Most of us wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make it a day without using our computers. In fact, during our waking hours, a lot of us could barely make it an hour. Yet, if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re like most people, what happens between your keyboard and screen is largely a mystery. Below, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll discuss the role an operating system plays, which is probably the single-most important element in any computer.<\/p>\n
The easiest way to think about your operating system is to imagine it as your computer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s brain. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s responsible for taking in stimulus and deciding how to express that on the screen and throughout the rest of the computer.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, our operating systems come pre-programmed, much like our own brains in many ways. When your hand touches something hot, your brain doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need to ask, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153This is hot, what would you like to do?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d It just automatically retracts your hand. Likewise, your operating system is preprogrammed so that when, say, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re using a word document, hitting the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153w\u00e2\u20ac\u009d key puts a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153w\u00e2\u20ac\u009d on the screen.<\/p>\n
Without your operating system, your computer would be nothing more than a shell. This important piece of software is responsible for all your computer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s processes, memory, other software, and hardware.<\/p>\n
Best of all, it allows us to communicate with the computer, despite not knowing the language being used. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like a translator in that regard.<\/p>\n
Examples of Programs Your Operating System Runs<\/p>\n
There are two types of programs your operating system is responsible for: internal and peripheral. Internal tasks refer to things like recognizing input provided by your keyboard, sending a certain output to the display screen and tracking directories and files on the disk.<\/p>\n
Examples of peripheral devices an operating system controls would be things like printers, disk drives, and other devices it may be connected to.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The larger the system, the more intricate the operating system needs to be. To go back to our earlier analogy, obviously, the brain of a worm does not have the same demands as that of a human. Larger systems do more and at greater rates, which is why typical, consumer operating systems are not an option.<\/p>\n
One of the most important things a large operating system overseas is all the traffic that occurs. These large systems are usually being used by many people at the same time, which means the operating system has to play traffic cop so that different programs can be run at the same time without preventing the others from working correctly.<\/p>\n
Usually, these larger operating systems are also in charge of security for their systems.\u00c2\u00a0 So, they have to keep unauthorized users at bay. Depending on the operating system, this can be accomplished several different ways.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Your computer doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just depend on it to work though. There are also the applications that run on your computer too, like video players, word document programs, photo editing software etc. You can only use applications that are designed to work with your operating system, which is why you need to choose wisely.<\/p>\n
The most popular operating systems at the moment are:<\/p>\n
Before you choose one, think about the types of applications you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll want to run and what you want to use it for.<\/p>\n
You can always contact us at ServerPronto too. Given our array of services, you can bet we know our way around all kinds of operating systems. Our seasoned staff would be happy to answer any questions you may have, especially as they relate to server selection.<\/p>\n