Week Seven: Clear

This week we learned about operating systems and utility programs. Although the topic was pretty easy to understand from a general point, it did get fairly nit-picky in certain areas. One of such topics is between application software and system software. As defined by Professor Olson in lecture 7a- Introduction, application software "helps you accomplish a task," these are specific tasks, such as Microsoft Word, or Turbo Tax. While system software is "the collection of programs that are needed for the smooth functioning of a computer and its peripheral devices," usually a more general function for a computer, such as an anti-virus program, or Microsoft Windows XP Professional. 
From the general topic of system software, comes the operating system, which many are familiar with as "what runs a computer." According to the book, "an operating system (OS) is a set of programs containing instructions that work together to coordinate all the activities among computer hardware resources" (Discovering Computers 2010, 398). The operating system is such a powerful tool within a computer unit, because it is what allows the computer to run. Without an operating system, a computer would not be able to function, because of it would not have any instructions to follow, nor any programs to run. Because of the operating system, a user is able to start a computer, whether it be with a cold boot or a warm boot [a cold boot is when a user turns on a computer that was previously completely off, while a warm boot is when a user essentially restarts a computer that was already on]. Operating systems also provide a user interface; the one most common today for users is the graphical user interface, or GUI, which was invented in 1973 by Xerox Alto system, and then used by Apple in 1984, where it was then adopted by other computers today. The other kind of user interface, which is generally used more for network administrative use, is command-line interface. The operating system is also used for managing programs, memory, storage and handling input and output devices. 
Even though operating systems are immensely important in the use of a computer, utility systems, otherwise known as utility, helps users in the maintenance and use of their computer. Utility systems include file managers, which allow users to store documents, pictures, music, etc, into different folders for easy access later on. Search utility is an important function for when users wish to access a document quickly, or if they aren't able to find a file easily. The disk defragmenter utility is a very helpful tool in allowing users to not only have more space in their computer while their files become more organized, but it allows for faster processing as well.