Popular OS

"An operating system is a software which provide users to interact with system hardware, its a bridge between hardware component and software."

List of popular operation systems are given below:

1. Microsoft Operating System

Windows is a series of operating systems developed by Microsoft. Each version of Windows includes a graphical user interface, with a desktop that allows users to view files and folders in windows. For the past two decades, Windows has been the most widely used operating system for personal computers PCs.

Windows is the name of an operating system that was written by Microsoft from their first release named Windows 1.0 in 1985 up to their latest release named Windows 10 in 2015.

Unlike Linux or Mac OS X, Windows is not built on UNIX; rather Windows is built on 2 different bases depending on the version of Windows you’re using:

☞ Windows 1.0, 2.0, 3.1, 3.11, 95, 98, and ME run on MS-DOS

☞ Windows NT, 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10, and CE run on NT

MS-DOS was Microsoft’s disk operating system (DOS) released in 1981 and is a command-line interface (CLI) operating system. MS-DOS would serve as the base of every 16-bit version of Windows.

NT was Microsoft’s introduction to 32-bit operating systems back in 1993 and currently serves as the base of all 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows.

As an operating system, Windows 10 and Windows 7 currently holds the largest percentage of the market share.

Versions and its release year: Windows 1.0 (1985), Windows 2.0 and 2.11 (1987), Windows 3.0 (1990), Windows NT (1993), Windows 95 (1995), Windows 98 (1998), Windows ME (2000), Windows XP (2001), Windows Vista (2006), Windows 7 (2009), Windows 8 (2012), Windows 8.1 (2013), Windows 10 (2015).

2. MAC Operating System

Mac OS, operating system (OS) developed by the American computer company Apple Inc. The OS was introduced in 1984 to run the company’s Macintosh line of personal computers (PCs). The Macintosh heralded the era of graphical user interface (GUI) systems, and it inspired Microsoft Corporation to develop its own GUI, the Windows OS.

macOS is the newest name of the Unix-based operating system that runs on Mac hardware, including desktop and portable models. And while the name is new, the features and capabilities of the Mac operating system have a long history.

In June 1978, Apple introduced Apple DOS 3.1, the first operating system for the Apple computers.

The Macintosh started life using an operating system known simply as System, which produced versions ranging from System 1 to System 7. In 1996, the System was re-branded as Mac OS 8. In 1997, Apple buys NeXT Software Inc. for many millions and acquires Steve Jobs, Apple co-founder, as a consultant. After that, with the final version, Mac OS 9, released in 1999.

Apple needed a modern operating system to replace Mac OS 9 and take the Macintosh into the future, so in 2001, Apple released OS X 10.0; Cheetah, as it was affectionately known. OS X was a new OS, built on a Unix-like kernel, that brought modern preemptive multitasking, protected memory, and an operating system that could grow with the new technology that Apple was envisioning.

In 2016, Apple changed the name of OS X to macOS, to better position the operating system's name with the rest of Apple's products (iOS, watchOS, and tvOS). Although the name changed, macOS retains its Unix roots, and its unique user interface and features.

Versions and its release year: System 1 (1984), System 2 (1985), System 3 (1986), System 4 (1987), System 6 (1988), System 7 (1991), macOS 8 (1997), macOS 9 (1999), macOS X 10.0 code name Cheetah (2001), macOS X 10.1 code name Puma (2001), macOS X 10.2 code name Jaguar (2002), macOS X 10.3 code name Panther (2003), macOS X 10.4 code name Tiger (2004), macOS X 10.5 code name Leopard (2007), macOS X 10.6 code name Snow Leopard (2009), macOS X 10.7 code name Lion (2010), macOS X 10.8 code name Mountain Lion (2012), macOS X 10.9 code name Mavericks (2013), macOS X 10.10 code name Yosemite (2014), macOS X 10.11 code name EL CAPITAN (2015), macOS X 10.12 code name Sierra (2016), macOS X 10.13 code name High Sierra (2017), macOS X 10.14 code name Mojave (2018).

3. Linux Operating System

The Linux open source operating system, or Linux OS, is a freely distributable, cross-platform operating system based on Unix that can be installed on PCs, laptops, netbooks, mobile and tablet devices, video game consoles, servers, supercomputers and more.

Linux is the best-known and most-used open source operating system. As an operating system, Linux is software that sits underneath all of the other software on a computer, receiving requests from those programs and relaying these requests to the computer’s hardware.

In 1991, Linus Torvalds a student at the university of Helsinki, Finland, thought to have a freely available academic version of Unix started writing its own code. Later this project became the Linux kernel. He wrote this program specially for his own PC as he wanted to use Unix 386 Intel computer but couldn't afford it. He did it on MINIX using GNU C compiler. GNU C compiler is still the main choice to compile Linux code but other compilers are also used like Intel C compiler.

He started it just for fun but ended up with such a large project. Firstly he wanted to name it as 'Freax' but later it became 'Linux'.

He published the Linux kernel under his own license and was restricted to use as commercially. Linux uses most of its tools from GNU software and are under GNU copyright. In 1992, he released the kernel under GNU General Public License.

Today, supercomputers, smart phones, desktop, web servers, tablet, laptops and home appliances like washing machines, DVD players, routers, modems, cars, refrigerators, etc use Linux OS.

Popular Versions: Ubuntu Linux, Linux Mint, Fedora, openSUSE, Arch Linux, RED HAT Linux etc.

4. Android Operation System

The Android OS is an open source operating system primarily used in mobile devices. Written primarily in Java and based on the Linux operating system, it was initially developed by Android Inc. and was eventually purchased by Google in 2005. The Android operating system is symbolized by a green colored Android Robot logo. Android OS is a Linux-based platform for mobile phones. Android was released under the Apache v2 open source license.

Android was developed by Google and the Open Handset Alliance (OHA), a coalition of hardware, software and telecommunications companies. More than 30 companies were involved in the OHA, including Qualcomm, Broadcom, HTC, Intel, Samsung, Motorola, Sprint, Texas Instruments and Japanese wireless carriers KDDI and NTT DoCoMo.

The Android OS consists of numerous Java applications and Java core libraries running under the Java-based object oriented application framework and the Dalvik Virtual Machine (DVM). Dalvik is integral for the Android to run in mobile devices as these systems are constrained in terms of processor speed and memory.

As for multimedia support, the Android OS can back 2D and 3D graphics, common audio and video formats. It may also support multi-touch input (depending on device) and carries in its browser Google Chrome’s V8 JavaScript run-time.

Versions and its release year: Alpha and Beta is Pre-commercial release, Cupcake [(1.5) (Apr, 2009)], Donut [(1.6) (Sep, 2009)], Eclair [(2.0 - 2.1) (Oct, 2009)], Froyo [(2.2 - 2.2.3) (May, 2010)], Gingerbread [(2.3 - 2.3.7) (Dec, 2010)], Honeycomb [(3.0 - 3.2.6) (Feb, 2011)], Ice Cream Sandwich [(4.0 - 4.0.4) (Oct, 2011)], Jelly Bean [(4.1 - 4.3.1) (July, 2012)], KitKat [(4.4 - 4.4.4) (Oct, 2013)], Lollipop [(5.0 - 5.1.1) (Nov, 2014)], Marshmallow [(6.0 - 6.0.1) (Oct, 2015)], Nougat [(7.0 - 7.1.2) (Aug, 2016)], Oreo [(8.0 - 8.1) (Aug, 2017)], Pie [(9.0) (Aug, 2018)].