Common operating systems
Common operating systems include: MS-DOS (short for Microsoft Disk Operating System) is an operating system commercialized by Microsoft. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems and was the main operating system for computers during the 1980s. It was based on the Intel 8086 family of microprocessors, particularly the IBM PC and compatibles. It is the standard OS for all IBM PC compatibles or clones. In this text-based operating system you communicate with the computer by typing commands that exist within its library.
WINDOWS
Microsoft Windows is a series of software operating systems and graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft. Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal computer market, overtaking Mac OS.
Windows 95 is a bootable operating system in its own right. It has a graphical interface with many Macintosh-like features. It supports multimedia applications and comes with Internet software.
The Program manager is called Windows Explorer, Buttons and scroll-bars have an attractive, three dimensional look.
With Windows 98 Internet access becomes part of the user interface. The system includes Outlook Express for E-mail, NetMeeting conferencing software, a chat program and a Web-page editor. It offers support for such technologies as DVD. It also enables to watch TV on your PC.
Windows 2000
As part of its "professional" line, Microsoft released Windows 2000 in February 2000.
Windows 2000 (also referred to as Win2K) is a preemptive, interruptible, graphical and business-oriented operating system designed to work with either uniprocessor or symmetric multi-processor computers. Four editions of Windows 2000 were released: Professional, Server, Advanced Server, and Datacenter Server. While each edition of Windows 2000 was targeted to a different market, they share a core set of features, including many system utilities such as the Microsoft Management Console and standard system administration applications.
In October 2001, Microsoft released Windows XP, a version that also retained the consumer-oriented usability of Windows 95 and its successors. This new version was widely praised in computer magazines. Windows XP is a family of 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, and media centers. The name "XP" stands for eXPerience. Windows XP is the successor to both Windows 2000 Professional and Windows Me, and is the first consumer-oriented operating system produced by Microsoft to be built on the Windows NT kernel (version 5.1) and architecture. The most common editions of the operating system are Windows XP Home Edition, which is targeted at home users, and Windows XP Professional, which offers additional features such as support for Windows Server domains and two physical processors, and is targeted at power users, business and enterprise clients. Windows XP is known for its improved stability and efficiency over the 9x versions of Microsoft Windows. It presents a significantly redesigned graphical user interface, a change Microsoft promoted as more user-friendly than previous versions of Windows. As of the end of September 2008, Windows XP is the most widely used operating system in the world with a 69% market share, having peaked at 85% in December 2006[12]. Windows XP has been criticized for its susceptibility to malware, viruses, Trojan horses, and worms.