System

A group of interdependent items that interact regularly to perform a task. An established

or organized procedure; a method. A computer system refers to the hardware and
software components that run a computer or computers.

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.

Linux

is a Unix-like and mostly POSIX-compliant computeroperating

system assembled under the model of free and open-source software development and
distribution. The defining component of Linux is the Linux kernel, an operating system
kernel first released on 5 October 1991 by Linus Torvalds.
Linux was originally developed as a free operating system for Intel x86-based personal
computers. It has since been ported to more computer hardware platforms than any
other operating system. It is a leading operating system on servers and other big
iron systems such as mainframe computers and supercomputers. As of June 2013,
more than 95% of the world's 500 fastest supercomputers run some variant of
Linux, including all the 44 fastest. Linux also runs on embedded systems, which are
devices whose operating system is typically built into the firmware and is highly tailored

to the system; this includes mobile phones, tablet computers, network routers, facility
automation controls, televisions and video game consoles. Android, which is a widely
used operating system for mobile devices, is built on top of the Linux kernel.
The development of Linux is one of the most prominent examples of free and opensource software collaboration. The underlying source code may be used, modified, and
distributedcommercially or non-commerciallyby anyone under licenses such as the
GNU General Public License. Typically, Linux is packaged in a format known as a Linux
distribution for desktop and server use. Some popular mainstream Linux distributions
include Debian, Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Fedora, open SUSE, Arch Linux, and the
commercial Red Hat Enterprise Linux and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. Linux
distributions include the Linux kernel, supporting utilities and libraries and usually a
large amount of application software to fulfill the distribution's intended use.
A distribution oriented toward desktop use will typically include X11, Wayland or Mir as
the windowing system, and an accompanying desktop environment such as GNOME or
the KDE Software Compilation. Some such distributions may include a less resource
intensive desktop such as LXDE or Xfce, for use on older or less powerful computers. A
distribution intended to run as a server may omit all graphical environments from the
standard install, and instead include other software to set up and operate a solution
stack such as LAMP. Because Linux is freely redistributable, anyone may create a
distribution for any intended use.

Unix (all-caps UNIX for the trademark) is a multitasking, multiuser computer operating
system that exists in many variants. The original Unix was developed at AT&T's Bell
Labs research center by Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and others. From the power
user's or programmer's perspective, Unix systems are characterized by a modular
design that is sometimes called the "Unix philosophy," meaning the OS provides a set
of simple tools that each perform a limited, well-defined function, with a unified
filesystem as the main means of communication and a shell scripting and command
language to combine the tools to perform complex workflows.
The C programming language was designed by Dennis Ritchie as a systems
programming language for Unix, allowing for portability beyond the initial PDP11 development platform and the use of Unix on numerous computing platforms.
While initially intended for use inside the Bell System, Unix developed into a standard
operating system for academia during the late 1970s and 1980s. AT&T tried to
commercialize it by licensing the OS to third-party vendors, leading to a variety of both
academic (e.g., BSD) and commercial variants of Unix (such as Xenix) and eventually
to the "Unix wars" between groups of vendors. AT&T finally sold its rights in Unix
to Novell in the early 1990s, which then sold its Unix business to the Santa Cruz
Operation (SCO) in 1995, but the UNIX trademark passed to the industry standards
consortium The Open Group, which allows the use of the mark for certified operating
systems compliant with the Single UNIX Specification.

Other operating systems that emulate Unix to some extent are often called Unix-like,
although the Open Group disapproves of this term. The term Unix is also often used
informally to denote any operating system that closely resembles the trademarked
system. The most common version of Unix (bearing certification) is Apple's OS
X, while Linux is the most popular non-certified workalike.

The Macintosh is a series of personal computers (PCs) designed, developed, and

marketed by Apple Inc. Steve Jobs introduced the original Macintosh computer on
January 24, 1984. This was the first mass-market personal computer featuring an
integral graphical user interface and mouse. This first model was later renamed to
"Macintosh 128k" for uniqueness amongst a populous family of subsequently updated
models which are also based on Apple's same proprietary architecture. The Macintosh
product family has been collectively and singularly nicknamed "Mac" or "the Mac" since
the development of the first model. The Macintosh, however, was expensive which
caused it to be overtaken in sales by the aggressively priced IBM Personal Computer
and its accompanying clone market. Macintosh systems still found success in education
and desktop publishing and kept Apple as the second-largest PC manufacturer for the
next decade. In the 1990s, improvements in the rival Wintel platform, notably with the
introduction of Windows 3.0, gradually took market share from the more expensive
Macintosh systems. The performance advantage of 68000-based Macintosh systems
was eroded by Intel's Pentium, and in 1994 Apple was relegated to third place

as Compaq became the top PC manufacturer. Despite a transition to the PowerPCbased Power Macintosh line in 1994, the falling prices of PC components and the
release of Windows 95 saw the Macintosh user base decline.
In 1998 after the return of Steve Jobs, Apple consolidated its multiple consumer-level
desktop models into the all-in-one iMac G3, which became a commercial success and
revitalized the brand. Since their transition to Intel processors in 2006, the complete
lineup is entirely based on said processors and associated systems. Its current lineup
comprises three desktops (the all-in-one iMac, entry-level Mac mini, and the Mac
Pro tower graphics workstation), and three laptops (the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro,
and MacBook Pro with Retina display). Its Xserve server was discontinued in 2011 in
favor of the Mac Mini and Mac Pro.
Production of the Mac is based on a vertical integration model. Apple facilitates all
aspects of its hardware and creates its ownoperating system that is pre-installed on all
Mac computers, unlike most IBM PC compatibles, where multiple sellers create and
integrate hardware intended to run another company's operating system. Apple
exclusively produces Mac hardware, choosing internal systems, designs, and prices.
Apple also develops the operating system for the Mac, currently OS X version 10.9
"Mavericks". Macs are currently capable of running non-Apple operating systems such
as Linux, Open BSD, and Microsoft Windows with the aid of Boot Camp or third-party
software. Apple does not license OS X for use on non-Apple computers, though it did

license previous versions of Mac OS through their Macintosh clone program from 1995
to 1997.