Difference between revisions of "Operating system"

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An '''operating system''' is a set of basic software that allows [[computer]]s to perform basic tasks for people. It is responsible for displaying the graphics on screen and outputting sound to the speakers, controlling input from the mouse and keyboard, allowing [[hardware]] to work properly, interfacing with other computers on a [[network]], and storing and retrieving data. The most common operating systems today are [[Microsoft Windows]], [[Apple Inc.|Apple's]] [[Mac OS]], and [[Linux]] / [[BSD]] / [[Tails (operating system)|Tails Anonymous Secure Operating System]].
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An '''Operating System (OS)''' is a set of software that allows [[computer]]s to perform basic tasks for people. The most common desktop operating systems today are [[Microsoft Windows]], [[Apple Inc.|Apple's]] [[Mac OS]], and [[GNU/Linux]]. For mobile devices such as [[Smartphone]]s, [[Google]]'s [[Google Android|Android]] (a Linux derivative), and Apple's [[iOS]] are most common. The vast majority of web servers utilize Linux. Low-powered IoT devices typically run Linux, Android (a Linux derivative), or a basic RTOS such as [[VxWorks]].
  
 
== Structure ==
 
== Structure ==
 
An operating system is defined into a few basic parts:
 
An operating system is defined into a few basic parts:
* The '''[[BIOS]]''', which handles all hardware related things. Often a computer has a BIOS integrated within its hardware, though some operating systems such as [[Linux]] are independent of this BIOS.<ref>http://www.linux.com/base/ldp/howto/Linux-Init-HOWTO-5.html</ref>
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* The low-level system (such as [[BIOS]], UEFI, coreboot, or Libreboot) which manages all hardware. Often a computer has a BIOS or UEFI integrated within its hardware, though some operating systems such as [[Linux]] are independent of these proprietary systems.<ref>http://www.linux.com/base/ldp/howto/Linux-Init-HOWTO-5.html</ref>
* The '''[[Kernel]]''', which handles all software related things and acts as a interpreter between applications and the hardware.
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* The '''[[Operation system kernel|Kernel]]''', which handles all software related operations and acts as an interpreter between applications and the hardware.
* The [[Computer shell|shell]] or User Interface - Software that draws forms, toolbars, menus, main task bar, typing commands for the computer to execute, etc.
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* The [[Computer shell|shell]] or User Interface - Software that draws forms, toolbars, menus, main task bar, typing commands for the computer to execute, etc. Shells typically provide a primitive programming capability, called scripting, such as DOS command scripts, JCL, DCL, and Windows script. Most operating systems designed for consumer use on desktop and mobile platforms, will include a graphical user interface, which presents the user with a point-and-click interface.
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* System programs that come packaged with the operating system, such as browsers, file backup/restore, sorting utilities, login/logout programs, etc.
  
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== Classifications ==
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===General-purpose===
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General-purpose operating systems are designed to be flexible in what applications they can run, provide an interface, support multitasking, offer feature-laden file systems, and most of them support multiple users.  These are the operating systems with which most people are familiar.
  
==Prescient Quotes on Operating System-level Surveillance==
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===Real-Time===
* "The progress of [[science]] in furnishing the [[big government|government]] with means of [[espionage]] is not likely to stop with [[wiretap]]ping. Ways may some day be developed by which the [[Police state|government]], without removing papers from [[hard disk|secret drawers]], can reproduce them in [[Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court|court]], and by which it will be enabled to expose to a [[jury]] the most intimate occurrences of the home. Advances in the [[computer science|psychic and related sciences]] may bring means of exploring unexpressed beliefs, thoughts and emotions. 'That places the [[liberty]] of every [[citizen|man]] in the hands of every [[tyrant|petty officer]]' was said by James Otis of much lesser [[tyranny|intrusions]] than these. 1 To Lord Camden a far slighter intrusion seemed '[[subversive]] of all the comforts of society.' Can it be that the [[Constitution]] affords no [[Right to Privacy|protection]] against such invasions of [[Fourth Amendment|individual security]]?"
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Real-Time operating systems (RTOS) are designed to have minimal overhead so that they can respond immediately to events.<ref>http://ecomputernotes.com/fundamental/disk-operating-system/real-time-operating-systems</ref>  As such, they tend to have no file system, or a simple file system optimized for speed. Real-time operating systems are used by embedded controllers in many devices, including industrial equipment, kitchen appliances, and automobiles.  These controllers need to recognize task priority, and perform their primary function without delay when called upon. For example, the airbags in cars are controlled by an RTOS; every millisecond is critical in the processing speed for safety devices such as these.<ref>https://www.robomart.com/blog/real-time-operating-system-rtos/</ref><br />
** [[Louis Brandeis]]'''  (1856-1941), [[United States Supreme Court]] [[Associate Justice]] Dissenting, ''[[Olmstead v. United States]]'', 277 U.S. 438 (1928).
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An RTOS that ran on the popular [[PDP-11]] minicomputers was RT-11. Today, [[VxWorks]] is the most popular RTOS.
  
==See Also==
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== Features ==
* [[Tails (operating system)|Tails Anonymous Secure Operating System]]
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General-purpose operating systems typically offer the following features:
* [[Apple Computer]] [[MacOS]] for [[Apple Macintosh]]
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* Hardware Abstraction, which allows programs to make use of hardware without having to know about the specifics of any given hardware device. It is responsible for displaying the graphics on screen and outputting sound to the speakers, controlling input from the mouse and keyboard, and allowing [[hardware]] to work properly.  Usually this is implemented in the [[BIOS]] or a separate HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer).
* [[Mobile device]]s: [[Smartphones]] and [[tablet computer|tablets]]
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* Load programs from secondary stores into memory and execute them.
* [[Apple Computer|Apple]] [[iOS]] for [[iPhone]]-[[iPod]]-[[iPad]]
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* [[File System]]s, which handle storing and retrieving files stored on hard disks, USB drives, magnetic tapes, and CDROM/DVDROMs.
* [[Android (operating system)|Android]]
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* Security.  Prevent unauthorized access to system resources.
* [[BlackBerry OS|Blackberry]]
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* Multiprocessing. Allow multiple programs to run simultaneously and share system resources.
* [[Microsoft]] [[Windows Phone]] with [[Windows 8]]
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* Networking. Allows interfacing with other computers on a [[network]].
----
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* User interfaces, such as a [[Graphical user interface (computers)|Graphical User Interface]] (GUI), and system programs that provide users way of accessing hardware, files, programs, processes, and networks.
* '''[[Censorship]]:'''  [[Tools of censorship]], [[Censorability]], [[Fairness Doctrine]], [[Liberal censorship]], [[Media censorship]]
 
----
 
* '''[[Perpetual war|The Perpetual War]]:''' [[War on Drugs]], [[War on Terror]] and the [[Police state]]
 
* '''Domestic [[Mass surveillance|Mass Surveillance]] of Law-Abiding [[Citizen]]s:'''  via [[Utah Data Center]], [[PRISM]], [[NSA]]-[[DHS]]-[[BATF]]-[[FBI]]-[[CIA]] and other [[Intelligence agency|Intelligence agencies]]' [[Computer surveillance]], [[Eavesdropping]], [[Data mining]], [[Spyware]], [[Wiretap]] - [[Roving wiretap]], [[Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act]] of the [[Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court]], [[NSA warrantless surveillance controversy]], [[National security letter]], [[Patriot Act]], [[NDAA]], [[Executive Order]]s, [[United States Census]], [[Common Core]], "[[Stasi]]"-like [[secret police]] "[[If You See Something, Say Something]]" [[informant]]s, and other exponential expansion of the [[Police State]]
 
* '''[[Asset forfeiture|Asset Forfeiture]]:''' [[Confiscation]] for [[Police]] [[budget deficit]] via [[RICO]]
 
* '''[[Mililtarization of police|Mililtarization of Police]]:''' [[SWAT]] and [[Pre-dawn raid|Pre-dawn]] [[No-knock raid]]s, [[Sneak and peek warrant]]
 
* '''[[War on Drugs]]:''' [[Addiction]] and [[Drug trafficking]] of the [[Drug cartel]]s, [[Mafia]], [[Gangs]], [[Drug dealer]]s, [[Hollywood values]] - [[Fashion industry values]] - [[Public school values]] - [[Professor values]]
 
* '''[[Computer crime|Computer Crime]] and [[Cyberwarfare]]:'''
 
** '''[[Hackers]]:''' [[China]], [[Russia]] and others
 
** [[Bradley Manning]] - [[Homosexual]] [[Hacker]] [[Traitor]] of [[State secret]]s
 
** [[Wikileaks]] and [[Julian Assange]] - [[Australia]]n [[leftist]] [[hacker]]
 
* '''Dangers of [[Social media|Social Media]]:''' Facebook, Twitter, [[Google|Google Plus]], [[YouTube]], [[Yahoo]]
 
* '''[[Big government|Big Government]]''': [[ObamaCare]]-[[Common Core]]-[[Social Security]] [[Welfare state]] leads to [[Nanny state]], leads to '''[[Police state]]''': [[Globalist]]-[[Statist]]-[[Socialist]]-[[National Socialist]]-[[Communist]]
 
* '''[[Liberal totalitarianism|Liberal Totalitarianism]]'''
 
  
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==Popular or Historic Operating Systems==
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* [[Google Android]]
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* [[iOS]] for [[iPhone]]/[[iPad]]
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* [[Mac OS]] for Mac
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* [[Microsoft Windows]]
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* [[Linux]] / [[Unix]] / [[BSD]]
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* [[VxWorks]]
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* [[MS DOS]]
  
'''Contrast with:'''
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==See also==
 
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* [[Apple Computer]]
* '''[[Security]] [[Software]] and [[Security-focused operating systems|Security-Focused Operating Systems]]''' to protect [[unalienable rights|unalienable]] [[Fifth Amendment]] - [[Fourth Amendment]] [[Right to Privacy]] ([[Internet privacy]], [[Information privacy]], [[Expectation of privacy]]) and [[Second Amendment]] - [[First Amendment]] ([[Freedom of information]] and [[Political freedom]]) rights against [[unconstitutional]] [[Gun control]] - [[Internet censorship]] [[Big government]] [[Police state]], [[hackers]], and "[[5 U.S.C. § 3331|all enemies, foreign and domestic]]" of [[American values|American]] [[liberty]].
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* [[Computer crime|Computer Crime]] and [[Cyberwarfare]]
** '''[[Anonymity]] with [[Tails (operating system)|Tails Operating System]]''': [[Linux]]-based with [[Tor (anonymity network)]],  [[Firefox]] [[Iceweasel]] [[browser]], [[HTTPS Everywhere]] [[encryption]]
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* [[Encryption]]
** '''[[Prism-break.org|Prism-Break.org]]''': Opt out of global data [[surveillance]] programs like [[PRISM]], [[ECHELON]], [[XKeyscore]] and [[Tempora]].<ref>"Help make [[mass surveillance]] of entire populations uneconomical! We all have an [[unalienable right]] to [[privacy]], which you can exercise today by [[encrypting]] your communications and ending your reliance on proprietary products and services."</ref>
 
** '''[[Open source|Open Source]] [[Free software]]''' not over-priced tracking by [[Microsoft]]-[[Apple]]-[[Google]]-[[Android]]
 
* '''[[Privacy search engines|Privacy Search Engines]]: [[Duck Duck Go]]''' and [[Ixquick]]: [[Privacy]]-oriented [[Search engine]]s instead of tracking by [[Google]], [[Yahoo]] and [[Bing]]
 
* '''[[Internet anonymity|Internet Anonymity]] - [[Right to be forgotten]] [[Pseudonymity]]''' ([[Pseudonym]]) using [[Anonymous web browsing]] with [[Tails]] and [[VPN]] ([[Virtual Private Network]]), [[HMA]], [[OpenVPN]] and [[IPsec]] , [[Proxy server]]s, [[Anonymizer]] ([[Anonymous proxies]])
 
** '''[[Mozilla Firefox]]''' with [[Browser extension]]s instead of [[Microsoft]] [[Internet Explorer]], [[Google Chrome]], [[Safari (web browser)]] and [[Opera (web browser)]]
 
** '''[[Browser security|Browser Security]]''' via [[HTTPS Everywhere]] ([[HTTPS]] ([[HTTP Secure]]) instead of [[Plaintext]] ([[Cleartext]]) [[HTTP]]; and [[NoScript]] to stop [[JavaScript]]
 
** '''[[Ad filtering|Ad Filtering]]''' ([[Privacy mode]] and [[Adblock Plus]] or [[Ghostery]]) to stop [[Ad tracking]] - [[Website visitor tracking]] via [[Geolocation]], [[Geotargeting]], [[Personally identifiable information]] and [[Device fingerprint]]s
 
* '''[[Internet safety|Internet Safety]], [[Computer security|Computer Security]] via [[Password strength]] and [[Password manager]]s''' via [[KeePass]] or [[LastPass]] and [[Antivirus]]-[[Firewall]]
 
* '''[[Secure communication|Secure Communication]]:'''
 
** '''[[E-mail privacy|E-mail Privacy]] and [[Email encryption|Email Encryption]]:''' [[Claws Mail]] or [[Enigmail]] or [[Kontact]] using [[Hushmail]] or [[MyKolab]], [[Anonymous remailer]], instead of tracking by [[Microsoft Outlook]], [[Mozilla Thunderbird]] using [[Yahoo! Mail]], [[Gmail]] [[iCloud]]
 
** '''[[Secure messaging|Secure Messaging]] and [[Off-the-Record Messaging]] via [[I2P]]''' [[Instant messaging]], [[Cryptocat]], [[Bitmessage]] instead of [[Skype]], [[Yahoo! Messenger]], [[Internet Relay Chat]], [[Google Plus]], Facebook
 
** '''[[Silent Phone]] with [[Silent Circle]]''' instead of [[Android]] or [[iPhone]] [[Smartphone]]
 
** '''[[OPSEC]]:''' "[[Loose lips sink ships]]"
 
* '''[[Encryption]]:''' [[Encryption software]], [[Disk encryption software]], [[LUKS]] or [[TrueCrypt]] instead of [[Microsoft]] [[BitLocker]],  [[PGP]] and [[GNU Privacy Guard]], [[Data encryption]], [[Public-key encryption]], [[Cryptography]]-[[Cryptanalysis]]-[[Cryptology]]-[[Steganography]]
 
* '''[[Peer-to-peer|Peer-to-Peer]]:''' [[Sneakernet]], [[Friend-to-friend]], [[Darknet (file sharing)]], [[Anonymous P2P]] instead of [[BitTorrent]]
 
* '''[[Deep Web]] - [[Dark Internet]]:''' [[Tor]], [[AmRD]], [[Tor2web]], [[The Hidden Wiki]], [[Anonymous blog]]
 
* '''[[Cryptocurrency]]-[[Digital currency|Digital Currency]]-[[Alternative currency|Alternative Currency]]-[[Virtual currency|Virtual Currency]]: [[Bitcoin]]''' and [[Hard money]]-[[Precious metals]]-[[Tangibles]] versus [[PayPal]], [[Credit cards]] and [[inflation]]-prone [[Dollar (U.S.)|U.S. Dolars]]: [[Federal Reserve System]]'s [[Keynesian economics]] [[Ponzi scheme]] of [[Quantitative easing]]-[[Debt monetization]] [[devaluation]] of [[Fiat currency]] through [[Money supply]]-[[Treasury bill]]s bought mostly by [[China]] and [[Japan]]
 
----
 
* '''[[Privacy resources|Privacy Resources]]:'''
 
** ''[[Hologram of Liberty]]'' - The Constitution's Shocking Alliance With Big Government by [[Boston T. Party]] - [[Kenneth W. Royce]]
 
** ''[[One Nation, Under Surveillance]] - Privacy From the Watchful Eye'' by [[Boston T. Party]]
 
** ''[[How to Be Invisible]] - Protect Your Home, Your Children, Your Assets, and Your Life'', by [[J. J. Luna]]
 
** '''[[Electronic Frontier Foundation]]''' and [[Electronic Privacy Information Center]], [[Oath Keepers]], [[Judicial Watch]]
 
** '''[[Freedom of Information Act]]''', [[Electronic Communications Privacy Act]] of 1986 and [[Privacy Act of 1974]]
 
** '''[[Edward J. Snowden]] Revelations''' of [[unconstitutional]] domestic spying on law-abiding [[American]] [[citizen]]s; [[GlobaLeaks]]
 
----
 
* '''[[Crypto-libertarianism]] [[Limited government]]''' implies:
 
* [[Conservative values]], [[American values]] - [[Small town values]], [[American Patriots]] and [[Bill of Rights]] [[liberty]]
 
** [[Capitalism]] and [[Free enterprise]]
 
** [[Family values]] and [[Parental rights]]: [[Sanctity of life]], [[Family]]-[[Marriage]], [[Homeschooling]] teaching [[Virtue]], [[Patriotism]], [[Duty]], and [[Self-reliance]]
 
 
 
==External Links==
 
* https://charlescarrollsociety.com/2013/06/10/prism-yes-they-can
 
* https://charlescarrollsociety.com/2013/05/06/memo-to-the-police-state-progressives-please-let-his-people-go
 
* https://charlescarrollsociety.com/2012/09/15/no-knock-raid-a-great-video
 
* https://charlescarrollsociety.com/2014/02/12/amrd-t-a-i-l-s-plastic-gloves-for-your-computer-american-redoubt - [[Tails operating system]]
 
* https://charlescarrollsociety.com/2014/01/29/amrd-introducing-the-tor-browser-bundle/ - [[Tor browser]]
 
* https://prism-break.org/en - "Opt out of global data surveillance programs like [[PRISM]], [[XKeyscore]] and [[Tempora]]."<ref>"Help make [[mass surveillance]] of entire populations uneconomical. We all have a [[right to privacy]], which you can exercise today by [[encrypt]]ing your communications and ending your reliance on proprietary services."</ref>
 
* https://www.eff.org - "Leading the fight against the [[NSA]]'s illegal [[mass surveillance]] program"<ref>"Organization formed in 1990 to maintain and enhance intellectual freedom, privacy, and other values of civil liberties and democracy in networked communications. Publishes newsletters, Internet Guidebooks and other documents, provides mailing lists and other online forums, and hosts a large electronic document archive. Contact: info@eff.org. 454 Shotwell Street, San Francisco, CA 94110-1914. Tel: (415) 436-9333. Fax: (415) 436-9993. Executive Director: Sheryl Steele."</ref>
 
* https://www.eff.org/secure-messaging-scorecard
 
* http://justdelete.me
 
* http://lifehacker.com/just-delete-me-is-a-massive-list-of-links-to-close-all-1245040101
 
* [http://epic.org/privacy/privacy_resources_faq.html Online Guide to Privacy Resources]<ref>"EPIC was established in 1994 to focus public attention on emerging privacy issues relating to the National Information Infrastructure, such as the Clipper Chip, the Digital Telephony proposal, medical records privacy and the sale of consumer data. EPIC conducts litigation, sponsors conferences, produces reports, publishes the EPIC Alert and leads campaigns on privacy issues. For more information email: epic-info@epic.org, or contact EPIC, 1718 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20009. Tel: (202) 483-1140. Executive Director: Marc Rotenberg."</ref>
 
* http://www.nocards.org - [[Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email]]<ref>"CAUCE is an all volunteer, entirely web-based organization, created by Netizens to advocate for a legislative solution to the problem of UCE (spam). CAUCE began as a discussion group called SPAM-LAW, formed of members who felt that legislation was necessary to stop spam from choking the life out of the Internet. In 1997 CAUCE proposed an amendment to the Federal statute which outlaws junk "faxes" (47 USC 227) to also prohibit junk e-mail, and since then has remained a pre-eminent voice in the anti-spam community. Email: comments@cauce.org. President: Edward Cherlin."</ref>
 
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
{{reflist|2}}  
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{{reflist}}  
 
 
 
 
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
*[http://www.kernel.org/ The Linux Kernel Archives]
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*[https://www.kernel.org/ The Linux Kernel Archives]
 
*[http://www.linux-foundation.org/en/Main_Page The Linux Foundation]
 
*[http://www.linux-foundation.org/en/Main_Page The Linux Foundation]
 +
*[http://computer.howstuffworks.com/operating-system.htm Howstuffworks article on Operating Systems]
 +
*[http://www.conroyhome.net/alan/uos Writing an operating system from scratch]
  
[[Category:Computers]]
 
[[Category:Computer Science]]
 
[[Category:Mobile Operating Systems]]
 
 
[[Category:Operating Systems]]
 
[[Category:Operating Systems]]
[[Category:Free Software]]
 
[[Category:Software]]
 
[[Category:Open Source]]
 
[[Category:Police State]]
 
[[Category:Linux]]
 
[[Category:Apps]]
 
[[Category:First Amendment]]
 
[[Category:Fourth Amendment]]
 
[[Category:Police State]]
 
[[Category:Espionage]]
 
[[Category:Cryptography]]
 
[[Category:Technology]]
 
[[Category:Internet]]
 
[[Category:Information technology]]
 
 
*[http://computer.howstuffworks.com/operating-system.htm Howstuffworks article on Operating Systems]
 

Latest revision as of 07:10, January 22, 2026

An Operating System (OS) is a set of software that allows computers to perform basic tasks for people. The most common desktop operating systems today are Microsoft Windows, Apple's Mac OS, and GNU/Linux. For mobile devices such as Smartphones, Google's Android (a Linux derivative), and Apple's iOS are most common. The vast majority of web servers utilize Linux. Low-powered IoT devices typically run Linux, Android (a Linux derivative), or a basic RTOS such as VxWorks.

Structure

An operating system is defined into a few basic parts:

  • The low-level system (such as BIOS, UEFI, coreboot, or Libreboot) which manages all hardware. Often a computer has a BIOS or UEFI integrated within its hardware, though some operating systems such as Linux are independent of these proprietary systems.[1]
  • The Kernel, which handles all software related operations and acts as an interpreter between applications and the hardware.
  • The shell or User Interface - Software that draws forms, toolbars, menus, main task bar, typing commands for the computer to execute, etc. Shells typically provide a primitive programming capability, called scripting, such as DOS command scripts, JCL, DCL, and Windows script. Most operating systems designed for consumer use on desktop and mobile platforms, will include a graphical user interface, which presents the user with a point-and-click interface.
  • System programs that come packaged with the operating system, such as browsers, file backup/restore, sorting utilities, login/logout programs, etc.

Classifications

General-purpose

General-purpose operating systems are designed to be flexible in what applications they can run, provide an interface, support multitasking, offer feature-laden file systems, and most of them support multiple users. These are the operating systems with which most people are familiar.

Real-Time

Real-Time operating systems (RTOS) are designed to have minimal overhead so that they can respond immediately to events.[2] As such, they tend to have no file system, or a simple file system optimized for speed. Real-time operating systems are used by embedded controllers in many devices, including industrial equipment, kitchen appliances, and automobiles. These controllers need to recognize task priority, and perform their primary function without delay when called upon. For example, the airbags in cars are controlled by an RTOS; every millisecond is critical in the processing speed for safety devices such as these.[3]
An RTOS that ran on the popular PDP-11 minicomputers was RT-11. Today, VxWorks is the most popular RTOS.

Features

General-purpose operating systems typically offer the following features:

  • Hardware Abstraction, which allows programs to make use of hardware without having to know about the specifics of any given hardware device. It is responsible for displaying the graphics on screen and outputting sound to the speakers, controlling input from the mouse and keyboard, and allowing hardware to work properly. Usually this is implemented in the BIOS or a separate HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer).
  • Load programs from secondary stores into memory and execute them.
  • File Systems, which handle storing and retrieving files stored on hard disks, USB drives, magnetic tapes, and CDROM/DVDROMs.
  • Security. Prevent unauthorized access to system resources.
  • Multiprocessing. Allow multiple programs to run simultaneously and share system resources.
  • Networking. Allows interfacing with other computers on a network.
  • User interfaces, such as a Graphical User Interface (GUI), and system programs that provide users way of accessing hardware, files, programs, processes, and networks.

Popular or Historic Operating Systems

See also

References

External links