Operating Systems

nal computers and required an operating system that was user friendly so that people with little computer knowledge was able to use it. In 1981, IBM was releasing a 16﷓bit personal computer, and required a more powerful operating system then the ones available at the time, so they turned to Microsoft to deliver it. The software, called Micro Soft Disk Operating System (MS﷓DOS) became the standard operating system for most personal computers of that era. In the mid﷓1980's, networks of personal computers had increased a great deal, requiring a new type of operating system. The OS had to be able to manage remote and local hardware and software, file sharing and protection, among other things. Two types of systems were introduced, the network operating system in which users can copy from one station to another, and the distributed operating system, in which the computer appears to be a uni﷓processor system, even though it is actually running programs and storing files in a remote location. One of the best known network operating system for a distributed network is the Network File System (NFS), which was originally designed by Sun Microsystems, for use on UNIX based machines. An important feature of the NFS is its ability to support different type of computers. This allowed a machine running NFS to communicate with an IBM compatible machine running MS﷓DOS, which was an important addition to networking computing. In 1983, Microsoft Corporation introduced the MSX﷓DOS, an operating system for MSX microcomputers that can run 8﷓bit Microsoft software including the languages BASIC, COBOL﷓80, and FORTRAN﷓80, and Multiplan.1984 saw the release of the Apple Macintosh, a low﷓cost workstation, which evolved from early Alto computer designs. The Macintosh provided advanced graphics and high performance for its size and cost. As the Macintosh was not compatible with other systems, it ...