Geek-a-nese: What’s an Operating System?
“I’m a PC, and I’m a Mac”… I’m a linux freak, but we will get to that in a later 
post. What’s the difference? What’s an operating system? Why do I care? …
I’m kicking off a brand new series in the Matt6 blog, we will be teaching you a whole new language, Geek-a-nese.
The operating system or often called the OS, by technical definition is:
“In computing, an operating system (OS) is an interface between hardware and user, which is responsible for the management and coordination of activities and the sharing of the resources of computer, that acts as a host for computing applications run on the machine. ”1
So it’s simple really, the operating system is a platform that handles the behind-the-scene operations. The OS is what you log into, it’s what manages your desktop, taskbar, and various applications that are run, and it is what handles the communications that need to happen between the various types hardware hidden under that pretty case of yours. So you can sit back and take a deep breath, it really isn’t gremlins running your system.
… I like variety!
Like soda or puppies, operating systems come in many different varieties. You are familiar with Microsoft Windows, which currently owns the majority of the Operating System market share. If your laptop is running Windows XP, that is to say your operating system or software controlling body is Microsoft’s Windows XP. There are many other operating systems such as Apple, Linux, Unix, FreeBSD, and many more. Not to get confusing, but as is typical with all software, there are many types of operating systems and each type may have several versions. Going back to Microsoft, they have evolved their Windows Operating System with 3.1 to Windows 95, Windows 98, on up to XP, vista and now Windows 7.
… so, what now?
Okay, I have a better grip on understanding the operating system, but how do I choose one with such a variety out there? Fair question. As I noted earlier, Microsoft already owns the bulk of the market share, so most people just use the version of Windows that comes with their system. Your choice, is really dependent upon what sort of hardware you have or are buying. For example, if you buy a new macbook pro, it will come with an Apple operating system like OSX. If you go out and buy a brand new HP it is likely to have Windows 7. So, in most cases you do not have to choose, because the hardware manufacturer has chosen for you. Linux and the others I mentioned are far less likely to be found on a laptop or desktop. So typically, if you want to run those, you have to do it yourself. I will be posting some how-to lessons in the future on installing Linux. Also, in a later post I will discuss why I have chosen to run my home and business with Ubuntu (a Linux based operating system).
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