‫Now, a user is an entity in a Linux operating system that can manipulate files and perform several
‫other operations.
‫Each user is assigned an I.D. that is unique for each user in the operating system.
‫Single users, single task.
‫Well, just as the name implies, this operating system is designed to manage the computers so that
‫one user can effectively do one thing at a time.
‫The Palm OS, if you remember that for palm hand held computers, it's a great example of a modern single
‫user's single task operating system.
‫Single user multitasking.
‫So this is the type of operating system most people use on their desktops and laptop computers today.
‫Microsoft Windows and Apple's Mac OS platforms are both examples of operating systems that will let
‫a single user have several programs in operation at the same time.
‫Kind of take that for granted these days.
‫But I'll give you an example, it's entirely possible for a Windows user to be writing a note in a word
‫processor while downloading a file from the internet while printing the text of an email message.
‫Multi-user multitask operating systems allows many different users to take advantage of the computer's
‫resources simultaneously.
‫So it means the operating system must make sure that the requirements of the various users are balanced
‫and that each of the programs they are using has sufficient and separate resources so that a problem
‫with one user won't affect the entire community of users.
‫Unix VMS and mainframe operating systems such as MVS, these are some examples of multi-user operating
‫systems.
‫Our toes, our toss or real time operating systems.
‫While these are used to control machinery, scientific instruments as well as industrial systems.
‫An autopsy typically has very little user interface capability and certainly no end user utilities,
‫since the system will be pretty much a sealed box when it's delivered for use.
‫A very important part of an art to us system is is managing the resources of the computer so that a
‫particular operation executes in precisely the same amount of time every time it occurs.