Windows XP TipWhat's an Operating System?An operating system ("OS") is an interrelated set of programs on a computer system that is responsible for the management and coordination of activities and the sharing of the resources of the computer. It is the set of programs that initially gets loaded into your computer and manages all the other programs as well as the interfaces to attached equipment, such as, printers and scanners. Examples of operating systems for home computers are; Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Vista. The two major groups of programs that the operating system manages are application programs and system utilities. Application programs are designed to perform specific functions for the user, such as, word processors, photo editors, and spreadsheets. Utility programs are small programs designed for a specific task related to system resources, such as, file managers, disk cleanup, audio volume control, and disk defrag. |
