When you power on a computer it first reads the instructions stored in ROM which tells the computer how to start itself up and begins to carry these instructions out. This is also called booting up, that is pulling oneself up by one’s own bootstraps. The computer will finish this step automatically and what all the users need to do is push the button to power it on.
Then here comes the operating system when you turn on your computer successfully. The operating system is a program which can interact with you. For example, you need to save data, or you need to open a document, or you want to delete a file, etc. Then what will you do? You probably will click a mouse button. And then the computer will delete that file or save that data or open that document for you “automatically”. Well, can the computer “automatically” do these things? Because there is a special program in the computer that can accomplish doing these according to your command (you click a save button that is your command to save something). This special command is called operating system. We can also understand this program by its name: operating system is a system that helps you to operate the computer.
The operating system should be convenient to use because operating system is a external software that interact with users. There are two most popular operating systems today from two different companies: windows from Microsoft Company and Macintosh OS from Apple Company.
Another thing needs to say is that there also other kinds of software in the computer. Like if you want to play a piece of music or want to play a video or want to type in a document like I am doing now, you may need another kind of software called application programs. During this process the operating system will offer users a platform through which the users can finish their jobs. Let us take an instance of typing a document with Microsoft word. If you want use the word to type a test you need to click the word button in the operating platform and the operating system will open the word for you. When you finish typing you click the save menu in the operating system and the operating system will save the file in the word format for you.
You can tell the operating system is like a general commander and the application software is like soldiers and you are like the president. Then if you may want to know where the officer is, like captain and here is the answer: since each piece of application software can only do a single task, some companies collect some popular application software and bundle them into a “suite”, like Microsoft office which includes word, excel, power point and some other software.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I agree that operating system should be convenient to use but that is not always the case. Because all desk tops have operating systems they can be easy to concept if they are all running of the same system. I have on occasion saved a file on one computer and found that all files do not recognize the operating system from all computes. Cell phones and other devices empower people to use operating systems through their daily lives. I believe operating systems make our lives easier, but ensure when you are doing work the systems are compatible with each other.
Houbin,
Your reflection was very well written and informative. I have had experience with both MAC and PC operating systems. I actually prefer mac, but windows is the most widely used. Can you imagine life without these systems in place? (I'll bet that's what they used to say about computers too!) I had a commador 64 (apple/macintosh) when I was a kid. That's a really old personal desktop computer - one of the first widely marketed actually. The operating system left a lot to be desired, but it did work well as a glorified word processor. I agreee with your assessment that today's operating systems make life easier for all. Without these systems in place, many people simply would not be able to understand or operate their computer.
Post a Comment