Unix usually refers to a family of operating systems that are similar in function or descendants of the original Unix operating system developed at AT&T Bell Laboratories. This includes a large portion of modern operating systems, including:

• All Linux distributions (Red Hat, SuSE, Fedora, Debian, etc.)
• BSDs (FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, DragonflyBSD, Mac OS X)
• Solaris
• HP-UX
• AIX

Unix-like systems are multi-user and multiprocessing operating systems; that is, more than one user can be using the machine at one time, and each user can run multiple processes, or programs. The most common way to interact with a Unix-like system is a text command shell, but many users choose to use graphical desktop environments as well.

On the contrary, DOS refers to a family of single-user operating systems first developed for IBM-compatible PCs. Generally, DOS is also single-tasking, meaning that the operating system can only run one program at a time. DOS is not a very modern operating system; a program bug can easily crash the entire computer whereas on modern operating systems (Windows, Mac, Linux, Unix, etc.), program bugs are "caught" by the operating system.

Unix has traditionally been used primarily in server environments, but is also gaining ground as a desktop operating system. Most open source Unix-like operating systems have advanced considerably in terms of user-friendliness. Despite this, Unix's simplicity also means that users are expected to know more, and are generally still more difficult to use than Windows or Mac.

DOS has been mostly replaced by Windows and Mac as PCs. DOS installations still remain today to run older DOS applications, including games to military accounting software.

Both Dos and Windows are Operating systems. But, they possess some features which make them differentiate. These features are listed below:

"«Dos is only single tasking while Windows is multitasking.

"«Dos is based on plain interface while Windows is based on Graphical user interface (GUI).

"«Dos is difficult to learn and understand while Windows is easy to learn and understand.

"«Dos is less preferable by users while Windows is more preferable operating system.

"«Limited users can work on dos while in Windows there are many users.

"«We cannot see mouse in Dos while in Windows we can see and use mouse to click on icons or links.

"«Simple text commands are written in Dos while in Windows we operate computer with the help of mouse.

"«In Dos we cannot Play games, watch movies and listen songs while in Windows we can enjoy playing games, watching movies and listening songs.

"«In Dos new hardware cannot work properly while in Windows it can detect and installs software automatically.

"«Application and system software¡¦s did not work properly in Dos while in Windows it runs at a great speed.

"«Dos is not user friendly while Windows operating system is user friendly.

"«Dos performs operations speedily as compared with Windows operating system.

__________________

1. DOS uses CLI (command line interface), whereas Windows used GUI (graphical user interface)..
2. DOS does not support networking, Windows does..
3. DOS is a single user OS, Windows is Multiuser..
4. DOS is a single tasking OS, Windows is Multitasking..
5. Dos is a single threading OS, Windows is a Multithreading..
6. DOS supports 2 GB of maximum partition size, Windows supports 2 TB or more..
7. DOS uses FAT 16 file system, Windows uses FAT 32..
8. Server administration is not possible in DOS..

Windows programs, on the other hand, realize that they must share your computer with other Windows programs. Actually, did you know that Windows 3.x itself is a DOS program? What this means is that Windows has control of the computer's hardware, and in turn it shares parts of the computer's resources with Windows programs. The obvious advantage to this arrangement is that you can do several things at once; for example, you could play Beethoven's 5th, start downloading a file from a BBS, then look at your checking account and use a Calculator to check the balance all at the same time. Another advantage is that you can share data between programs; for example, copying a spreadsheet summary into a work processor document.

The important thing here is that many DOS programs will run poorly or not at all in Windows. For example, if you try to run Microsoft System Diagnostics (MSD) while you are in Windows, you will get the message:

You are running Microsoft Windows.

MSD can only report information specified by it's associated Windows Program Information File (.PIF). Therefore information presented may be less accurate or complete than if MSD is run outside of Windows. For more accurate information please exit Windows and run MSD from the MS-DOS prompt.

Some areas may be affected while MSD is run under Windows: Memory values and types will reflect what Windows provides by itself, and through the associated .PIF file; IRQ values may be reported differently; and the visual memory map in Memory, Memory Block Display, and Memory Browser may show different results. Other areas that may be affected include Video, OS Version, Mouse, Disk Drives, and COM Ports.

So how do you know whether a program is made for DOS or Windows? Nearly all Windows programs bear the Microsoft Windows logo Microsoft Windows compatible, while DOS programs do not. If you're still not sure, try running the program from the DOS prompt first. For example, type calc at a DOS prompt; you will get the message:

This program requires Microsoft Windows.

NOTE for Windows 95/98: if you try running a Windows program from the Windows 95/98 command prompt, the computer will simply start Windows (if it isn't already running) and run the program.

A word of warning for Windows users: in the Main group there is an icon called MS-DOS Prompt. This is not the same thing as running in DOS. It will let you run some DOS programs, such as the command prompt or the EDIT program, but it is still running on top of Windows. The proper way to switch from Windows to DOS is to close or exit all of your Windows programs, including Program Manager.

Windows 95/98

One way to switch the computer from Windows to DOS mode is to click on the Start menu, then Shut Down, then choose "Restart the computer in MS-DOS mode". Doing this will close all Windows programs and (mostly) remove Windows itself from memory.

Another way is to adjust the properties of a DOS program. Right-click on your program (or its shortcut), select Properties, open the Program tab, and click on the Advanced button. In the Advanced Program Settings you can set the program to run in MS-DOS mode, and even specify a starting configuration just for that program.

Windows is a GUI (Graphical User Interface).

When working with a CLI, you begin with a blank screen and a command prompt. At the command prompt, you type commands, one at a time, for the computer to process. (i.e. "MKDIR C:\MYDIR" to create a directory called "MYDIR" in the root folder of the C drive) Any programs (text editing, database, etc) are run from the command prompt by directing the computer to the location of the program, and typing the execution command.

Example (Text in italics are commands, other text is command prompt.):

C:\> ''CD PROGRAMS''

C:\PROGRAMS\> ''CD GAMES''

C:\PROGRAMS\GAMES\> ''CD PONG''

C:\PROGRAMS\GAMES\PONG\> ''PONG.EXE''

At this point, PONG would take up the entire screen, leaving you unable to do anything but play the game until you exit the game. After you exit the game, you would be brought back to the prompt:

C:\PROGRAMS\GAMES\PONG\>

On the other hand, a GUI offers much more flexibility by using icons and windows to represent objects and programs. With Windows, you can open several different documents or programs, and easily switch between them. Also, there is the Start Menu, from which you can launch program shortcuts instead of having to wade through the entire file directory to execute your choice of program.

The interrelation is that Windows was originally a program ran to top of DOS. In order to use Windows, you used to need a line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT (a script file that automatically executed on DOS startup) that pointed to the Windows program. Windows versions 3.x - 9x and Me still run on top of DOS. What this means is that those versions of Windows aren't really Operating Systems, because they rely on DOS to process all the programs. All those versions of Windows do is make the programs easier to get to and switch between. Windows NT versions, and the Windows XP/2K line are built on their own system kernel so they are considered true Operating Systems on their own.

On Windows XP, you can get a version of it by pressing Start -> All Progs -> Accessories -> Command Prompt. This is an updated version of the original DOS which would run in fullscreen and be the only thing on the computer. You can get started by typing ''HELP '' to see a list of commands. For info on a particular command type '' /?'' .

1. DOS does not supports GUI, Windows supports.
2. DOS does not supports networking, Windows Supports.
3. DOS is a single user OS, Windows is a multi-user OS.
4. DOS is a single tasking OS, Windows is a multi tasking OS.
5. DOS does not supports threading, Windows Supports.
6. DOS supports maximum 2 GB of partition, Windows supports 2 TB or more.
7. DOS supports FAT 16 file system only, Windows supports FAT 32 and NTFS.
8. There is no server support in DOS, Windows has.
9. DOS is not as stable as Windows.

difference between ms dos and windows

By DOS I assume you mean windows .exe programs, and yes they can under certain conditions.

If you have a program like parallels, boot camp or fusion, you can run windows on the Mac.

if you want to stay in the mac environment, you can use applications like crossover to run them.

being completely honest, if you want to run windows applications, just buy a windows computer, most desktops can be built for less than 400 dollars if you find the right stuff. That and I like my mac to be my fun machine, not windows machine.