Operating System - (commonly abbreviated to either OS or O/S) is an interface between hardware and user; an OS is responsible for the management and coordination of activities and the sharing of the resources of the computer. The operating system acts as a host for computing applications that are run on the machine. As a host, one of the purposes of an operating system is to handle the details of the operation of the hardware.
List of Windows Operating System Version.
- Windows 3.0 is the third major release of Microsoft Windows, and was released on 22 May 1990. It became the first widely successful version of Windows.
- Windows 3.1x is a series of operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers. The series began with Windows 3.1, which was vended first during March 1992 as a successor to Windows 3.0.
- Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. It was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft.During development it was referred to as Windows 4.0 or by the internal code-name Windows Chicago.
- Windows 98 (code-named Memphis) is a graphical operating system released on 25 June 1998 by Microsoft and the successor to Windows 95.
- Windows 98 Second Edition (often shortened to SE) is an updated release of Windows 98, released on 5 May 1999. It includes fixes for many minor issues, improved USB support, and the replacement of Internet Explorer 4.0 with the significantly faster and less error-prone Internet Explorer 5.0.
- Windows Millennium Edition, or Windows Me is a hybrid 16-bit/32-bit graphical operating system released on 14 September 2000 by Microsoft. It was originally codenamed Millennium.
- Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on business desktops, notebook computers, and servers. Released on February 17, 2000,it was the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the final release of Microsoft Windows to display the "Windows NT" designation.
- Windows XP is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, notebook computers, and media centers. The name "XP" is short for "experience". Windows XP is the successor to both Windows 2000 Professional and Windows Me, and is the first consumer-oriented operating system produced by Microsoft to be built on the Windows NT kernel and architecture.
- And currently, the latest Windows 7, Windows 8 which will be release by this coming October 2012, and of course Windows 2008 server version.
Other Well Known Operating System
- Mac OS is the trademarked name for a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. (formerly Apple Computer, Inc.) for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface. The original form of what Apple would later name the "Mac OS" was the integral and unnamed system software first introduced in 1984 with the original Macintosh, usually referred to simply as the System software.
- Edubuntu has been developed in collaboration with teachers and technologists in multiple countries. Edubuntu is built on top of the Ubuntu base, incorporates the LTSP thin client architecture and several education-specific applications, and is aimed at users aged 6 to 18.
Software Applications Examples
Application software - is a computer program that functions and is operated by means of a computer, with the purpose of supporting or improving the software user's work. In other words, it is the subclass of computer software that employs the capabilities of a computer directly and thoroughly to a task that the user wishes. Typical examples of 'software applications' are word processors, spreadsheets, media players and database applications.
Examples:
- Spreadsheets
- Word processors
- Presentations
- Graphics editing
- Desktop publishing
Well Known Utility Software
Utility software - (Known as serviece program, service routine, tool, or utility routine) is computer software designed to help manage and tune the computer hardware, operating system or application software by performing a single task or a small range of tasks. Some utility software has been integrated into most major operating systems.
Disk Storage Software Utility
- Disk defragmenters can detect computer files whose contents are stored on the hard disk in disjointed fragments, and move the fragments together to increase efficiency.
- Disk checkers can scan the contents of a hard disk to find files or areas that are corrupted in some way, or were not correctly saved, and eliminate them for a more efficiently operating hard drive.
- Disk cleaners can find files that are unnecessary to computer operation, or take up considerable amounts of space. Disk cleaner helps the user to decide what to delete when their hard disk is full.
- Disk partitioners can divide an individual drive into multiple logical drives, each with its own filesystem which can be mounted by the operating system and treated as an individual drive.
- Backup utilities can make a copy of all information stored on a disk, and restore either the entire disk (e.g. in an event of disk failure) or selected files (e.g. in an event of accidental deletion).
- Disk compression utilities can transparently compress/uncompress the contents of a disk, increasing the capacity of the disk.
- File managers provide a convenient method of performing routine data management tasks, such as deleting, renaming, cataloging, uncataloging, moving, copying, merging, generating and modifying data sets.
- Archive utilities output a stream or a single file when provided with a directory or a set of files. Archive utilities, unlike archive suites, usually do not include compression or encryption capabilities. Some archive utilities may even have a separate un-archive utility for the reverse operation.
- System profilers provide detailed information about the software installed and hardware attached to the computer.
- Anti-virus utilities scan for computer viruses.
- Text and Hex/ Editors directly modify the text or data of a file. These files could be data or an actual program.
- Data compression utilities output a shorter stream or a smaller file when provided with a stream or file.
- Cryptographic utilities encrypt and decrypt streams and files.
- Launcher applications provide a convenient access point for application software.
- Registry cleaners clean and optimize the Windows registry by removing old registry keys that are no longer in use.
- Network managers check the computer's network, log events and check data transfer.
Device Driver Utility Software
Device driver or software driver - is a computer program allowing higher-level computer programs to interact with a hardware device. A driver typically communicates with the device through the computer bus or communications subsystem to which the hardware is connected. When a calling program invokes a routine in the driver, the driver issues commands to the device. Once the device sends data back to the driver, the driver may invoke routines in the original calling program. Drivers are hardware-dependent and operating-system-specific. They usually provide the interrupt handling required for any necessary asynchronous time-dependent hardware interface.