PURPOSE OF OPERATING SYSTEMS
OPERATING SYSTEMS
An operating system is the most important program that runs on the computer, it mainly controls the execution of programs and devices, and maximises system performance. The operating system makes sure every software/program/application installed on the hard drive runs accordingly when commanded to open and simultaneously ensures that different programs and users do not interfere with each other. The operating system has great responsibility such as performing tasks like recognising input from the keyboard, sending output to the display screen and controlling peripheral devices such as disk drives and printers etc.
Operating systems also provide security, ensuring that any unauthorised or unrecognised devices do not gain access to the system. The operating system is in charge of executing commands sent by the user like copy and paste, or to open a document or application, this is called file management, it is simply the program used by the operating system to help organize files and controls how files can be created, accessed, retrieved and/or deleted this helps the user because it makes filing and documentation more easily accessible and freely modified by the user.
Operating systems are mainly user friendly as it allows the user to freely access what they want on the system without having to command and prompt which could be time consuming.
Process Management
Process management is any program on the computer that needs to be run; a process can either be created or stopped - the Operating System needs to take control of this. An operating system manages any type of activity that is run on the computer, from software, applications, emails and so on all these applications and software are run on a process which is managed by the operating system. Process management allows more than 1 program to be run at the same time without interference with one another. Examples of the uses of process management include creation and deletion of files and accounts, also process synchronization meaning that many processes can be run in sync with each other.
File Management
Basically file management is different ways of managing files, a file management system usually manages all the applications and software’s, it helps to organise these files into the right place and save items into the correct long term storage. File management also makes applications easy accessible. A file management system is usually organised into lists to ease their use, and these lists may contain files and other instructions. Lastly, the last activities of an operating system in affection to file management are that the backup of files is stored safely in the storage devices.
Memory Management
Memory management in relation to the operating system is the act of managing computer memory. The essential requirement of memory management is to provide ways to dynamically allocate portions of memory to programs at their request and freeing it for reuse when no longer needed. Several methods have been devised that increase the effectiveness of memory management, for example virtual memory systems separate the memory addresses used by a process from actual physical addresses, allowing separation of processes and increasing the effectively available amount of RAM.
Device management
The device manager is a feature that allows the user to view detected hardware and the status of each device installed on the computer. It allows the user to view and change the properties of all devices attached to your computer. The software routine that knows how to deal with each device is called a “driver” and the operating system requires drivers in order for the exterior devices to connect to a computer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_management
An operating system is the most important program that runs on the computer, it mainly controls the execution of programs and devices, and maximises system performance. The operating system makes sure every software/program/application installed on the hard drive runs accordingly when commanded to open and simultaneously ensures that different programs and users do not interfere with each other. The operating system has great responsibility such as performing tasks like recognising input from the keyboard, sending output to the display screen and controlling peripheral devices such as disk drives and printers etc.
Operating systems also provide security, ensuring that any unauthorised or unrecognised devices do not gain access to the system. The operating system is in charge of executing commands sent by the user like copy and paste, or to open a document or application, this is called file management, it is simply the program used by the operating system to help organize files and controls how files can be created, accessed, retrieved and/or deleted this helps the user because it makes filing and documentation more easily accessible and freely modified by the user.
Operating systems are mainly user friendly as it allows the user to freely access what they want on the system without having to command and prompt which could be time consuming.
Process Management
Process management is any program on the computer that needs to be run; a process can either be created or stopped - the Operating System needs to take control of this. An operating system manages any type of activity that is run on the computer, from software, applications, emails and so on all these applications and software are run on a process which is managed by the operating system. Process management allows more than 1 program to be run at the same time without interference with one another. Examples of the uses of process management include creation and deletion of files and accounts, also process synchronization meaning that many processes can be run in sync with each other.
File Management
Basically file management is different ways of managing files, a file management system usually manages all the applications and software’s, it helps to organise these files into the right place and save items into the correct long term storage. File management also makes applications easy accessible. A file management system is usually organised into lists to ease their use, and these lists may contain files and other instructions. Lastly, the last activities of an operating system in affection to file management are that the backup of files is stored safely in the storage devices.
Memory Management
Memory management in relation to the operating system is the act of managing computer memory. The essential requirement of memory management is to provide ways to dynamically allocate portions of memory to programs at their request and freeing it for reuse when no longer needed. Several methods have been devised that increase the effectiveness of memory management, for example virtual memory systems separate the memory addresses used by a process from actual physical addresses, allowing separation of processes and increasing the effectively available amount of RAM.
Device management
The device manager is a feature that allows the user to view detected hardware and the status of each device installed on the computer. It allows the user to view and change the properties of all devices attached to your computer. The software routine that knows how to deal with each device is called a “driver” and the operating system requires drivers in order for the exterior devices to connect to a computer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_management
COMPARING TWO OPERATING SYSTEMS
windows
Sources
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091026193128AAh7o1P
http://www.fandecheng.com/personal/interests/ewindows/advantages_disadvantages.htm
http://www.rjsystems.nl/en/3200.php
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091026193128AAh7o1P
http://www.fandecheng.com/personal/interests/ewindows/advantages_disadvantages.htm
http://www.rjsystems.nl/en/3200.php
Versions: Windows 3.1; Windows 95; Windows 98; Windows 2000; Windows XP; Windows Vista; Windows 7; Windows 8
PROS
Users are familiar with the earlier versions of windows hence the ease of use, there are lots of software available to download, compatible with newer versions of windows as the same software can be available in newer versions of windows, Windows protects your PC and your data, the information and research is available anywhere you go, you also have the most current and up to date gadgets and information at your fingertips, the users are able to manage technology themselves, information can be found and shared faster.
Windows acquires a professional presentation and the series are not very expensive for home users, windows is supported by most popular software’s and although it comes with a firewall you can still burn files and CD’s without installing a burning software, Finally there are also some good games available for download on Microsoft windows. Windows has more software than MAC OS X, and offers greater flexibility, works well for designers
CONS
Windows has a high resource requirement, it requires their customers to invest the most in their computer hardware ( a faster processor, more internal memory and a larger hard disk). It attains poor security, windows are more likely than other operating systems to be hijacked and used to distribute everything from spam to hate mail. It is prone to viruses and is usually regarded as part of their general problems with security, another con is the licence agreements which no one usually reads but must be read and accepted to before any Microsoft product can be used or installed, poor technical support as few of the staff have access to the source code. As for businesses that depend on Microsoft products this translates into greater risks and higher costs, also additional expenses for software that users need such as a virus scanner have to be paid extra for.
Vendor lock-in also referred to as ‘vendor dependence’, Microsoft is infamous for promoting brand loyalty among its customers in this manner, one way for a vendor to establish lock-in is for it to gain control of both sides of an otherwise open and standard client model which customer can then no longer switch to cheaper alternative client or server software without losing functionality.
PROS
Users are familiar with the earlier versions of windows hence the ease of use, there are lots of software available to download, compatible with newer versions of windows as the same software can be available in newer versions of windows, Windows protects your PC and your data, the information and research is available anywhere you go, you also have the most current and up to date gadgets and information at your fingertips, the users are able to manage technology themselves, information can be found and shared faster.
Windows acquires a professional presentation and the series are not very expensive for home users, windows is supported by most popular software’s and although it comes with a firewall you can still burn files and CD’s without installing a burning software, Finally there are also some good games available for download on Microsoft windows. Windows has more software than MAC OS X, and offers greater flexibility, works well for designers
CONS
Windows has a high resource requirement, it requires their customers to invest the most in their computer hardware ( a faster processor, more internal memory and a larger hard disk). It attains poor security, windows are more likely than other operating systems to be hijacked and used to distribute everything from spam to hate mail. It is prone to viruses and is usually regarded as part of their general problems with security, another con is the licence agreements which no one usually reads but must be read and accepted to before any Microsoft product can be used or installed, poor technical support as few of the staff have access to the source code. As for businesses that depend on Microsoft products this translates into greater risks and higher costs, also additional expenses for software that users need such as a virus scanner have to be paid extra for.
Vendor lock-in also referred to as ‘vendor dependence’, Microsoft is infamous for promoting brand loyalty among its customers in this manner, one way for a vendor to establish lock-in is for it to gain control of both sides of an otherwise open and standard client model which customer can then no longer switch to cheaper alternative client or server software without losing functionality.
MAC OS X
Versions: System software; Hera (1.0); Kodiak (public beta); Cheetah (10.0); Puma (10.1)
Jaguar (10.2); Panther (10.3); Tiger (10.4); Leopard (10.5); Snow leopard (10.6); Lion (10.7);
Mountain lion (10.8); Mavericks (10.9)
PROS
MAC OS X is the only operating system that is designed to work only with apple’s hardware. This gives it a level of efficiency, power, and stability.
Apples software and hardware work well together to produce the best graphics and display
Apple software rarely gets hijacked as opposed to any original PC so this would mean that its security is up to a much higher standard than windows. MAC OS has fewer viruses and require less maintenance, works well for designers.
CONS
The price is apple’s biggest disadvantage as the computers themselves are very expensive compared to original PC’s, the speed could be slower than windows and there is also no dual booting allowed on another non MAC system.
Windows is the gaming PC you can still run games on MAC OS but not all of them.
Aluminium scratches easily, and getting a MAC without fire wire makes data recovery harder when the machine won’t start. Converting from windows to mac can be a bit of a slow process and sometimes the software is not always available or hard to find but usually possible.
Jaguar (10.2); Panther (10.3); Tiger (10.4); Leopard (10.5); Snow leopard (10.6); Lion (10.7);
Mountain lion (10.8); Mavericks (10.9)
PROS
MAC OS X is the only operating system that is designed to work only with apple’s hardware. This gives it a level of efficiency, power, and stability.
Apples software and hardware work well together to produce the best graphics and display
Apple software rarely gets hijacked as opposed to any original PC so this would mean that its security is up to a much higher standard than windows. MAC OS has fewer viruses and require less maintenance, works well for designers.
CONS
The price is apple’s biggest disadvantage as the computers themselves are very expensive compared to original PC’s, the speed could be slower than windows and there is also no dual booting allowed on another non MAC system.
Windows is the gaming PC you can still run games on MAC OS but not all of them.
Aluminium scratches easily, and getting a MAC without fire wire makes data recovery harder when the machine won’t start. Converting from windows to mac can be a bit of a slow process and sometimes the software is not always available or hard to find but usually possible.
M2- Make a recommendation whether the school should install the windows 8 operating system?
Windows 8 offers many advantages to its users compared to MAC OS X; the main one would be management. One of the many privileges offered to its users are a graphical user interface (GUI), this is a visual way for the user to interact with the computer through items such as windows, icons, and menus. Its other privileges include virtual memory; if your computer lacks random access memory (RAM) needed to run a program or operation, windows uses virtual memory to compensate, without virtual memory the system would become unstable and crash, virtual memory allows you to run more applications at once without having to buy more RAM, as opposed to MAC OS that does not offer graphical user interface or virtual memory and is very technical for beginners. Windows is a user friendly operating system and in addition to the other benefits of windows it also offers a high level of data protection.
The main benefits of windows are that it protects your PC and your data, you can work virtually anywhere, you also have the most current and up to date information at your fingertips, you can manage technology yourself and you can find information faster and share information easily.
Although windows have a high resource requirement and demand for investment in additional expenses, it is the best operating system to be installed as it is run by 90% of all computers in the world and is user friendly. I would recommend the school to install Windows 8 for the many advantages that it offers. Although some people may install it without knowing the consequences they could face, such as hijacking as windows is more prone to viruses compared to MAC OS x, hence the demand for investment in additional hardware like virus scanners, but despite that your data is always protected and has greater flexibility.
MAC OS also has its own advantages; firstly MAC is the only software available to work only with apples software. It is efficient, powerful and stable along with the best graphics and display, but this is just about the presentation and not about what the outcome of the software and hardware are if they work together, mac rarely gets hijacked and has a higher standard of security because none of its staff have access to the source code, it requires less maintenance which may be desirable for users but is also very technical and not run by the majority of computers in the world.
If the school installed the windows 8 operating system it is more likely that many users would be familiar with its layout and presentation as opposed to Mac OS which has a lot of new technology that many people may not be familiar with. Another reason why it is better to install windows 8 is because Mac OS X is a very expensive operating system that comes with a slow speed, no dual booting allowed, non-gaming PC and also its material (aluminium) would scratch very easily and users would become careless around the MACs which would be a waste of money as the school would have just installed over 100 MACs in various classrooms and within the next month they would be damaged or have scratches on it, I believe this would not look professional and would not have a good reflection on the school to anyone including visitors/staff/students. One more disadvantage about installing MAC is that along with the installation of MACs you would have to also install fire wire on every single computer otherwise data recovery would be made harder. This brings us back to the advantages of windows 8 that are compatible with newer versions of its operating system and your PC and data are always protected wherever you go.
I would recommend the school to install WINDOWS 8 enterprise version of the operating system for all of its advantages mentioned above; it offers many things that no other windows version offers such as encryption file, system, app locker, direct access, virtual desktop infrastructure. I believe it is the most sensible idea and friendly to all its users as many students and teachers would be familiar with the way it works.
Windows 8 offers many advantages to its users compared to MAC OS X; the main one would be management. One of the many privileges offered to its users are a graphical user interface (GUI), this is a visual way for the user to interact with the computer through items such as windows, icons, and menus. Its other privileges include virtual memory; if your computer lacks random access memory (RAM) needed to run a program or operation, windows uses virtual memory to compensate, without virtual memory the system would become unstable and crash, virtual memory allows you to run more applications at once without having to buy more RAM, as opposed to MAC OS that does not offer graphical user interface or virtual memory and is very technical for beginners. Windows is a user friendly operating system and in addition to the other benefits of windows it also offers a high level of data protection.
The main benefits of windows are that it protects your PC and your data, you can work virtually anywhere, you also have the most current and up to date information at your fingertips, you can manage technology yourself and you can find information faster and share information easily.
Although windows have a high resource requirement and demand for investment in additional expenses, it is the best operating system to be installed as it is run by 90% of all computers in the world and is user friendly. I would recommend the school to install Windows 8 for the many advantages that it offers. Although some people may install it without knowing the consequences they could face, such as hijacking as windows is more prone to viruses compared to MAC OS x, hence the demand for investment in additional hardware like virus scanners, but despite that your data is always protected and has greater flexibility.
MAC OS also has its own advantages; firstly MAC is the only software available to work only with apples software. It is efficient, powerful and stable along with the best graphics and display, but this is just about the presentation and not about what the outcome of the software and hardware are if they work together, mac rarely gets hijacked and has a higher standard of security because none of its staff have access to the source code, it requires less maintenance which may be desirable for users but is also very technical and not run by the majority of computers in the world.
If the school installed the windows 8 operating system it is more likely that many users would be familiar with its layout and presentation as opposed to Mac OS which has a lot of new technology that many people may not be familiar with. Another reason why it is better to install windows 8 is because Mac OS X is a very expensive operating system that comes with a slow speed, no dual booting allowed, non-gaming PC and also its material (aluminium) would scratch very easily and users would become careless around the MACs which would be a waste of money as the school would have just installed over 100 MACs in various classrooms and within the next month they would be damaged or have scratches on it, I believe this would not look professional and would not have a good reflection on the school to anyone including visitors/staff/students. One more disadvantage about installing MAC is that along with the installation of MACs you would have to also install fire wire on every single computer otherwise data recovery would be made harder. This brings us back to the advantages of windows 8 that are compatible with newer versions of its operating system and your PC and data are always protected wherever you go.
I would recommend the school to install WINDOWS 8 enterprise version of the operating system for all of its advantages mentioned above; it offers many things that no other windows version offers such as encryption file, system, app locker, direct access, virtual desktop infrastructure. I believe it is the most sensible idea and friendly to all its users as many students and teachers would be familiar with the way it works.