Windows, Linux or Mac OS X are operating systems. They are the backbone of a computer system managing the computer hardware and software. It controls the computer after the BIOS has been loaded by loading drivers to support the hardware and software programs that run on the hardware.

When consumers buy computers they usually come with an operating system. The kind of operating system depends on the computer that has been purchased. Most desktop computers come with a Microsoft Windows operating system while Apple computers usually run a Macintosh operating system. Servers on the other hand are still dominated by Unix and Linux but Windows is common there as well.

Operating systems are in all kinds of products that we use, not just computers. Operating systems are used by video game consoles, cell phones, PDA’s and more.

The operating system has control over all the functions of the computer and manages how software programs work and their communication and interactions with each other. The operating system is responsible for making sure everything runs smoothly during the operation of your computer and that the programs that are running do not interfere with each other.

The operating system manages all the computer’s hardware by loading so called drivers which are used to interact with the hardware.

The software programs that run on the operating system receive the hardware information from it without having to use their own functions to interact with the hardware directly. All hardware of the computer is managed by the operating system.

As the central component of a computer system the operating system manages data transfer between hardware and software. Pressing a key on the keyboard is for instance directed to several hardware components like the processor and video card so that the result can be outputted on the computer screen.

The operating system also plays a vital role in security. It prevents unauthorized users, programs and websites from accessing the computer system. This could be over a network, over the internet, or on the computer itself. Some operating systems allow you to set up more than one user and require a logon to that user account. This allows you to set different levels of permissions for each user and can help secure your data.