Discovering Computers 2010
Living in a Digital World
System Software
System software consists of the programs that control or maintain the operations of the computer and its devices
Operating systems
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Utility Programs
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Operating Systems
An operating system (OS) is a set of programs containing instructions that work together to coordinate all the activities among computer hardware resources
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Discovering Computers 2010: Living in a Digital World Chapter 8
Operating System Functions
The process of starting or restarting a computer is called booting
Cold boot Turning on a computer that has been powered off completely
Page 400 Figure 8-2
Warm boot Using the operating system to restart a computer
Discovering Computers 2010: Living in a Digital World Chapter 8
Operating System Functions
A user interface controls how you enter data and instructions and how information is displayed on the screen With a graphical user interface (GUI), you interact with menus and visual images
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Operating System Functions
How an operating system handles programs directly affects your productivity
Single user and multiuser Single tasking and multitasking Foreground and background
Preemptive multitasking
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Multiprocessing
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Discovering Computers 2010: Living in a Digital World Chapter 8
Operating System Functions
Operating systems often provide users with the capability of:
Managing files Searching for files Viewing images Securing a computer
Uninstalling programs
Cleaning up disks
Defragmenting disks
Diagnosing problems
Backing up files and disks
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Setting up screen savers
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Types of Operating Systems
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Discovering Computers 2010: Living in a Digital World Chapter 8
Stand-Alone Operating Systems
A stand-alone operating system is a complete operating system that works on a desktop computer, notebook computer, or mobile computing device
Windows Vista UNIX
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Mac OS X Linux
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Server Operating Systems
Windows Server 2008
Linux
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UNIX
Solaris
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Discovering Computers 2010: Living in a Digital World Chapter 8
Embedded Operating Systems
An embedded operating system resides on a ROM chip on a mobile device or consumer electronic device
Windows Embedded CE
Windows Mobile
Palm OS
iPhone OS
Blackberry
Embedded Linux
Symbian OS
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Utility Programs
A utility program is a type of system software that allows a user to perform maintenance-type tasks
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Utility Programs
A file manager is a utility that performs functions related to file management
Displaying a list of files Organizing files in folders Copying, renaming, deleting, moving, and sorting files and folders Creating shortcuts
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Utility Programs
A search utility is a program that attempts to locate a file on your computer based on criteria you specify
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Utility Programs
A disk cleanup utility searches for and removes unnecessary files
Downloaded program files Temporary Internet files Deleted files Unused program files
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Utility Programs
A disk defragmenter reorganizes the files and unused space on a computers hard disk so that the operating system accesses data more quickly and programs run faster
Defragmenting
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Utility Programs
A backup utility allows users to copy files to another storage medium A restore utility reverses the process and returns backed up files to their original form
Page 424 Figure 8-33
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