Operating systems
All hardware needs an operating system. It is responsible for managing the hardware and providing an environment for programs to run in. There are many different operating systems available. Most are specifically designed for computers, A mobile phone with a powerful processor that is capable of running applications and accessing the internet. or A computer device a little smaller than a laptop but with a built-in touchscreen, usually without a keyboard. but some operating systems are used on multiple devices.
The two leading producers of desktop operating systems are A major computer hardware and software company, responsible for the Windows operating system, Office applications and the Xbox games console. and A major computer hardware and software company. It created the iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPad, and the Mac OS and iOS operating systems.. Microsoft makes Windows and Apple makes Mac OS. The two companies are competitors.
Windows and Mac OS in the beginning
In its early days, Microsoft concentrated its resources on the development of its operating system and Sequences of instructions for a computer. to complement it, eg A collection of software for business-related tasks, including word processing, spreadsheet, database, desktop publishing and database applications.. It licensed its OS and software to The physical parts of a computer system, eg a graphics card, hard disk drive or CD drive. manufacturers, the first being IBM. Apple, on the other hand, split its resources between its operating system and hardware.
In 1984 the Apple Macintosh was released. It was the first commercially successful product to use a A computer display that uses windows, icons, menus and pointers to let a user interact with a computer. (GUI). But it was Windows 3.1 that led to the popularity of the mouse which was developed in the 1960s and is still in use today. Before GUIs, An instruction given to a computer. were typed into the A text-based input/output display on a computer where the user can type commands..
Computers running Windows were cheaper than their Apple counterparts. As a result far more Windows than Mac OS computers were sold and Apple found itself in trouble. Microsoft rescued it with a $150 million investment and the development of Mac-compatible Microsoft software and tools.
Windows and Mac OS today
The two operating systems continue to compete. Microsoft and Apple have branched out into mobile operating systems with Microsoft’s Windows Phone and Apple’s iOS. Windows Phone runs exclusively on smartphones, while Apple’s iOS runs on smartphones and tablets. Google has its own operating system for smartphones and tablets named Android.
There is an open source operating system called An operating system, similar to Windows or Mac OS. Linux is free and open-source, meaning anyone can improve it and share their improvements.. It is free to use and runs on PCs, laptops and handheld devices.
