Managing the computers resources for the user, all the hardware, as users and their applications try to make the computer do something useful. This visual abstraction layer or user interface or UI, a file for example, not cells and bits, files offer a way to save content from an application, since the file creates an abstraction blanket that creates a coherent file when in reality the OS stores parts of that data like balls in a giant sea, but the file makes this look unified so users can easily access their files easily with a visual user interface with descriptive intuitive easily understandable titles and file names.
Batch computer jobs, first on punch cards, later on reel to reel tape drives, controlled by job control languages, card readers, IO, if different jobs can be run in parallel than the resources can be more efficiently utilized. Today an on-chip SOC arbitrator AI controls how information moved in your smartphones brain.
The ideal of batch computer evolved into servers that serve multiple users on what we call cloud compute today, which are really just data centers with massive amounts of server hardware resources online.
Balancing speed and security to access cloud compute a major balancing act since improving security slows down speeds, so a careful balance achieved thats adapted as underlying technology continues to improve.
Time Sharing Systems
Universities and large business and even radar for the military, CTSS was expressly made to enable hundreds of registered users and up to 30 users as once, such that time sharing services are similar ideologically with software as a service or subscription software models today. Cloud computing an advanced example of time sharing.
Later Multiplex enabled a time sharing computer utility that would allow access to hundreds of users, trying to be everything to everyone. MIT sold it to Honeywell, though the last site shut down in the year 2000.
IBM 360 write once run on all of them, with OS360 operating system, but it never worked the way they intended.
Unix built upon these earlier ideas, the right thing at the right time with a combination of the pipeline idea for computer processes, able to run on cheaper mini-computers as mainframes were too expensive. Write in C, Unix gave OS to many university students and nerds, and this enabled LINUX and increasingly affordable personal computers. The IC's became 4004 chips 1971, then 8008, and 8080 with Intel selling increasingly powerful computer chips.
Now ChatGPT4 uses LLM on cloud compute, with many users time sharing the resources. Google searches operate on huge networks of servers with billions of queries from hundreds of millions of daily users who perform many online search or search queries where the user types relevant text into the search engine and the search engines crawler AI created database tries to return relevant results so the user searching can find what they are looking for online, on the World Wide Web.
Microsoft started with MSDOS or Microsoft Disk Operating System, then Windows 3.1, Windows 95, now Windows 11 with Copilot previously Cortana (from Halo Franchise)
First IBM PC, parts from outside vendors, with software from Microsoft. Gates was asked if he knew anyone making an OS, so IBM went back to Gates, so Gates bought DOS from a local manufacturer, rebranding it, and MS licensed DOS to IBM. PC-DOS with chip written BIOS to avoid cloning. Software vendors enabled to bring their software to the PC platform, but the copywriter was lost, such that MS grabbed lots of the marketshare. MS-DOS became the dominate PC OS. MS was an applications company, but operating systems were just a means to an end. Multi-plan spreadsheet application generated significant revenue. MS offering MSDOS for low end IBM PC.
Computer work was getting more complicated with inter-related process that might require multiple programs to run at the same time, since productivity related computer use often meant multiple kinds of software running on the computer at the same time. Apple Lisa & MacIntosh GUI, a MS did a GUI shell onto of MSDOS. Mainframe processes were now happening on PCs. Utilities and applications to suit different use cases, so windows became a sprawling OS system able to operate on a complicated OS framework able to run many kinds of computational workloads to enable more kinds of users to use computers as profit generating tools for inventory management, customers relation management, personal data assistant ideas and contacts and addresses and notes. The computer becomes a brain assistant, such that people with computers are able to think and do things that are impossible by any other means.
PDA to Windows Mobil or Windows CE with batt battery life and poor user interface. Palm Pilot PDA, Symbian OS on early mobile handsets or data plan phones, the precursor to smartphones with android or IOS today. Early Nokia phones used Symbian OS. In the early 2000's computer processors became faster and more power efficient as flash memory enabled portable MP3 players and other new consumer electronics for content consumption. In 2007 Apple scaled MacOS 10 into IOS to make new smaller apps sold on the App Store 2008, while Google was then buying early Android. IOS made Apple one of the biggest companies in the world while Android Google Play Store made Google or Alphabet Inc another giant tech company with huge revenue. Now smartphones are made with leading edge lithography nodes at TSMC for the highest power efficiency since smartphones have to operate on a ~5-15Wh lithium ion battery 3.7vdc cell rechargeable lithium polymer or LiPo Li-Ion cells.
Even more cleaver OS tuning required to get IOS into the Apple Watch with Siri hosted locally on device functionality as of Series 8 and increasingly more functions. The Apple Watches that I collect and wear, remind me of Samsung Phones that throw every possible feature and function including the kitchen sink into the hardware, joking aside, Android OS Samsung Smartphones (Galaxy this or that) are class leading hardware with more features and functions than the latest iPhone 15 in Titanium :P I like my iPhone 14 just fine and excited for the iPhone 16 and 18 and 20. I like the MacBook Pro M2 and look forward to M4 and onward. Lots more cool computer hardware with more performance and better battery life coming. I write these blog posting on the last Intel iMac purchased on-sale off-cycle at Costco. Meg has the Series 9 Apple Watch and a M2 MacBook Air as her daily desktop replacement computer :)
Ok Google, Hey Siri, Hey Alexa (We renamed ours Computer & it has a British male voice now) / these personal digital assistants and smartphone voice interacted computer interfaces are the future of computer, with information enhanced clothing, furniture, and homes with IT built into appliances and even the structure and infrastructure with V2X and V2G & V2V communications between vehicles and roads, vehicles and the grid and between smart vehicles. Connected, wifi, broadband, online, microwave oven, car with hundreds of chips, wearables, iOT security cameras with image recognition intelligence so as to avoid pestering user with irrelevant notifications. This means you can set the spacial domain for your smart security camera, so that it does not tell you every time a car drives by, but only tells you if someone enters your driveway, able to ignore wild animals or recognize members of your household. Amazon, Ebay, AliBaba, cashless online shopping and more!
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