Standard 10 Lesson 1 Handout 1

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ComputerBasics

UnderstandingOperatingSystems
(June 26, 2014)

Whatisanoperatingsystem?

Anoperatingsystemisthemostimportantsoftwarethatrunsonacomputer.Itmanagesthecomputer'smemory,processes,andallofitssoftwareandhardware.Italsoallowsyoutocommunicatewiththecomputerwithoutknowinghowtospeakthecomputer's"language."Withoutanoperatingsystem,acomputerisuseless.

WatchFigure1 Operating Systems Videotolearnaboutoperatingsystems.

Theoperatingsystem'sjob

You'veprobablyheardthephrasebootyourcomputer,butdoyouknowwhatthatmeans?Bootingistheprocessthatoccurswhenyoupressthepowerbuttontoturnyourcomputeron.Duringthisprocess(whichmaytakeaminuteortwo),thecomputerdoesseveralthings:

• Itrunsteststomakesureeverythingisworkingcorrectly.
• Itchecksfornewhardware.
• Itthenstartsuptheoperatingsystem.

InFigure2,youcanseethestart-upscreenthatappearswhenyouturnonaWindows7computer.

Oncetheoperatingsystemhasstartedup,itmanagesallofthesoftwareandhardwareonthecomputer.Mostofthetime,therearemanydifferentprogramsrunningatthesametime,andtheyallneedtoaccessyourcomputer'scentralprocessingunit(CPU),memory,andstorage.Theoperatingsystemcoordinatesallofthistomakesureeachprogramgetswhatitneeds.Withouttheoperatingsystem,thesoftwarewouldn'tevenbeabletotalktothehardware,andthecomputerwouldbeuseless.InFigure3,youcanseehowWindows7appearsafterstartingup.

Typesofoperatingsystems

Operatingsystemsusuallycomepreloadedonanycomputeryoubuy.Mostpeopleusetheoperatingsystemthatcomeswiththeircomputer,butitispossibletoupgradeorevenchangeoperatingsystems.

ThethreemostcommonoperatingsystemsforpersonalcomputersareMicrosoftWindows,MacOSX,andLinux.

ModernoperatingsystemsuseaGraphicalUserInterface,orGUI(pronounced"gooey").AGUIletsyouuseyourmousetoclickonicons,buttons,andmenus,andeverythingisclearlydisplayedonthescreenusingacombinationofgraphicsandtext.

Eachoperatingsystem'sGUIhasadifferentlookandfeel,soifyouswitchtoadifferentoperatingsystemitmayseemunfamiliaratfirst.However,modernoperatingsystemsaredesignedtobeeasytouse,andmostofthebasicprinciplesarethesame.

InFigures 4 and 5,youcanseetheWindowsandMacOSXGUIs.

BeforeGUIs,computershadacommand-lineinterface,whichmeanttheuserhadtotypeeverysinglecommand,andthecomputerwouldonlydisplaytext.

MicrosoftWindows

MicrosoftcreatedtheWindowsoperatingsysteminthemid-1980s.Overtheyears,therehavebeenmanydifferentversionsofWindows,butthemostrecentonesareWindows8(releasedin2012),Windows7(2009),andWindowsVista(2007).WindowscomespreloadedonmostnewPCs,whichhelpstomakeitthemostpopularoperatingsystemintheworld.

Ifyou'rebuyinganewcomputerorupgradingtoanewerversionofWindows,youcanchoosefromseveraldifferenteditionsofWindows,suchasHomePremium,Professional,andUltimate.Youmayneedtodosomeresearchtodecidewhicheditionisrightforyou.

CheckoutMicrosoft’s tutorialsonWindows8,Windows7,andWindowsXPformoreinformation.

AppleMacOSX

MacOSisalineofoperatingsystemscreatedbyAppleInc.ItcomespreloadedonallnewMacintoshcomputers,orMacs.AlloftherecentversionsareknownasMacOSX(pronouncedMacO-STen),andthespecificversionsincludeMavericks(releasedin2013),MountainLion(2012),Lion(2011),andSnowLeopard(2009).ApplealsooffersaversioncalledMacOSXServer,whichisdesignedtoberunonservers.

AccordingtoStatCounterGlobalStats,MacOSXusersaccountfor7.5%oftheoperatingsystemsmarketasofJanuary2013—muchlowerthanthepercentageofWindowsusers(morethan90%).OnereasonforthisisthatApplecomputerstendtobemoreexpensive.However,manypeoplepreferthelookandfeelofMacOSX.

Figure 7 MAC OS X

TolearnmoreaboutMacintoshcomputersandOSX,checkout theMacOSXMountainLiontutorial.

Linux

Linux(pronounceLINN-ux)isafamilyofopen-sourceoperatingsystems,whichmeanstheycanbemodifiedanddistributedbyanyonearoundtheworld.ThisisdifferentfromproprietarysoftwarelikeWindows,whichcanonlybemodifiedbythecompanythatownsit(Microsoft).TheadvantagesofLinuxarethatitisfree,andtherearemanydifferentdistributions(orversions)youcanchoosefrom.Eachdistributionhasadifferentlookandfeel,andthemostpopularonesincludeUbuntu,Mint,andFedora.

LinuxisnamedafterLinusTorvalds,whocreatedtheLinuxkernelin1991.Thekernelisthecomputercodethatisthecentralpartofanoperatingsystem.

AccordingtoStatCounterGlobalStats,Linuxusersaccountforlessthan1%oftheoperatingsystemsmarketasofJanuary2013.However,mostserversrunLinuxbecauseit'srelativelyeasytocustomize.

TolearnmoreaboutdifferentdistributionsofLinux,visittheUbuntu,Mint,andFedorawebsites.

Operatingsystemsformobiledevices

Theoperatingsystemswe'vebeentalkingaboutweredesignedtorunondesktoporlaptopcomputers.Mobiledevicessuchasphones,tabletcomputers,andmp3playersaredifferentfromdesktopandlaptopcomputerssotheyrunoperatingsystemsthataredesignedspecificallyformobiledevices.ExamplesofmobileoperatingsystemsincludeAppleiOS,WindowsPhone,andGoogleAndroid.

Operatingsystemsformobiledevicesgenerallyaren'tasfullyfeaturedasthosemadefordesktoporlaptopcomputers,andtheyaren'tabletorunallofthesamesoftware.However,youcanstilldoalotofthingswiththem,likewatchmovies,browsetheWeb,manageyourcalendar,andplaygames.

Challenge!

• Whatisanoperatingsystem?Isitsoftware?
• Doyouknowwhichoperatingsystemyourcomputeruses?Ifnot,findout.
• VisittheMicrosoftandApplewebsitestolearnmoreabouteachoperatingsystem.
• SearchtheInternetforarticlesthatcompareWindowsandMacOSX.
• VisittheUbuntu,Mint,andFedorawebsitestolearnmoreabouteachLinuxdistribution.
• IfyouhaveaPCandcurrentlyuseanolderversionofWindows,suchasWindows7,searchforarticlescomparingWindows8.1withWindows7.YoumaywanttoreadUpgradingtoWindows8.1tohelpyoudecideifyoushouldupgrade.

Handout #1 Standard 10 Lesson 1/1
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