System software is computer software designed to operate the computer hardware and to provide a platform for running application software.
The most basic types of system software are:
- The computer BIOS and device firmware, which provide basic functionality to operate and control the hardware connected to or built into the computer.
- The operating system (prominent examples being Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux), which allows the parts of a computer to work together by performing tasks like transferring data between memory and disks or rendering output onto a display device. It also provides a platform to run high-level system software and application software.
- Utility software, which helps to analyze, configure, optimize and maintain the computer.
Windows Server is a brand name for a group of server operating systems released by Microsoft Corporation. All are part of Microsoft Servers.
Unix (officially trademarked as UNIX, sometimes also written as Unix) is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna.
Linux (commonly
/ˈlɪnəks/ lin-əks in English,[ also pronounced /ˈlɪnʊks/ lin-uuks in Europe) refers to the family of Unix-like computer operating systems using the Linux kernel. Linux can be installed on a wide variety of computer hardware, ranging from mobile phones, tablet computers, routers and video game consoles, to desktop computers, mainframes and supercomputers.
Solaris, as it is now known, has been owned by Oracle Corporation since Oracle's acquisition of Sun in January 2010
Linux (commonly

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 developed by Novell, Inc. It 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 (now officially known as Windows Embedded Compact and previously also known as Windows Embedded CE ,and sometimes abbreviated WinCE) 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. The last version is "Windows Mobile 6.5.5"; it is superseded by Windows Phone 7, which does not run Windows Mobile software.
Palm OS (also known as Garnet OS) is a mobile operating system initially developed by Palm, Inc., for personal digital assistants (PDAs) in 1996. Palm OS is designed for ease of use with a touchscreen-based graphical user interface. It is provided with a suite of basic applications for personal information management. Later versions of the OS have been extended to support smartphones.
BlackBerry is a line of mobile e-mail and smartphone devices developed and designed by Research In Motion (RIM) since 1999.
BlackBerry phones function as a personal digital assistant and portable media player.
Android's mobile operating system is based on the Linux kernel. Google and other members of the Open Handset Alliance collaborated on Android's development and release.
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.
File manager or file browser is a computer program that provides a user interface to work with file systems. The most common operations performed on files or groups of files are: create, open, edit, view, print, play, rename, move, copy, delete, search/find, and modify attributes, properties and permissions.
Web search engine is designed to search for information on the World Wide Web and FTP servers. The search results are generally presented in a list of results and are often called hits.
Disk Cleanup (cleanmgr.exe) is a computer maintenance utility included in Microsoft Windows designed to free up disk space on a computer's hard drive.
Disk Defragmenter is a utility in Microsoft Windows designed to increase access speed by rearranging files stored on a disk to occupy contiguous storage locations, a technique called defragmentation.
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.
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.
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.
Adware Professional is a rogue anti-spyware program – a fake adware remover, which uses scare tactics to intimidate the user into buying its fake full version.
Compression is useful because it helps reduce the consumption of expensive resources, such as hard disk space or transmission bandwidth.
Media player is a term typically used to describe computer software for playing back multimedia files.
Computer maintenance is the practice of keeping computers in a good state of repair
Image viewer or image browser is a computer program that can display stored graphical image; it can often handle various graphics file formats.
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.