The operating system determines the order in which tasks are processed A driver is a small program that tells the operating system how to communicate with a specific device factorization factorization 5 7. Establish An Internet Connection ; Operating systems typically provide a means to establish Internet connections 8.

Monitor Performance A performance monitor is a program that assesses and reports information about various computer resources and devices 9.Provide file management and other utilities ; Operating systems often provide users with the capability of: 10. Update Automatically ; Automatic update automatically provides updates to the program Managing files Searching for files Viewing images Securing a computer Installing programs Cleaning up disks Defragmenters disks Diagnosing problems Backing up files and disks Setting up screen savers ; Some operating systems are designed to work with a server on a network ; A server pirating system organizes and coordinates how multiple users access and share resources on a network factorization 12.Administer Security ; Each user has a user account - A user name, or user ID, identifies a specific user - A password is a private combination of characters associated with the user name ; A network administrator uses the server operating system to: - Add and remove users, computers, and other devices - Install software and administer network security factorization 6 Trend of Operating System/Platform Device Dependent Program is one that runs only on a specific type or make of imputer. Proprietary Software Privately owned and limited to a specific vendor or computer model.Egg: Apple Mac Device-dependent - trend today ; toward operating systems that run on computers provided by a variety of manufacturers ; Advantage of device-dependent operating system : user can retain existing application software and data files even if user change computer model or vendors Summary Definition of an operating system Common functions to most operating systems Types of operating systems: stand- alone operating systems server operating systems, and embedded operating systems.