1. A very basic introduction
Operating Systems
A very basic introduction

2. Operating Systems Definition: A special computer “program”
Manages the relationship between application software, wide variety of hardware and the user of the system

3. Kernel The lowest level of any OS
Loaded into computer memory when a system boots, or starts up
Provides access to various common core service to all other system and application programs
The service includes
Disk access
Memory management
Task scheduling
Access to other hardware devices  contains “device drivers”

4. Some utilities
Besides the Kernel, OS can have some utility programs to managing files and configurations
OS also can provides programs to display and manage a graphical interface.
Sometimes, OS also can be distributed with more auxiliary utility programs which are not related to the core function of the system (ex. MSN messenger)