tablets etc. and the marketing strategy of these computer manufacturers is to get consumers to embrace their ecosystem. This make perfect sense if the consumer “likes” all the products that the developer designed for their ecosystem, but these days that isn’t the case. You may prefer a phone from one system developer, a computer from another and a console from still another! Starting to sound confusing? It is!
There are currently 3 main computing language platforms that are available to the consumer, but there are also quite a few others that are being used out there in the tech/computer world. The most prevalent platform is Microsoft Windows. It is still, by far, the most prevalent computer operating system on the planet and most electronics manufacturers will place Windows compliancy at the top of their design platform. Apple also gets considerable attention, mostly due to the popularity of their “I” series of products like the IPhone, IPad and IPod. The Apple computer operating system, or IOS, is a very good system and with Apples’ move to using Intel based chip sets in their computers they have increased the compliancy of their systems, particularly with the Windows operating system which has always used Intel based chip sets in their operating systems design. There are still some proprietary issues between these operating systems but they generally can be forced to get along with each other. The new kid on the block is Google and the Android operating system. The Google/Android system is based on what is called open source software which means there is no proprietary license fees involved in the use of these devices unlike Apple and Windows. Because it is free to use and implement, hardware manufacturers and consumers have gobbled up Google/Android devices with increasing fervor. Developers and programmers like to work with the Google operating system because it is based on the Linux kernel (another free open source system). Open source software is generally pretty good and is regulated and controlled by the governing bodies at both Google and Linux and not as tightly controlled as Windows (Microsoft) and Apple programming.
In a perfect scenario these operating systems would communicate flawlessly with one another and in reality they do to a certain extent because of the rules and regulations that are in place to govern the internet. All of these devices have to use the same protocols to connect and communicate over the wired and wireless network universe. Thank God there’s a cop on the beat!
There are still a lot of things that you can’t do with a mixed marriage of devices because frankly these companies are in competitive business with each other and they all want to be king of the hill. I am not here to tell you which is the best system, but depending on your requirements one system might be better suited than the others and you will have better integration with your devices.
As always, Wired 1 is here to help you every step of the way. Give us a call or contact us on line at www.wired1.ca and we’ll make your system communicate!