Introduction to Computing, Part 26
Question 1: Name some handheld operating systems and describe how they are like desktop operating systems.
Answer 1: Personal digital assistants and other handheld devices run off an embedded operating system housed on a single microchip. These operating systems require a CPU chip, but they do not operate like personal computers or laptops. The most popular operating system for handheld devices is Palm OS by Palm, Inc. Some newer devices feature Microsoft Pocket PC or Windows Mobile, sometimes called Windows CE .NET. These handheld Microsoft programs have many of the same features as Windows has on desktops and laptops. Handheld devices that formerly used EPOC OS now use Symbian OS. In 2009, Symbian was the world’s largest producer of smartphone software. Nokia and Ericsson smartphones both feature Symbian operating systems with both multitasking and multithreading capabilities.
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Question 2: Describe some strengths of Mac OS.
Answer 2: Mac OS is known for being safe and easy to use, even for novice users. While PC still used a command-line OS, the Mac OS had a point-and-click interface. The Mac OS also has a data-security capability based on Unix and is known to be extremely secure. One benefit of the Mac OS being less common than Windows is that fewer computer viruses and malicious software (malware) codes are written for it. The Mac OS X has backward compatibility, meaning newer versions have no trouble accessing the files and programs created for past editions of the OS. The newest versions of Mac OS also have dual-boot programs (e.g., Boot Camp) that allow the user to work alternately through Windows XP and Mac OS X. Finally, the Mac OS X is an adept virtual machine platform, meaning that one computer is able to run the hardware and software found on another system.
Question 3: Describe some weaknesses of Mac OS.
Answer 3: Because there are fewer Mac OS users, there are fewer programs written for the system. The forked nature of files on Mac OS can also cause problems when converting to other machines. Mac OS files have two components, a data section containing the bulk of the program, and a resource section containing a summary of the information in the data section. In order to successfully transfer the information in a Mac OS file to another operating system such as Windows, the user needs to have some method of bundling the data and resource forks.
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