Interface/OS question

Q: What does it mean if the user interface is Linux yet the OS is Windows? Is that even possible? Sorry, n00b here.

A: The OS (operating system) is the collection of processes, configuration, files, etc. that allow a computer system to do useful things. It handles scheduling programs to run on the CPU, manages data flowing to & from devices like hard-drives and network cards. It's handling all the 'behind-the-scenes' activity that makes your computer work. The User Interface is the way that a person interacts with the computer. It can be as simple as a text command line or very complex like Windows Vista. I think you're a little confused because MS Windows has always blended the operating system with the user interface, and there's never been a clear distinction between the two. It's different in Linux. The operating system is very distinct and separate from the user interface. Because of this, you can run lots of different user interfaces on a Linux OS. Most people use a Graphical User Interface (GUI) -- which is equivalent to the Windows user interface. Linux has several of these to choose from (KDE, GNOME, etc.) but they're all based on a standard called "X-Windows". There is a free program called "Cygwin" that will allow you to run Linux programs and a Linux (X-Windows) display from within MS Windows. So yes, this is possible, but it's also kind of a kluge.

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