Page 76 - Computer

Computer Science computer system is normally provided Microsoft Windows are single-user, and
via a network so that users access the multi-tasking operating systems.
computer remotely using a terminal or
another computer. Today, these terminals Operating system platforms
are generally personal computers that There are four commonly used operating
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use a network to send and receive system platforms: Windows, UNIX,
information to multi-user computer Macintosh (Mac), and Linux.
systems. The dvantages of multi-user
OS include allowing many users to Windows Operating Systems
share resources such as hardware and The Windows family of operating systems
software, which are normally expensive. was developed by Microsoft Corporation
This means the cost is divided amongst to run on personal computers, servers,
the users. Multi-user operating systems, smartphones, and embedded devices. It
however, come with several drawbacks, is the most widely used operating system
including decreased performance. They in the world. Windows OS provides a
have a higher software cost compared to Graphical User Interface (GUI), virtual
single-user OS software. Also, they have memory management, multitasking, and
a greater requirement for processing, support for many peripheral devices. The
RAM, and disk space. Examples of development of Windows OSs has gone
multi-user operating systems are UNIX, through different versions and will keep
Virtual Memory System (VMS), and changing as the technology advances.
Windows servers. The versions of Windows OSs from the
early 1990s are shown in Table 4.1
Single-user, single-task OS
This type of OS allows one user to do Table 4.1: Evolution of Windows OS
one thing at a time. An example of a S/n Windows version Year of
single-user, single-task operating system release
is the one used by personal digital 1 Windows NT family 1993
assistants (PDAs). PDAs are also known 2 Windows 95 1995
as handheld computers.
3 Windows 98 1998
4 Windows ME 2000
Single-user, multi-tasking OS
5 Windows 2000 2000
This type of OS allows a single user 6 Windows Server 2000 2000
to run multiple applications on the 7 Windows XP 2001
computer simultaneously. This type
of operating system is found on most 8 Windows Server 2003 2003
personal computers. Some versions of 9 Windows Vista 2007

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