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Systems 2016

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23 views3 pages

Systems 2016

Uploaded by

baggavirgin
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Operating systems

An operating system or OS is a software on the hard drive that enables the computer hardware
to communicate and operate with the computer software. Without a computer operating system,
a computer and software programs would be useless. The picture to the right is an example of
MicrosoftWindows XP, a popular operating system and what the box may look like if you were
to purchase it from a local retail store.

Operating System types


As computers have progressed and developed, so have the operating systems. Below is a basic
list of the types of operating systems and a few examples of operating systems that fall into each
of the types. Many computer operating systems will fall into more than one of the below types.

GUI - Short for Graphical User Interface, a GUI operating system contains graphics and icons
and is commonly navigated by using a computer mouse. See the GUI definition for a complete
definition. Examples of GUI operating systems are:

Multi-user - A multi-user operating system allows for multiple users to use the same computer
at the same time and different times. See the multi-user definition for a complete definition.
Examples of operating systems that would fall into this category are:

Linux
Unix
Windows 2000

Multiprocessing - An operating system capable of supporting and utilizing more than one
computer processor. Examples of operating systems that would fall into this category are:

Linux
Unix
Windows XP

Multitasking - An operating system that is capable of allowing multiple software processes to


run at the same time. Examples of operating systems that would fall into this category are:

Linux
Unix
Windows 8

Multithreading - Operating systems that allow different parts of a software program to run
concurrently. Examples of operating systems that would fall into this category are:

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What is an operating system?

An operating system is the most important software that runs on a computer. It manages the
computer's memory, processes, and all of its software and hardware. It also allows you to
communicate with the computer without knowing how to speak the computer's language.
Without an operating system, a computer is useless.

Watch the video to learn about operating systems.

The operating system's job

Your computer's operating system (OS) manages all of the software and hardware on the
computer. Most of the time, there are many different computer programs running at the same
time, and they all need to access your computer's central processing unit (CPU), memory, and
storage. The operating system coordinates all of this to make sure each program gets what it
needs.

Types of operating systems

Operating systems usually come preloaded on any computer you buy. Most people use the
operating system that comes with their computer, but it's possible to upgrade or even change
operating systems.

The three most common operating systems for personal computers are Microsoft Windows,
Apple Mac OS X, and Linux.

Modern operating systems use a graphical user interface, or GUI (pronounced gooey). A GUI
lets you use your mouse to click icons, buttons, and menus, and everything is clearly displayed
on the screen using a combination of graphics and text.

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Each operating system's GUI has a different look and feel, so if you switch to a different
operating system it may seem unfamiliar at first. However, modern operating systems are
designed to be easy to use, and most of the basic principles are the same.

Before GUIs, computers had a command-line interface, which meant users had to type every
single command to the computer and the computer would only display text.

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