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The Purpose and Functions of an Os

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The Purpose and Functions of an Operating System

The operating system has a couple main functions that can be simply explained.
First, it manages the software resources of the system and the hardware, such as the memory, processor, disk space and more. Secondly, it provides a consistent way for programs to deal with the hardware without having to know the ins and outs of the hardware. Amongst the three main big name operating systems, Windows, Linux and Mac OS X there are many differences. For starters Windows is the most complex, because it was created for each version to support the previous version. Windows is also very versatile in the fact that it can be installed in PC’s with a range of resources, from 64MB RAM and 233MHz processor to newer versions requiring up to 512MB RAM and Pentium 4 processors. Linux on the other hand has low resource requirements, in fact it is so versatile almost any PC can run Linux except Mac. Mac’s can only run Mac OS X, thus generally making them more expensive than other PC’s, in turn Mac OS X cannot be used on any other computer besides Mac. Linux also has a lot of free programs you can download, where Windows and Mac users have to pay for most programs. Windows is also the least secure and most susceptible the virus’s, both Linux and Mac are far more secure. Another plus for Linux is the fact that it is the most versatile you can change just about anything, if you can figure it out. On Mac and Windows there’s not much you can do to change it. As far as technical support goes, Windows support is the most readily available, Mac you have to go through Apple for support. There are many more difference between these operating systems, it all comes down to user preference. In conclusion there are many purposes and functions in operating systems as well as many similarities and differences between brands.

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