UN*X History By Alan Filipski
The UN*X brand operating system was writting by two computer science researchers in a closet in the attic of a famous research laboratory (The Labs) in the late 1960s. The authors had complete freedom to design an operating system according to their own wishes without management constraints. This was because everyone at The Labs, including the management, thought they were janitors who spent their time in the closet wringing out mops or something.
The first version of the UN*X brand operating system was a game that simulated the gravitational motion of all known planets and satellites of our solar system. Soon such things as a file system and user procedures were grafted onto it. It ran on a PDP-7 computer that someone had stored in the closet and forgotten about.
Later the authors made the mistake of drawing attention to themselves by asking the management for a larger computer. At this, the management took the operating system and, supposing it to be something of use only to hippies (or closet hippies), sent it University of California at Berkeley.
It may be coincidental, but at the about the same time cases of a peculiar compulsive mental disorder known as Unirexia Nervosa were first noted in San Francisco, Calif. area. The symptoms of this disorder are the interjection of nonsense words such as grep, awk, runrun, and nohup by the victim into his or her speech; the misuse of ordinary words such as cat and lint; and the avoidance of the use of uppercase letters.
Advanced cases of Unirexia Nervosa have been found at many major universities throughout the U.S., where youths with pasty complexions and sunken eyes can be found late at night subsisting on diet pop, glaring fanatically at CRT's, and mumbling about "one more bugs". Since for the most part this malady has been confined to university students, it has not caused great public alarm. But recently there have been reports of regular people contracting the disease, even some who hold otherwise respectable positions in industry. The mode of transmission of Unirexia Nervosa is not known, but it is thought to have something to do with beards.
Members of the UN*X community have developed a novel and effective means of communication with each other. Suppose a user named Athol at Epizootic Systems in Cupertino, Calif., wishes to send an electronic mail message to his friend Elba at Perjorative Systems Inc. in Palo Alto, Calif. Although their computers do not communicate directly, they message may be passed via intermediate links. Athol would merely type:
mail ihnp4!allegra!ucbvax!seismo!decvax!cbosgd!ucbvax!pejor!elba
and then enter the text of his message. This electronic mail would appear at Elba's terminal either within two days of the time it takes to propagate a telephone signal 73 times between the East and West Coasts of the U.S., whichever is greater.
Although many people think the word "UN*X" is an acronym (or even a homonym), the word actually originated in the following manner. When management in The Labs noticed the strange machine running in the closet, they stopped the first technical-looking type they saw in the hall and asked him what it was. As fate would have it, it was not a technical type at all but a member of a lost Australian aboriginal tribe who had been wandering the halls of The Lab for years without drawing attention. The fellow did not understand English and believed they were asking him to haul the computer away. He replied, "UN*X(tm)," which is aboriginal for "Not my job, man." The rest is history.
Part III
1. Chances are, you rely on one of these on a daily basis, but how much do you know about them? Take our quiz to test your knowledge on operating systems and associated technologies.
A) Test 1
1. What does the "X" stand for in OS X?
a. extreme b. extensible c. extra d. ten
2. This is the term for loading an operating system into memory. What is it?
3. Its new name is the Spanish word for "view." What was it called originally?
4. "There are two major products that came out of Berkeley: LSD and ________. We don't believe this to be a coincidence." What operating system was Jeremy Anderson talking about? (Hint: It originated at Bell Labs in 1969 as an interactive time-sharing system.)
5. DOS was the first widely-installed operating system for personal computers. What does DOS stand for?
a. Digital Operating System b. Disk Operating System c. Desktop Operating System
d. It's an abbreviation of the word "doors."
6. What company's operating system code names have included "Cheetah," "Puma," and "Panther?"
7. Linux is a Unix-like operating system designed to offer PC users a free or very low-cost operating system comparable to Unix. Is "Linux" short for anything?
8. What year was the first version of Windows introduced?
a. 1978 b. 1985 c. 1991
9. The operating system, along with its coordinating program, and the hardware that performs logic operations and manages data movement all combine to make up the ______________. What is it?
10. OS/390 is the IBM operating system most commonly installed on its S/390 line of mainframe server. What operating system did it evolve from?
B) Test 2
http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=operating-system-quiz-1coe-5th-year
1. DOS is an example of an Application Program.
A. True
B. False
2. Operating System plays a vital role in the operation of the computer system.
A. True
B. False
3. Application programs require an operating system to function.
A. True
B. False
4. Operating systems can be found on almost any device that contains a computer from cellular phones and video game consoles to supercomputers and web servers.
A. True
B. False
5. Operating system is a set of software, consisting of hardware and data, which provides basic interface for execution of various application software.
A. True
B. False
6. RTOS stands for....
A. Real Time Sharing Operating System
B. Resource Time Sharing Operating System
C. Reverse Time Sharing Operating System
7. PDA means....
A. Personal Digitizing Assistant
B. Personal Digital Assistant
C. Person Digitizing the Assistant
8. Single-User Single Tasking OS is also known as:
A. Embedded OS
B. Encrypted OS
C. Encoded OS
9. This type of OS is commonly used in fields where there is a need for an immediate result or output.
A. Multi-user OS
B. Single-User Multi-Tasking OS
C. RTOS
10. This OS is use for quick simulations.
A. Single Tasking OS
B. RTOS
C. Multi-Tasking OS
11. Unix, MVS, VMS are examples of this operating system.
12. This is the type of operating system found on most personal desktop and laptop computers.
A. Multi User-Single Tasking OS
B. Single User - Multi-Tasking OS
C. Multi-User-Single Tasking OS
13. Windows (Microsoft) and Macintosh (Apple) platforms are the most popular examples of this OS
A.RTOS
B. single-user, single-tasking OS.
C. single-user, multi-tasking OS
14. The other term for Operating System is _____.
A.Application Software
B. Platform
C.Assembly Language
15. This type of OS controls space flights, aircrafts, satellites and other sophisticated equipments.
A.Real-time operating system
B.Single-User Single-Tasking OS
C. Single-User Multi-Tasking OS
16. The figure shows that OS acts as the saving or storing area for hardware resources and application programs.
A. True
B. False
17. When planning what OS to install in your computer system, it is important to consider issues on compatibility with the hardware.
A. True
B. False
18. Operating systems can work without being interrupted.
A. True
B. False
19. When the operating system allows the execution of multiple tasks at one time, it is classified as a
A. Single User Multi-tasking OS
B.Multi-tasking operating system.
C. Real Time OS
20. Google Chrome OS is an operating system based on the Linux kernel and designed by Google. Since Chrome OS targets computer users who spend most of their time on the Internet, it is mainly a_____with no ability to run applications.
A. web browser
B.web URL
C.web design
LESSON 2
Operating System Architecture. Coordinating the Machine’s Activities.
operating system- a group of programs and functions that provide basic functionality on a computer; The software that manages access to a system's hardware and other resources.
Part I Work in class
Task 1 Can you say? Let’s do it!
I. Pronunciation drills
| inside – pride | died-denied | context - xerox |
| wide-guide | divide- hide | space - device |
| sighedt – tried | outside- decide | kernel-vernal |
| dried-bride | ride-slide | code - mode |
| cried- fried | execute- contribute | interface-race |
II. Tongue twister
"Intel Inside!,"
Intel vied,
with ample pride
world wide
in guide
"Proven and tried!".
"Intel Inside!"
Budgets sighed;
millions buyed;
RISC sales dried
like ancient bride.
"Intel Inside?"
Can't divide!
Scientists cried,
fit to be tied,
and numbers fried.
"Intel Inside?"
Can't divide!!
Pi's pied
when FDIV died
and accuracy denied.
"Intel Inside?"
Can't divide?
Executives hide
from "outside"
during Intel bide
on warranty decide.
"Intel Inside?"
Can't divide?!!
See "Thalidomide".
(Taken for a ride.)
Intel lied.