Lesson 6 Operating Systems and Software

Computer Concepts BASICS 4 th Edition 1 Wells

Objectives

 Distinguish between software and hardware  Describe the difference between applications software and system software  Describe the three categories of systems programs  Describe operating systems for microcomputers  Describe network operating systems

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Vocabulary

 applications software  basic input/output system (BIOS)  booting  graphical user interface (GUI)

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 language translator  Linux  Mac OS  MS-DOS  multitasking  network operating system (NOS)

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Vocabulary (continued)

 operating system (OS)  system software  UNIX  user interface  utility program  Windows  Windows Embedded CE  Windows Mobile

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Hardware and Software

 Hardware refers to the tangible, physical computer equipment that can be seen and touched such as the keyboard and printer  Software is a set of instructions issued to the computer so that specific tasks are performed. Microsoft Word is an example of software.

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Types of Software

 There are two basic types of software:  Applications software is productivity software designed for an end user such as word processors  System software is a group of programs that control the resources and operations of a computer system and include operating systems, utilities, and language translators

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Types of Software (continued)

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Operating Systems:

 Part of the system software, an operating system (OS) provides an interface between the user or application program and the computer hardware  An example of an operating system is Windows

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Types of Software (continued)

 Operating system: an interface between users and computers

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Types of Software (continued)

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Utilities:

 Utility programs help you perform housekeeping chores such as: – – formatting a disk copying a file – backing up the hard drive – consolidating fragmented files

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Types of Software (continued)

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Language Translators:

 Language translators convert English-like software programs into machine language that the computer can understand  For example, the translator would change each of the Visual Basic programming statements into machine language

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Microcomputer Operating Systems

 All computers have operating systems  There are two types of user interfaces: command-line and graphical interface.  Several popular operating systems are available for microcomputers: – – DOS A combination of DOS and Windows – A stand-alone version of Windows

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Microcomputer Operating Systems (continued)

 Early computers used command-line interfaces  With this type of interface, you must type the exact command you want to execute  The first IBM PC in 1981 used this type of interface called DOS (Disk Operating System)  The user can run only one program at a time  DOS still is accessible in all Windows OS versions

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Microcomputer Operating Systems (continued)

 Command-line interface showing an example of the Ping command.

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Microcomputer Operating Systems (continued)

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Graphical User Interfaces:

 Graphical user interfaces (GUIs) make computers easy to use  When the user turns on the computer a symbolic desktop is displayed with various icons representing files, disks, and programs  Most people use a mouse to click the icons and execute commands

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Microcomputer Operating Systems (continued)

 Graphical user interface

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Microcomputer Operating Systems (continued)

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Mac OS:

Macintosh’s operating system, the Mac OS, was introduced in1984 with a GUI   Microsoft introduced its own GUI called Windows in 1983 Windows 95 was Microsoft’s first true multitasking operating system

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Microcomputer Operating Systems (continued)

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Windows:

  Windows 98 was released in June of 1998 and introduced integrated Web browsing and the Active Desktop with a browser-like interface Microsoft’s newest operating system is called Windows Vista and includes features such as live icons and a stronger firewall

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Microcomputer Operating Systems (continued)

 Turn off the computer by clicking the Start button and then the Power button on the Start menu  Vista Shut down options: – Restart: Shuts down and restarts computer – – – Sleep: Power-saving option; works the same as the Power button Hibernate: Power-saving option; allows you to return to same programs and files Shut Down: Turns everything off

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Microcomputer Operating Systems (continued)

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Embedded Operating Systems:

 Embedded operating systems include technology and tools that enable developers to create a broad range of devices  This operating system, which resides on a ROM chip, is used on small handheld computers and wireless communication devices such as PDAs

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Microcomputer Operating Systems (continued)

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UNIX:

 UNIX is an operating system frequently used by scientists and programmers, originally developed by AT&T  UNIX is considered a multitasking, portable operating system that can run on almost any hardware platform  There are several variants of the language, such as Linux and IBM’s AIX

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Loading the Operating System

 Booting is the process of starting a computer  When you start your computer, operating system commands are loaded into memory  Each operating system boots or starts the computer in its own way

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Loading the Operating System (continued)

1. Turn on your computer (based on Windows OS) – Basic input/ output system (BIOS) is activated followed by a series of diagnostic tests 2. BIOS searches for the boot record 3. Boot record is loaded into RAM – These files contain programming configuration instructions for hardware devices and software applications that are installed on your computer

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Loading the Operating System (continued)

4. Software drivers are loaded – Drivers are what enable you to use your printer, modem, scanner, or other devices 5. The GUI is loaded – When loading the GUI, the operating system reads the commands for your desktop configuration and programs in the Startup folder 6. If everything goes as it should, the GUI appears and the computer is ready to use

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Loading the Operating System (continued)

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Sharing Files on Different Operating Systems:

It is often necessary to share files across operating system platforms A hardware file share solution is an emulation card loaded on the motherboard that gives the computer the ability to run programs for another OS Another solution is to save files in a format that is readable across systems, such as .txt

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Network Operating Systems

 A network operating system (NOS) resides on a network server and allows a group of computers (also called clients) to be connected and to share resources  One of the main goals of the operating system is to make the resources appear as though they are running from the client computer

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Summary

    Hardware refers to the tangible, physical computer equipment that can be seen and touched.

Software is a set of instructions that tells the computer what to do; software also is called a program.

The two basic types of computer software are applications software and system software.

Applications software also is known as productivity software.

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Summary (continued)

    System software coordinates and controls the resources and operations of a computer system.

Three major categories of system software are operating systems, utilities, and language translators.

Operating systems provide an interface between the user and application program and the computer hardware.

Utility programs help users complete specialized tasks such as file management.

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Summary (continued)

     Language translators convert English-like software programs into machine language.

A programmer uses a programming language to write program statements.

All computers have operating systems.

The user interface is the part of the operating system with which we are most familiar.

The two most common user interfaces are command-line interfaces and graphical user interfaces.

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Summary (continued)

     The Mac operating system is used with Apple’s Macintosh computers.

Icons are symbols that represent documents, software programs, disks, and so forth.

DOS was introduced with the IBM PC in 1981 and is a character-based operating system.

Microsoft introduced the first version of Windows in 1983; this was an operating environment.

Windows 95 was Microsoft’s first true multitasking operating system.

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Summary (continued)

    Windows Embedded CE is a scaled-down Windows operating system used for small handheld computers.

UNIX and Linux are portable operating systems.

Network operating systems allow a group of two or more microcomputers to be connected.

Several methods are available for sharing files on different operating systems.

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