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I'm Sorry, We Have to Operate

Describing operating systems is like performing open-heart surgery: you're messing with something you're not sure humanity was meant to mess with, and you hope your hands don't shake at the big moment.

But they don't call me Live Wire for nothing. So...scalpel, please. It's time to examine the basic software insides of our personal computers. Operating systems-and every PC has one-are like the lungs, kidneys, nerves and backbone of a system, all wrapped up in deviously complex software code that, if you're lucky, you'll never have to see up close and personal. They keep things breathing, flush out waste, alert you to problems, and help you lift and carry. Probing an operating system is not for the squeamish, but you know what they say: No guts, no glory.

At its most basic, an operating system explains to the computer how and where to store and retrieve files on a hard drive. It can appear as text (as with DOS) or graphics (as with Windows). The other basic distinction is whether it can run only one program at a time (single tasking) or more than one (multi-tasking). Newer operating systems are getting better at multi-tasking, which is a good thing in this multi-chore world.

Your computer's operating system (O/S) also controls how it launches and runs programs. It is not the same thing as the programs themselves. Operating systems support basic computer functions, helping your applications run properly and helping you manage your work. Application programs perform specific tasks (such as estimating taxes or drafting presentations) in conjunction with operating systems. You need both.

An O/S also performs other vital if tedious services such as assigning working memory to support open programs, allocating disk space to what you store, scheduling the running of "jobs" (such as a nightly backup or a weekly payroll), and, in a network of computers, queuing user requests-perhaps for a shared printer. Operating systems have built-in backup and disk-cleaning tools; these "utilities" can save you the cost of extra software that does virtually the same thing.

A kind of traffic cop-housekeeper-translator, an operating system sends your commands to both hardware and software in language they can understand, because an O/S is itself a collection of software programs. It's usually on a PC when you buy it, although you can change it if you want-major surgery, but usually successful with skilled nurses. Now here's my PC-I mean politically correct-take on the different home PC operating systems.

DOS stands for Disk Operating System. This textual system with its mostly easy-to-understand commands ("copy" and "edit" among them) requires that you have a basic grasp of your computer's different drives, directories and applications. It's old but hardy, created by Microsoft when that company was still a baby and sold to giant IBM for use in its original Personal Computers. These days, you won't have much everyday use for DOS (a.k.a. MS-DOS) but it helps to be familiar with how it looks and feels, and to keep handy a list of commands for the times when your graphical O/S crashes and you have to start things up without it.

Apple Computer's operating system was the first to put pictures on the screen. Its clever little icons (like a trash can for files you want to discard) drew legions of ardent admirers. The Apple Macintosh also gave us the immortal term GUI, for graphical user interface, as well as a new point-and-click device called a mouse.

Windows adapted Apple's innovations to IBM PCs and their clones. Microsoft, its creator, wooed PC makers, who licensed the system and installed it on millions of machines. As a result, the vast majority of desktop computers sold in the United States have Windows. The whole thing snowballed when software developers, consequently, mostly wrote programs that could run on Windows.

Finally, IBM, which blew its big chance by buying an outsider's system (thinking hardware was the big sell), ultimately created a multi-tasking system called OS/2. It's gotten good reviews, mostly from programmers, and has a small if shrinking following. But you won't find OS/2 installed on most computers, even many IBM models.

So, you will likely get the latest Windows if you buy an IBM computer or a clone. If you buy an Apple, you'll get Apple's proprietary system. The problem with different operating systems is that programs written for one probably won't work on another, so you should decide in advance what you'll be doing and work backward from there. Business people have tended to prefer the IBM; designers and other graphics-minded "creatives" have tended to favor the Mac. But you never know.

Well, actually you should know-at least a few things -- about your operating system. Its name, version and serial number, for starters. Learn how to install, run (and remove) programs on your unique operating system. See how you create, store and back up files. If you have a GUI, experiment with sizing and overlapping the "window" frames that show you different working programs. Read at least any overviews in the manual; take the on-screen tutorial. Write down the steps to recovery should your O/S stall.

This kind of preventive medicine will keep you out of the operating room. That said, here's a "funny" from one software engineer. It'll keep you in stitches. "The operating system," he says, "is the part of the computer that causes it to crash just before you press the Save button for the document you've been working on all day.

" Ha, ha, very fun....

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