About Operating Systems In Laptops And Computers

Ever wondered what the operating system exactly is and what it does? Well, the operating system, generally referred to as the OS, is a software which knows how to get work done from the hardware of your laptop or computer. The OS is the coordinator and manager of the functions or activities and resources of your PC, like memory, processor and the input and output devices. You can also think of the OS as an interface between the various applications or programs that run on the computer and the hardware of the machine.

The functioning of a fast food stall, given below, is a close although not an exact example of an OS:- The chef or the person who prepares the food on getting a token from the customer, in a fast food stall, is like the OS in a PC. This chef has to manage all the resources in the kitchen to prepare the required dish for the customer, who is equivalent to the computer program. The customer places his order and tells the chef what he would like to eat. The chef then gets to work. He manages the utensils, stove, fuel, spices and other ingredients to get the food ready and serves it to the customer. Once the chef is done with a particular customer, he switches off the gas and stove, cleans up the utensils and reserves them for the next customer.

The OS does a similar job inside a computer or laptop or netbook. When an application running on the computer, needs some function to be done, it provides the necessary input to the OS, which allocates memory locations and other resources to that particular process. It then interacts with the hardware to get the necessary task done and delivers the output to the application or computer program.

Imagine a scenario, where there is no chef and a customer has to go prepare his own food. This will cause complete chaos and mess. More than one customer might enter the kitchen at the same time, fight for the gas, stove and utensils, ultimately resulting in confusion and disorder. Thus, the necessity of the chef. The OS is to the computer, in a similar way as the chef is to the fast food stall.

Sometimes there are many customers waiting for food at the same time. The chef again has to manage all the kitchen resources to simultaneously cater to all of them. An OS too has to handle many processes at the same time, managing all the computer resources.

Microsoft Windows, Macintosh, Linux are some of the popular operating systems in use these days. Many of the laptops and notebooks ship with Microsoft Windows Vista or Microsoft Windows XP OSes. The laptops manufactured by Apple have the Apple’s native Mac OS installed on them. Some of these mobile PCs also have advanced operating systems, based on the LINUX OS.

Comparing the MAC OS and the Windows XP OS:-
Comparison tests have been conducted to check performance, ease of use and other functionality between the Mac OS and the Windows OS. The latter is faster when it comes to performance. Copying of files, writing a DVD, archiving files and other most commonly used functionality is faster on a computer that runs Windows XP OS. However, considering ease of use and installing applications, the Mac OS is the winner. It is more user friendly. For example, when you want to install some utility, you just need to drag and drop the utility file into the Applications Folder. On the other hand, you will have to manually execute the setup file using the installation wizard when using Windows XP. Moreover, since Microsoft’s OS is more universal, it is highly prone to attacks from viruses. There have been lesser OS failures thus reported with the Mac OS.

Comparing Windows OS to LINUX:-
Microsoft Windows gives a very easy to use interface when equated to LINUX. Even a layman, who does not really know much about computers, can easily work on a PC with Windows OS. On the other hand, one does require to have some basic knowledge about computer functioning before he uses a LINUX machine. However, there are many advantages of using LINUX as the OS. It is more secure and reliable, when compared to the Windows OS. Moreover, it is cheaper too. Hence many servers and industry computers use LINUX, while Windows OS is preferred for domestic use.

Comparing Windows Vista to Windows XP:-
Windows Vista is actually the successor of Windows XP. The former is a more secure OS, with many new features that the latter lacks. For example, when you need to search for a file, you just need to start typing in the name or the extension in the ‘Search’ option of the Start menu and Vista will perform a dynamic search, providing you with instant results. Since Windows Vista imbibes more complexities and offers more advanced features, it can be a little sluggish on the computer, when compared to XP, especially if your PC is not a powerful one in terms of memory and processor speed. Hence many around the globe still prefer using Windows XP. However, if you switch to Vista, and get accustomed with it, you might not want to switch back to XP again.