SOFTWARE 101
Software – Electronic instructions that tell your computer what to do
Types of Software (BODA)
BIOS – Acronym for basic input/output system, the built-in software that determines what a computer can do without accessing programs from a disk. On PCs, the BIOS contains all the code required to control the keyboard, display screen, disk drives, serial communications, and a number of miscellaneous functions.
OS - The Operating System is the most important program that runs on a computer. Every general-purpose computer must have an operating system to run other programs. Operating systems perform basic tasks, such as recognizing input from the keyboard, sending output to the display screen, keeping track of files and directories on the disk, and controlling peripheral devices such as disk drives and printers.
OS versions
DOS – Disk Operating Systems version 1.0-6.22
Windows – Windows 95, 98, ME and XP Home (OS for home users)
Windows 7 - Windows Premium and Windows Ultimate
Windows Vista – Basic, Home Premium, Enterprise, Business, Ultimate
Windows NOS (Network OS)
Windows NT 4.0 Workstation, Windows 2K Pro and Windows XP Pro (Clients)
Windows Server OS
Windows NT 4.0 Server, Windows 2K Server and Windows 2003/2008 Server
Other OS
Apple – Mac OS version OS x Snow Leopard, Jaguar, Panther, Puma and Tiger
UNIX – Free BSD or System V (High End Server OS)
Linux – Red Hat, Caldera, Mandrake and Ubuntu
Novell – Netware 3x, 4x, 5x and 6x use as a Server OS
DOS – Disk Operating Systems version 1.0-6.22
Windows – Windows 95, 98, ME and XP Home (OS for home users)
Windows 7 - Windows Premium and Windows Ultimate
Windows Vista – Basic, Home Premium, Enterprise, Business, Ultimate
Windows NOS (Network OS)
Windows NT 4.0 Workstation, Windows 2K Pro and Windows XP Pro (Clients)
Windows Server OS
Windows NT 4.0 Server, Windows 2K Server and Windows 2003/2008 Server
Other OS
Apple – Mac OS version OS x Snow Leopard, Jaguar, Panther, Puma and Tiger
UNIX – Free BSD or System V (High End Server OS)
Linux – Red Hat, Caldera, Mandrake and Ubuntu
Novell – Netware 3x, 4x, 5x and 6x use as a Server OS
Drivers – A software that communicates with a hardware (example a printer will need a printer driver in order to function) Drivers come in a floppy, CD or downloaded from the Internet
To access drivers you must go to the device manager
If a driver is missing, corrupt or outdated the device will not work
Applications – Programs (Example of Applications MS Word, Excel, Adobe PhotoShop)
