Graphical server – This is the sub-system that displays the graphics on your monitor. Kernel – This is the core of the operating system and manages the CPU, memory, and peripheral devices. It was first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds.īootloader – This is software that manages the boot process of your computer. Linux is an open-source Unix-like operating system based on the Linux kernel. I do get my pizzas paid for by Linux indirectly. In today’s post, we’re only going to talk about the 3 most popular computer operating systems namely, Linux, Windows and Mac OS simply because they’re the most powerful systems commonly available and they power 99% of the computing devices. The following are the most popular operating systems The operating system acts as a bridge for the interface between the user and machine. Virginia Postrel Operating systemĪn operating system is system software program that coordinates the operations of computer hardware and software. The definition of an ‘operating system’ is bound to evolve with customer demands and technological possibilities.

Linux vs windows vs mac meme