Quiz 6

1. Define system software and identify the two types of system software.

System software is computer software designed to operate the computer hardware and to provide a platform for running application software.

Types of system software programs

 Operating system

Computer system.

2. Briefly describe various server operating systems: Windows Server, Linux, Solaris, and NetWare.

Windows Server is a brand name for a group of server operating systems released by Microsoft Corporation. All are part of Microsoft Servers.

Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system

Linux refers to the family of Unix-like computer operating systems using the Linux kernel.

Solaris is a Unix operating system originally developed by Sun Microsystems.

Oracle Solaris, as it is now known, has been owned by Oracle Corporation since Oracle's acquisition of Sun in January 2010

NetWare is a network operating system ,initially used cooperative multitasking to run various services on a personal computer, with network protocols based on the archetypal Xerox Network Systems stack.

3. Summarize the features of several embedded operating systems: Windows Embedded CE, Windows Mobile, Palm OS, iPhone OS, BlackBerry, Google Android, Embedded Linux, and Symbian OS.

Microsoft Windows CE  is an operating system developed by Microsoft for embedded systems. Windows CE is a distinct operating system and kernel, rather than a trimmed-down version of desktop Windows.

Windows Mobile is a mobile operating system developed by Microsoft that was used in smartphones and mobile devices, but by 2011 was rarely supplied on new phones.

Palm OS (also known as Garnet OS) is a mobile operating system initially designed for ease of use with a touchscreen-based graphical user interface smartphones.

iPhone it has since been extended to support other Apple devices such as the iPod touch, iPad and Apple TV.

BlackBerry is a line of mobile e-mail and smartphone devices developed and designed by Research In Motion (RIM).

Android is a software stack for mobile devices that includes an operating system, middleware and key applications.

 Embedded Linux is the use of Linux in embedded computer systems such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants, media players, set-top boxes, and other consumer electronics devices, networking equipment, machine control, industrial automation, navigation equipment and medical instruments.

Symbian is a mobile operating system (OS) and computing platform designed for smartphones and currently maintained by Nokia.

4. Explain the purpose of several utility programs: file manager, search utility, image viewer, uninstaller, disk cleanup, disk defragmenter, backup and restore utilities, screen saver, personal firewall, antivirus programs, spyware and adware removers, Internet filters, file compression, media player, disc burning, and personal computer maintenance.

A file manager or file browser is a computer program that provides a user interface to work with file systems.

A web search engine is designed to search for information on the World Wide Web and FTP servers.

An image viewer or image browser is a computer program that can display stored graphical image; it can often handle various graphics file formats.

An uninstaller, also called a deinstaller, is a utility software designed to remove other software or parts of it from a computer. It is the opposite of an installer.

Disk Cleanup is a computer maintenance utility included in Microsoft Windows designed to free up disk space on a computer's hard drive.

defragmentation is a process that reduces the amount of fragmentation in file systems it does by physically organizing the contents of the mass storage device to store files in a contiguous region if possible, or in the smallest possible number of regions (fragments) if not.

 backup or the process of backing up refers to making copies of data so that these additional copies may be used to restore the original after a data loss event.

A screensaver is a type of computer program initially designed to prevent phosphor burn-in on CRT and plasma computer monitors by blanking the screen or filling it with moving images or patterns when the computer is not in use.

A personal firewall is an application which controls network traffic to and from a computer, permitting or denying communications based on a security policy.

Antivirus or anti-virus software is used to prevent, detect, and remove malware, including but not limited to computer viruses, computer worm, trojan horses, spyware and adware.

Spyware is a type of malware that can be installed on computers, and which collects small pieces of information about users without their knowledge.

data compression, source coding or bit-rate reduction is the process of encoding information using fewer bits than the original representation would use.

Content-control software, also known as censorware or web filtering software is a term for software designed and optimized for controlling what content is permitted to a reader, especially when it is used to restrict material delivered over the Web.

Media player is a term typically used to describe computer software for playing back multimedia files.

Optical disc authoring is the process of assembling source material—video, audio or other data—into the proper logical volume format to then be recorded ("burned") onto an optical disc (typically a compact disc or DVD).

Computer maintenance is the practice of keeping computers in a good state of repair.