Ms. Tracy

2 22  Identify the purpose of an operating system.  Identify different operating systems.  Describe computer user interaction with multiple operating systems.  Identify system limitations.  Describe common problems related to operating systems.

 administrative rights  administrator account  driver  embedded operating system  emulation card  Palm OS  system administrator  UNIX  file system  handheld operating system  Linux  Mac OS X  operating system (OS)  Windows Embedded CE  Windows Mobile 3 33

 An operating system (OS) is system software that enables the computer hardware to communicate and operate with the application software.  Manufacturers of peripheral devices provide programs called drivers that the operating system uses to communicate with various hardware devices. 4 44

 An operating system also manages resources for applications.  Another way an operating system helps applications is by performing system and file maintenance tasks.  The way an operating system stores files on disk is called a file system. 5 55

 Personal Computer Operating Systems:  An operating system provides an interface between the user or application program and the computer hardware. 6 66

Personal Computer Operating Systems (cont):  The Windows operating system is designed to work with an Intel processor or clone. 7 77

Personal Computer Operating Systems  The Macintosh operating system is called Mac OS X. 8 88

Personal Computer Operating Systems (cont):  UNIX is a multitasking, portable operating system frequently used by scientists and programmers; Linux is a variant. 9 99

Handheld and Embedded Operating Systems:  Handheld operating systems and embedded operating systems, also known as mobile operating systems, are similar in principle to operating systems such as Windows or Linux, but smaller and generally less capable than desktop operating systems

Handheld and Embedded Operating Systems  Some of the more popular are:  BlackBerry  Embedded Linux  Palm OS  Symbian OS  Windows Embedded CE  Windows Mobile Smartphone with Windows Mobile

 In many business, personal, and educational settings, it is necessary to share files across operating system platforms.  One type of hardware solution is an emulation card that allows the computer to run a program that was designed for a different operating system

 Some file types, such as Rich Text Format, are readable on different operating systems

 The tasks you are allowed to perform are defined by your user rights, set by the system administrator to protect the computer’s security.  The system administrator is a user who has an administrator account.  The administrator account provides unrestricted access to make systemwide changes to the computer, such as system modifications, installing software, or changing network settings.  The administrator can grant administrative rights to other users

 Common issues that affect the operating system include:  Incompatibility  File corruption  Disk crashes  Other common types of problems include having trouble completing tasks you normally perform on your computer

 On a Windows Vista computer, Windows Help and Support might provide solutions