Introduction

Have you ever paid attention to traffic cops? Their job is to keep traffic flowing while preventing motorists from interfering with one another.

The operating system of a computer works much the same way. It allows multiple programs to run without interfering with each other. The operating system is the most important program running on a computer. In this lesson, you will learn what an operating system does and be introduced to some of the most popular operating systems.

icons of computers and mobile devices
Electronic devices like laptops, deskstop computers, tablets, smart phones, etc. use different operating systems created by the company that makes them and based on the device type and its computing power.

Lesson Objectives

Following successful completion of this lesson, students will be able to...

  • Compare functions of various operating systems

Enduring Understandings

  • Different operating systems are available and some are more suitable for specific operational needs.

The above objectives correspond with the Alabama Course of Study: Business Technology Applications standards: 2.