Operating systems (MACINTOSH, OS\2 Warp, UNIX, LINUX, OPEN VMS)
MACINTOSH (APPLE)
Macintosh, commonly nicknamed Mac, is a brand name which covers several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. It was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a graphical user interface (GUI) rather than a command line interface. Most of the Mac OS code is in the ROM chips. These contain hundreds of routines (sequence of instructions) which perform such tasks as starting up the computer, transferring data from disks to peripherals and controlling the RAM space. The system file is loaded automatically at start-up, and contains information which modifies the routines of the OS in the ROM chips. The Finder displays the Macintosh desktop and enables the user to work with disks, programs and files. It allows multitasking. It has a Internet set-up assistant, an e-mail program and Web browser.
OS\2 Warp (IBM)
This is the most technically sophisticated operating system. It provides true multitasking, allowing the program to be divided into threads, many of which can be run at the same time. The IBM OS/2 Warp includes easy access to networks via modem, support for java applications and voice recognition technology.
UNIX
The operating system designed by Bell laboratories in the USA for minicomputers, has been widely adopted for many corporate installations.
From the very first, it was designed to be a multitasking system. It is written in C language.
It has become an operating environment for software development, available for any type of machine from IBM to Macs to Cray supercomputers. UNIX is the most commonly used system for advance CAD programs.
LINUX
Linux is used as a highly value, fully-functional UNIX workstation for applications ranging
from Internet servers to reliable work group computing. Linux is available for Intel, Alfa and Sun SPARC platforms.
OPEN VMS
The Open VMS operating system is Digitals popular general purpose OS for all VAX computers. It provides data and access security. Open VMS supports all types of Digital and multivendor networks.
JAVA OS
This is designed to execute Java programs on Web-based PCs. It is written in Java, a programming language that allows Web pages to display animation, play music, etc. The central component of Java OS is known as Java Virtual Machine.