How to use a computer: What is an Operating System?

We have recently blogged about the efficiency and ease-of-use in managing your accounts online, using programs such Prelude Accounts, but it is easy to forget that many people are still not entirely comfortable either with using computers or with computer terminology.

In the first of a series of articles, I will explain some of the most common and fundamental terms used in modern computing that will hopefully demystify computers for those who are not in the know.

What does Operating System or OS mean?

An operating system (often abbreviated as ‘OS’) is the basic program that allows you to interact with a computer, such as putting documents or files in electronic folders and helping you choose which computer functions to open and run and which to close and shut.

In other words, an operating system makes it easier to use our computers. Readers of a certain age will recall a computer language called DOS (Disk Operating System), in which you had to type in commands to open computer programs and do other activities with your machine. DOS is an early form of operating system and is still in use today.

Operating Systems today are often characterised by having what is known as a ‘desktop’, which is a visual representation of all your files, folders and programs as icons. You open a file, folder or program either by moving a cursor over it with a mouse and clicking a mouse button or, in some very modern cases, touching the screen directly. Behind the main desktop, there are often different files and folders and files within folders that you can organise as you see fit or as your work dictates, just as you would with actual files and folders on an actual desktop or in a filing cabinet.

All modern computers require an operating system for everyday use, and there are many different versions out there. The most common is Microsoft Windows, which has now gone through 8 iterations, with Windows 8 being the most recent (not all Windows operating systems are known by a number; there were versions called Windows XP and Windows Vista along the way).

Windows is most commonly used on PCs, and versions appear on some smart phones and tablets as well. Computers made by Apple are known as Macs, and these use a completely different operating system known as iOS which, although vaguely similar in appearance and use to Windows, actually operates in its own unique way.

It is therefore important to know which operating system you have on your own computers and devices when buying software and computer programs, as you need to be sure that they are compatible with each other. Often software developers will create and sell two or more different versions of the same program so that people with different operating systems can use them.

A good analogy is with video cassettes in the early 1980s when you had two formats, VHS and BetaMax. Both recorded and played back film, but a video cassette designed for one of the two formats could not be used on a video player designed for the other format. So it is with modern computing.

Windows and iOS are the most widely used operating systems, but there are other operating systems available, probably the most notable of which is Linux. Linux is free to download and use but is favoured by more advanced computer users.

As I mentioned, modern mobile phones and tablets also use operating systems, including Windows and iOS. One of the most popular operating systems on mobile devices is Android by Google.

One advantage of using an online accounting system such as Prelude Accounts is that it sidesteps the issue of operating systems altogether by being run through your computer’s browser, which is a program used to view (or ‘surf’) and interact with the internet.

By using the browser and the internet, online cloud computing systems are not operating-system specific and can be used on a variety of devices. This is often referred to as being “platform independent”. You don’t store and run the program from your machine or device but you do so through the internet, which is hosted externally to your machine.