Lesson-
2
OPERATING
SYSTEM
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.
The
Operating System's Job
You've
probably heard the phrase boot your computer, but do you know what that
means? Booting is the process that occurs when you press the power
button to turn your computer on. During this process (which may take a minute
or two), the computer does several things:
- It runs tests to
make sure everything is working correctly.
- It checks for new
hardware.
- It then starts up the
operating system.
Once the operating system has started up, it manages
all of the software and hardware on the computer. Most of the time, there
are many different 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 that
each program gets what it needs. Without the operating system, the software
wouldn't even be able to talk to the hardware, and the computer would be
useless.
Types
of Operating Systems
Operating systems usually come preloaded on any
computer that you buy. Most people use the operating system that comes with
their computer, but it is 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 on icons, buttons,
and menus, and everything is clearly displayed on the screen using a
combination of graphics and text.
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.
The
Windows GUI
Before GUIs, computers had a command-line interface, which meant the user had to type every single command to the computer, and the computer would only display text.
Windows
7, after starting up
Microsoft
Windows
Microsoft
created the Windows operating system in the mid-1980s. Over the years,
there have been many different versions of Windows, but the most popular ones
are Windows 7 (released in 2009), Windows Vista (2007), and Windows
XP (2001). Windows comes preloaded on most new PCs, which helps to
make it the most popular operating system in the world.
If
you're buying a new computer or upgrading to a new version of Windows, you can
choose from several different editions of Windows, including Home
Premium, Professional, and Ultimate. For most users, Home
Premium offers enough features, but many people choose one of the more
expensive editions.
Linux
Linux
is a family of open source operating systems, which means that they can
be modified and distributed by anyone around the world. This is very different
from proprietary software like Windows, which can only be modified by
the company that owns it (Microsoft). The advantages of Linux are that it is free,
and there are many different distributions (or versions) that you can
choose from. Each distribution has a different look and feel, and the most
popular ones include Ubuntu, Mint, and Fedora.
Operating
Systems for Mobile Devices
The
operating systems that we've been talking about were designed to run on desktop
or laptop computers. Mobile devices such as phones, tablet
computers, and mp3 players are very different from desktop and laptop
computers, so they run operating systems that are designed specifically for
mobile devices. Examples of mobile operating systems include Apple iOS, Windows
Phone 7, and Google Android.
Operating
Systems for mobile devices generally aren't as fully-featured as those made for
desktop or laptop computers, and they aren't able to run all of the same
software. However, you can still do a lot of things with them, such as watching
movies, browsing the internet, managing your calendar, playing games, and more.
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