Free Custom «Operating Systems» Essay Paper

Technology plays a significant role in the lives of individuals and society nowadays. It has led to the growth and development of countries, and it, in fact, determines the difference between the developed and developing countries. It has improved healthcare and made possible the treatment of the majority of diseases. It has increased and improved defense of the countries’ territorial borders. The manufacture and production of advanced weaponry has been facilitated by the development in technology. Advances in information technology exert a primary influence on the lives and activities of individuals and corporate bodies all over the world. The computer industry occupies a highly strategic position in information management and technology. The development in computer and microchip technology has fuelled increased productivity in virtually every facet of human endeavors. The easy use of computers has been traced back to the evolution of user-friendly operating systems.

Recognition of the computers’ valuable contribution led to operating systems’ evolutions from a haphazard collection of programs to a vital and integral part of computer systems. While computer hardware has changed through decades from tubes to transistors to integrated circuit, software has primarily evolved through management and control. Operating systems make up the software that allows employees and other staff members to successfully operate computers. It is the backbone that holds computers together. They are responsible for processing computer information, managing computer hardware and memory, printing the softcopy information stored in the computer into hardcopy output, managing telecommunications and the all important aspects of networking. In short, a computer without an operating system is as useless as a car without the engine or a man without brain. In selecting operating systems for servers and workstations, one should consider different factors in relation to the cost, reliability, support and performance. There exist many types of operating systems, but only few are found to be compatible with all the existing hardware and other computer software. This paper addresses the 3 leading operating systems vendors, contrasts and compares each of them and identifies their suitability in relation to servers and workstations (Auslander et al., 1981).