HISTORY OF OPERATING SYSTEM
THE 1940S AND 1950S
The 1940s and 1950s Operating systems evolved through several phases. 1940s: Early computers did not include operating systems. 1950s: Executed one job at a time. Single-stream batch-processing systems. Included technologies to smooth job-to-job transitions. Programs and data submitted consecutively on tape
THE 1960S
The 1960s Batch-processing systems still in use. Turnaround time (the time it takes to receive finished reports after submission of documents or files for processing ) was reduced to minutes or seconds. Multiprogramming: Process multiple jobs at once; one job could use processor while other jobs used peripheral devices. Timesharing: Advanced operating systems developed to service multiple interactive users. Real-time systems: response within certain bounded time period. In 1964 IBM announced System/360 family of mainframe computers.
THE 1970S
The 1970s Primarily multimode timesharing systems: Supported batch processing, timesharing and real-time applications. Personal computing only in incipient stages fostered by early developments in microprocessor technology. (Xerox Alto) Mouse and Graphical user interfaces (GUI) developed by Xerox’s PARC for the Xerox Alto computer. Networking The US Department of Defense develops TCP/IP: Standard communications protocol. Widely used in military and university settings. Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Centre (PARC) – Ethernet. Security problems: Growing volumes of information passed over vulnerable communications lines
THE 1980S
The 1980s Decade of personal computers and workstations. Computing distributed to sites at which it was needed. IBM PC released in 1981. Personal computers proved relatively easy to learn and use. Apple releases the Macintosh PC in 1984, GUI embedded in the operating system. Richard Stallman launched the GNU (GNU’s Not UNIX) project in 1983: Recreate and extend tools for AT&T’s UNIX operating system. He disagreed with concept of paying for permission to use software.
THE 1990S
The 1990s Hardware performance improved exponentially: Inexpensive processing power and storage Execute large, complex programs on personal computers. Economical machines for extensive database and processing jobs. Mainframes rarely necessary. Operating system support for networking tasks became standard. Shift toward distributed computing rapidly accelerated: multiple independent computers performing common task.
WORLD WIDE WEB
English scientist Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1989. He wrote the first web browser in 1990 while employed at CERN near Geneva, Switzerland. The browser was released outside CERN to other research institutions starting in January 1991, and then to the general public in August 1991.
2000 BEYOND
The fourth generation of operating systems saw the creation of personal computing. Although these computers were very similar to the minicomputers developed in the third generation, personal computers cost a very small fraction of what minicomputers cost. A personal computer was so affordable that it made it possible for a single individual could be able to own one for personal use while minicomputers where still at such a high price that only corporations could afford to have them. One of the major factors in the creation of personal computing was the birth of Microsoft and the Windows operating system. The windows Operating System was created in 1975 when Paul Allen and Bill Gates had a vision to take personal computing to the next level. They introduced the MS-DOS in 1981 although it was effective it created much difficulty for people who tried to understand its cryptic commands. Windows went on to become the largest operating system used in techonology today with releases of Windows 95, Windows 98, WIndows XP (Which is currently the most used operating system to this day), and their newest operating system Windows 7. Along with Microsoft, Apple is the other major operating system created in the 1980's. Steve Jobs, co founder of Apple, created the Apple Macintosh which was a huge success due to the fact that it was so user friendly. Windows development throughout the later years were influenced by the Macintosh and it created a strong competition between the two companies. Today all of our electronic devices run off of operating systems, from our computers and smartphones, to ATM machines and motor vehicles. And as technology advances, so do operating systems.