The operating system is the software manager of a computer system. There are many forms of operating systems software available. Choosing the best operating system depends on the system requirements and hardware one is using. Microsoft Windows® and UNIX® operating systems are typically considered the best for business applications. These operating systems work on most hardware platform configurations.
Choosing the best operating systems software depends on budget and expectations for the system. Typically, a true multiprocessing system is the best general purpose operating system available. These include Windows®, UNIX®, Linux® and Mac® operating systems.
Windows® is the operating system for Microsoft® computer software. This operating system's software is popular because of the available desktop applications. Microsoft Office® is the most widely used desktop application in the business world today. It requires the Windows® operating system to function correctly.
The Windows® operating system was originally based on MS-DOS, which was first created by IBM in 1980. The Microsoft® Corporation transformed Windows® in 1993 by creating a new operating system named Windows® NT. This system has evolved into the current Windows® platform that is used by millions of personal computers throughout the world.
UNIX® was the first true multiprocessing operating system software available. It was designed to support large-scale software applications. This operating system can manage hundreds of simultaneous request on large computer platforms. UNIX® operating systems are popular for large corporations because they can run within multiple hardware configurations with exceptional performance.
UNIX® has been available for several decades. Many organizations have replicated the UNIX® operating system into proprietary operating systems that function on specific hardware platforms. Some popular examples include Hewlett Packard UNIX (HP-UX), Santa Cruz Operations (SCO-Xenix) and IBM’s Advanced interactive executive (AIX). All of these operating systems are based on the original UNIX® design with special performance tweaks for each copmpany’s particular hardware.
Advanced interactive executive (AIX) is a proprietary UNIX®-based operating systems software that is specifically designed for IBM hardware. This operating system was first introduced in 1986 to support the reduced instruction set computer (RISC) from IBM. This operating system provides advanced system performance for the special RISC chip that cannot be obtained by non-propriety UNIX operating systems.
Apple® computers are well known within the graphics industry as one of the best graphic software platforms available. These proprietary computers run on a special operating system known as Macintosh OS (Mac® OS). This operating system software was first created in 1984. It is currently used for many of the popular Apple® products including the iPhone and iPod.
