Operating systems are essential to electronic devices because they handle all of the operating details, such as controlling hardware and running programs.
A common shorthand when referring to an operating system is “OS” (pronounce each letter).
There are several types of operating systems available, but the most common are Windows, Linux, OS X and Android.
Macintosh (MAC) computers are often thought to be an operating system, but they are in fact computers with a version of Apple’s OS X operating system installed on them.
Android is a Linux OS popular on mobile devices like smart phones, tablets, etc.
Linux is an open-source (free) OS that is put together with various programs to form different packages, called distributions, or distros. Some popular distributions are Ubuntu, Fedora, Mint, openSUSE and Debian.
Microsoft Windows is the most popular OS for PCs. Windows 8.1 is the current version, but Windows 7 is still the most widely-used.
I am personally a fan of the Fedora distribution of Linux, with a KDE graphical interface, but I use Windows 7 just as often. I will be sharing my thoughts and customizations (preferences) for both operating systems as we continue.
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