Which of the following is TRUE about Operating Systems?

Question

Which of the following is TRUE about Operating Systems?
a. Any operating system can be installed on any computer.
b. Operating systems slow down the performance of a computer
c. Handheld computers require mobile operating systems

Answer 1

As Russ P. stated, there are some nuances with the answer options, however, answer (c) is the most true; here's why:

 

(a) is false because the operating system must be compatible with the computer's platform in order for it to work; for example, Windows 7 runs on PC computers (e.g. Dell, HP, Acer, Toshiba) but it doesn't work on a Mac (Apple) computer. For Macs, the operating system is OS X which in turn doesn't work on a PC.

 

(b) is false because the computer won't operate without an operating system; so, to say that the operating system slows down the computer is like saying gasoline slows down a car because it adds weight, but of course the car would not go at all if it had no gas. The speed of the computer would be "0" without an operating system

 

(c) is true because mobile computers (smart phones, tablets, etc) require a different type of operating system than a desktop or notebook computer

Answer 2

Sam,

There are important nuances to all 3 options so I can't say any are true in general:

a) Yes, you can install any operating system on any computer once you make adjustments for any peculiarities in the hardware of the computer since the operating system must control and operate the computer. Hardware features may not be supported in the operating system (e.g., early ones didn't support a mouse or dvd drive, etc.) or vice versa, or how they operate in the hardware may be different (different drivers needed, etc.).

b) A computer will not run without an operating system even if only a rudimentary one since it controls the computer resources.  To do so, it has its own instructions to run separate from any application (e.g, to respond to an external interrupt or schedule a task for execution, or get data from memory, etc.).  Hence, it imposes some overhead and thus "slows down" the computer that wouldn't run without one.

c)Hand held computers use stripped down operating systems because they have fewer and perhaps less complicated hardware resources to control, and have less memory to store a full blown operating system.  There are also other reasons, not worth mentioning here.