Unit 2 - Operating Systems

Hello again!!

We come back for a week to Unit 2. As you can read a wikipedia article:

"An operating system (OS) is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system. A user cannot run an application program on the computer without an operating system, unless the application program is self booting"




I also liked this web where you can read:

"When you turn on your computer, it's nice to think that you're in control. There's the trusty computer mouse, which you can move anywhere on the screen, summoning up your music library or Internet browser at the slightest whim. Although it's easy to feel like a director in front of your desktop or laptop, there's a lot going on inside, and the real man behind the curtain handling the necessary tasks is the operating system.

Most desktop or laptop PCs come pre-loaded with Microsoft Windows. Macintosh computers come pre-loaded with Mac OS X. Many corporate servers use the Linux or UNIX operating systems. The operating system (OS) is the first thing loaded onto the computer -- without the operating system, a computer is useless.

More recently, operating systems have started to pop up in smaller computers as well. If you like to tinker with electronic devices, you're probably pleased that operating systems can now be found on many of the devices we use every day, from cell phones to wireless access points. The computers used in these little devices have gotten so powerful that they can now actually run an operating system and applications. The computer in a typical modern cell phone is now more powerful than a desktop computer from 20 years ago, so this progression makes sense and is a natural development".

Just a joke!!!

I also found interesting the list of functions this web lists:

"An operating system performs these services for applications:

• In a multitasking operating system where multiple programs can be running at the same time, the operating system determines which applications should run in what order and how much time should be allowed for each application before giving another application a turn.
• It manages the sharing of internal memory among multiple applications.
• It handles input and output to and from attached hardware devices, such as hard disks, printers, and dial-up ports.
• It sends messages to each application or interactive user (or to a system operator) about the status of operation and any errors that may have occurred.
• It can offload the management of what are called batch jobs (for example, printing) so that the initiating application is freed from this work.
• On computers that can provide parallel processing, an operating system can manage how to divide the program so that it runs on more than one processor at a time."

Now, go to your blog and write down:

1. What an Operating System is.
2. Which Operating Systems are most used.
3. Make a list of words related with Operating systems and ICT you can find in the text you read above.