Types of Computer Operating Systems

There are several types of computer operating systems, some are used for laptops and desktop others are used for mobile phones and tablets. Below are the various types of computer operating system we have.

Windows OS

Windows operating system usually called Windows for short is a computer operating system which was developed by Microsoft Corporation. This operating system was designed to run on personal computers (Laptops and Desktops)

Features of Windows OS

• 1. User Interface or GUI (Graphic User Interface) - Windows operating system has a cool graphic user interface which can be easily understood be users.
• 2. Compatibility - Windows operating system is compatible with a lot of software programs (that is Windows OS can run a lot of other application software and programs without breaking).
• 3. Security - Windows operating system has its own in-built firewalls which it uses to prevent malicious attacks from programs and other installed applications.
• 4. Organization - Windows operating system is well organized. For example, file explorer is arranged in a way that there are folders for documents, pictures, videos etc. It also enables users to create their own folders and directories.
• 5. Speed - Windows Operating System boots fast and performs operation fast too, depending on the RAM, processor and ROM it carries.
• 6. Other features of Windows operating system includes:
• * Control Panel
• * Device Manager
• * Notification Area
• * Task Menu
• * Windows Search Box
• * Settings
• * Registry Editor
• * Internet Browser Etc.

Windows OS Versions

Below are the Windows operating system versions from the beginning to this present time.

• * MS-DOS Microsoft Disk Operating System
• * Windows 1.0 - 2.0 (1985 - 1992)
• * Windows 3.0 - 3.1 (1990 - 1994)
• * Windows 95 (1995)
• * Windows NT 3.1 - 4.0 (1993 - 1996)
• * Windows 98 (June 1998)
• * Windows ME - Millennium Edition
• * Windows 2000
• * Windows XP (2001)
• * Windows Vista (November 2006)
• * Windows 7 (October 2009)
• * Windows 8 (October 2012)
• * Windows 8.1 (October 2013)
• * Windows 10 (July 2015)
• * Windows 11 (October 2021)

Advantages of Windows OS

You might want to ask yourself, why do you have to choose Windows OS for your PC (Personal Computers), below are some advantages that can answer your question.

• 1. Easy to Use - Windows OS is very easy to catch up with. Its user interface is user-friendly and almost everything you want to do is being stated in an easy and understandable simple terms
• 2. Compatibility of Windows - Windows OS supports a lot of software applications which can be used for various purpose in the system.
• 3. Plug and Play - This is a part of Windows OS that enables a computer system to accommodate hardware changes without having to do a full manual configuration of that hardware. As long as the right drivers are installed, Windows OS carries out this functionality smoothly.
• 4. Gaming - For lovers of game, Windows OS is a good operating system to get yourself that amazing gaming experience provided the graphics card is of high quality and size.

Disadvantages of Windows OS

We all know that everything that has advantages might likely have disadvantages. Some of the drawbacks or cons that Windows OS have includes the following:

• 1. Windows OS are prone to virus attack - Windows OS have high amount virus attacks than other operating systems. They are usually the targets of hackers because its security can easily break without strong anti-virus software.
• 2. Paid Softwares - Most of the windows software are usually paid (they are mostly sole proprietary software). The number of free software applications compared to the paid ones are usually small. That is why most people use different types of cracks and patches to bypass payment of a particular software application after installing it.
• 3. Windows OS Reboot - Most times when the computer system accidentally hangs due to multiple applications running, rebooting the system usually takes time before it can start up afresh.
• 4. Advance IT Skills - Windows OS cannot be used efficiently for some advance IT skills such as Ethical Hacking.

Mac OS

This is a computer operating system developed by Apple Inc. which is used for apple's mac devices. Mac OS is a proprietary graphical operating system.

Mac OS Versions

Below are the Mac operating system versions from the beginning to this present time.

• * Mac OS X 10.0 (Cheetah - March 2001)
• * Mac OS X 10.1 (Puma - September 25 2001)
• * Mac OS X 10.2 (Jaguar - August 23 2002)
• * Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther - October 24 2003)
• * Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger - April 29 2005)
• * Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard - October 26 2007)
• * Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard - August 28 2009)
• * Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion - July 20 2011)
• * Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion - July 25 2012)
• * Mac OS X 10.9 (Marvericks- October 22 2013)
• * Mac OS X 10.10 (Yosemite - October 16 2014)
• * Mac OS X 10.11 (El Captain - September 30 2015)
• * MacOS 10.12 (Sierra - September 20 2016)
• * MacOS 10.13 (High Sierra - September 25 2017)
• * MacOS 10.14 (Mojave - September 24 2018)
• * MacOS 10.15 (Catalina - October 7 2019)
• * MacOS 11 (Big Sur - November 19 2020)
• * MacOS 12 (Monterey - 2021)

Advantages of Mac OS

• 1. Minimal Virus Attacks - MacOS has fewer virus potential attacks compared to windows OS. This is because of its unix relationship that is more secured than that of windows operating system.
• 2. NTFS and FAT - MacOS supports NTFS (New Technology File System) and FAT (File Allocation Table) which are file system formats in windows operating system.
• 3. Speed and Performance - MacOS is faster and has great performance, this is because of its pre-installed application do not slow down your computer system.
• 4. GUI - MacOS have nice graphic user interface.

Disadvantages of Mac OS

• 1. Cost - Most MacOS devices are very expensive and cannot be easily affordable by middle class earners (such as Civil Servants, Sellers etc.) unlike windows operating system device that is not very much expensive.
• 2. Less Gaming Softwares - Game developers usually design games for mostly Windows OS which is widely and commonly used than any other operating system in the world. This reduces the kinds of game software which MacOS devices will have. Also, MacOS have low gaming hardware and gaming requirements which makes gaming experience less enjoyable.
• 3. No Hardware Customization - Common hardware components like memory, graphics card and processor which can be changed in Windows OS devices is not often done in MacOS devices. Also, when any parts of the a MacOS device is damaged, it cannot be repaired by any computer engineer, rather it is being taken back to the company branch for proper repair or total replacement.
• 4. Paid Softwares - In MacOS paid software cannot be bypassed by cracks and patches like in windows operating system.

Linux OS

Linux Operating System is an open-source operating system that is used in computers like that of Windows OS and MacOS.

Unlike other operating system which have versions, Linux OS have over 200 different types which has their different purposes and does unique things based on the purpose it is built for. A few types (or distributions) of Linux operating system includes:

• * Ubuntu
• * Debian
• * Linux Mint
• * Fedora
• * Arch Linux
• * CentOS

Features of Linux OS

• 1. Open Source - Linx source code is designed in a way that it can be publicly accessible by anybody. It is a community-based development project that is readily available to the public. Teams and individuals can make contributions which can enhance the operating system's performance and efficiency.
• 2. Portability - Linux operating system can function in different hardware devices. When installing Linux operating system into any computer hardware device you will not face any compatibility issues. Remember that here, portability is not all about the size of Linux hardware devices but how it can accommodate other hardware devices.
• 3. Hierarchical File System - The file system of linux is well arranged in order of ranking.
• 4. Security - Linux operating system have strong protection and authentication. Linux provides log-in ID and password for authentication, it also assigns read, write and excute to files and lastly linux can encrypt/decrypt data.
• 5. Multi-user Access - Linux operating system also makes provision for more than one person to its resources by switching user accounts in the same computer system.
• 6. Command Line Based - Linux operating system is a command line based operating system, but also have graphic user interface which is possible by various package installation.
• 7. Keyboard Language Modification - In Linux operating system you can change your keyboard language into other foreign languages of your choice.
• 8. Shell Feature - Linux operating system provides you with a vital program that you can use to issue commands for different operations.
• 9. Multiprogramming - Multiple applications in Linux, performing different tasks can run at the same time.

The architecture of Linux operating system consist of four (4) layers: (a) Hardware layer - which consists of all the hardware peripherals. (b) Kernel - which is the main component of Linux operating system that directly interacts with the hardwares (c) Shell - collects commands from users for different operations and executes them. (d) Utilities - program that adds functionalities to the operating system.

Advantages of Linux OS

• 1. Free - There is no license in Linux operating system, it is free to use.
• 2. Lightweight - The memory ROM and RAM for running Linux is less compare to other operating systems out there.
• 3. Flexibility - Linux operating system can be used for various types of desktop computers applications.
• 4. Performance - Using linux operating system in various networks and work stations gives you a high performance and it also gives room for multiple users to work simultaneously.
• 5. Multitaksing - Linux operating system can take many tasks simultaneously and still maintain it normal speed.The number of task or processes on going do not slow down the system in Linux.
• 6. Compatibility - Linux supports different file sizes and almost all file formats.
• 7. Stability - When it comes to steady running of a system without performance issues and failures which might require rebooting in most cases, Linux is very stable compare to other operating system.
• 8. Customization - Linux gives room for addition and deletion of various features that the user decides on. This is one of the major advantages of using Linux operating system, you can easily run your personal customization.
• 9. Network Support - Linux operating system ensures internet functionalities and also helps to set up client and server systems on your computer faster and with ease.
• 10. Privacy - The secrecy of user data is protected while using Linux, as Linux do not collect much data from the user while using it various distributions.

Disadvantages of Linux OS

• 1. Learning Curve - Getting to know how to use Linux can be difficult and requires a proper learning process. The is due to the fact that most people are used to close source operating systems such as windows and mac operating systems.
• 2. Limited Market Share - Linux operating system has little market share leading to software developers not developing software application for Linux but for windows and mac operating system.
• 3. Software Applications - Most software applications do not work Linux operating system such as Microsoft applications (Ms-Word, Ms-Excel, Ms-Access etc)
• 4. Less Games - Most game developers do not design software for Linux because of the limited market share as earlier explained, instead they focus on windows operating system which is readily used by everyone.
• 5. Troubleshooting Difficulty - To trace, find and fix faults and issues in linux operating system can be very difficult if you do not have full knowledge of how linux works. It is also hard to find someone who can do it for you, because most tech experts are mostly based in other windows operating system such as windows and mac operating.
• 6. No Standard Edition - Linux operating system does not have a standard edition like windows version and mac too. Linux has several community developed editions called Linux Distributions.
• 7. Poor Technical Support - Unlike some other operating system that you can get technical support in local stores around your environment, people who are into linux are very few and you would have to get your technical support online from various websites through google search.
• 8. Absence of Hardware Drivers - Linux has no hardware drivers which pose a major problem for Linux users when some certain issues arise.
• 9. Lack of Proprietary Software - Many big software companies do not publish their software in Linux because of the same poor market share issue. For you to use software not originally published in Linux, you would have to run it on virtual box. Examples of software that is not published on linux includes: Adobe Software, Microsoft Software, etc.
• 10. No unified installer or package manager - Other operating systems, for example Windows, have only exe file which has unified installer. But Different Linux distributions have their own Package manager, making it difficult for software companies and firms to build and deploy Linux applications. There is no united package manager for all distributions (Fedora uses RPM, Debian uses DPKG, and Arch uses Pacman).

Android OS

An Android OS is an open source linux based operating system that was developed by Google which is meant for mobile phones and tablets.

Features of Android OS

• 1. User Interface - Android OS has touch screen which the user can use to perform various activities by tapping, double-tapping, sliding, etc. Its screen display is also user-friendly and beautiful.
• 2. Storage - Android OS has internal memory space for storing files and also provides place where external memory devices such as memory cards can fit in. Storage sizes for andriod devices varies for both RAM and ROM.
• 3. Media Support - Android OS supports almost all media files (mp3, mp4, jpeg, png, pdf, etc)
• 4. Connectivity - Different ways to connect different devices to the internet and between similar devices also exist in Android OS. Some of them includes: GSM/EDGE, IDEN, CDMA, EV-DO, UMTS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, LTE, NFC and WiMAX.
• 5. Messaging - Anriod OS provides messaging application which supports both SMS (Short Message Service) and MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service).
• 6. Other features includes - Web Browsers, Widgets, Android Beam, Multitasking, Portability and lots more.

Advantages of Android OS

• 1. Open Source - Android OS is free and open to the public, which gives room for developers to adjust and make different kinds of changes in its operating system. Due to the fact that the source is open, anyone can easily contribute, spot errors and fix issues faster other than other closed operating systems.
• 2. Afforadability - Android OS and its devices are less expensive and can be obtained by both middle-class earners and low class earners.
• 3. Customization - There is a lot of third-party applications which allows you to changes or adjust different core settings of andriod operating system devices. These applications extend the capability of the andriod device to do more things that the one that comes with it originally.
• 4. Variety of Applications - Almost all app developers build applications for andriod operating system because its widely used by everyone. There are a lot of andriod applications than that of iOS or other operating system for phones.

Disadvantages of Android OS

• 1. Must have Google Account - Most android applications are gotten from google play store, and for you to access and download any of them, you will have to get a google account. This often create an issue for those who don't have a google account.
• 2. Too many Adverts in Applications - Some of the andriod applications comes with too many pop-up advertisement which annoys users.
• 3. Data Connection Problems - Too many Android applications running simultaneously might cause internet connection issues.
• 4. Battery Life Span - Some android device usually suffer from reduced battery life span over time, due to strong applications and activities usually carried out by users. It can also be as a result of other problems such as using the android phone while charging.

iOS

iOS which stands for iPhone operating system is an operating system developed by Apple Inc. which is used for its iPhone devices.

Examples of iOS device includes: iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPod Nano and Apple TV. iOS have many features which comes with different versions of its operating system. For example: iOS version 14 which came with the feature of dark mode; iOS version 15 which came with the features of Redesigned notifications, Spatial Audio and SharePlay in FaceTime calls, Text recognition in images, ID cards in Wallet app and lots more. But For iOS here, I will give you the advantages and disadvantages below.

Advantages of iOS

• 1. Awesome User Interface - iOS is has beautiful user interface that is very attractive to users.
• 2.Less Heat Generation from Battery - iOS do not generate great amount of heat from the battery unlike other mobile operating system.
• 3. Security - It is hard to break iOS security because of its authentications. iOS provides both finger prints and face recognition.
• 4. Multitasking - You can be typing and playing music at the same time in iOS devices. Also, you can open different applications, running different activities at once.
• 5. Others includes - Easy to upgrade, good use of Google Maps, etc.

Disadvantages of iOS

• 1. Cost - iOS and its devices are expensive.
• 2. No Widget Support - iOS do not support other widgets which might be used to enhance their features. It only works with the ones they built with it.
• 3. Limited Device Use - Most people or individuals do not like using iOS device, they prefer using other mobile operating system which they can easily add their own extendable functionalities and features by using different tweaks, widgets and applications.
• 4. Do not support some computer work as in other OS - iOS has its limitations in terms of offering services to computer. For example, in other OS devices you can plug your USB cable and transfer both pictures, videos and music, but in iOS devices you can only transfer pictures or make use of itunes in accessing pictures and music.