1
Q
What is an operating system?
A
A collection of programs that manage and
coordinate the activities taking place within the computer, the most critical program – the translator between human and machine
2
Q
What are the jobs of an operating system?
A
- Manages and monitors resources and jobs
- Interfaces with Users… GUI
- Configures devices
- Manages all files
- Manages Security
3
Q
How does the operating system manage and moitor resources and jobs?
A
- The OS continuously manages your computer’s resources (such as software,
disk space, and memory). - The OS schedules jobs (such as documents to be printed or files to be retrieved
from a hard drive). - Scheduling Routines refers to the order in which jobs are carried out, as well as which
commands get executed first
4
Q
How does the OS interface with the user?
A
- The OS translates user instructions into a form the computer can understand.
- The OS also translates any feedback from hardware— such as a signal that the printer has run out of paper.
- User Interface: The means by which an operating system or any other program
interacts with the user. text or commonly graphical based (GUI – graphical user interface) – allows user to interact with computer - Most operating systems use a graphical user interface (GUI).
5
Q
How does the OS configure devices?
A
- The OS configures all devices connected to a computer.
- Device drivers (or simply drivers) are used to
communicate with peripheral devices. - Most modern OS look for and recognize new devices each time the computer boots.
- Plug and Play: When an operating system installs a the appropriate driver automatically.
6
Q
How does the OS manage all files?
A
- File Management: keeping track of the files stored on a computer so that they can be
retrieved when needed. - ONE can organize the files on a storage medium into folders to simplify file
management. - One may create additional folders, as desired, to keep their files organized.
- Folders can contain both files and other folders (called subfolders).
7
Q
How does OS do security?
A
- The operating system can use passwords, biometric characteristics (such as
fingerprints) to limit access to the system. - The OS can use an integrated firewall to protect against unauthorized access via the
Internet or an option to download and install security patches. - Passwords can also be used to ensure that administrative level operating system tasks (such as installing programs or changing
system settings).
8
Q
What is Windows?
A
- Holds 90% of the market.
- Windows 1.0 in 1985
- Windows 3, 3.1, 3.11 (Operating
environments for DOS) - Windows 95
- Windows NT
- Windows Me
- Windows 2000
- Windows XP
- Windows Vista
- Windows 7
- Windows 8
- Windows 10
- Windows – an operating system – at the beginning, it had DOS – had the command line not graphical
9
Q
What is Mac OS?
A
- Proprietary OS for Apple corporation.
- Based on the UNIX operating system that was developed in 1970s.
- Uses same structure as UNIX.
- Apple created first GUI (Graphical User Interface)
- Many OS followed Apples trend for creating a GUI.
Mac OS – Apple created the first graphical user interface – files and trash that you can drag was invented by Mac – followed Apple’s trend
10
Q
What is Linux?
A
- Developed by Linus Torvalds in 1991 when he was a student the the University of Helsinki in Finland.
- Resembles UNIX but developed completely independently from the ground up.
- Linux was released as Open Source to the public… anyone can see the code… some allow
to modify, customize and improve it. - Linux began in command line
but now has GUI.
11
Q
What is a boot sequence?
A
- A boot sequence is the step- by-step process of bringing a computer to an operational
state. - When a boot sequence is initiated, it is called booting the computer.
- Cold Boot
- Warm Boot
12
Q
What is a cold boot?
A
A cold boot , or hard boot, is when an electrical power switch is used to turn the computer on.
13
Q
What is a warm boot?
A
A warm boot, or soft boot, is used to restart a computer that is already running.
14
Q
What is the BIOS?
A
The Basic Input Output System (BIOS) is a ROM
chip on the motherboard that contains initial boot up instructions.
15
Q
What is CMOS?
A
Complementary metal– oxide–semiconductor
(CMOS).
- The CMOS memory contains user information about how the computer should be turned on retains memory by using watch battery on motherboard - setting that you pick is stored on CMOS
- Handlers and Drivers
- Power on Self Test (POST)
- Looks for Boot Devices
CMOS memory is a small chip on a computer’s motherboard that stores basic system settings like the date, time, and hardware configurations using a battery for power, so the data is retained even when the computer is off
16
Q
What is POST?
A
The POST is a series of individual functions or
routines that perform various tests on the
computer’s hardware.
16
Q
What are handlers and drivers?
A
- The BIOS contains instructions needed to
interact with the computer screen, keyboard, mouse, hard drive, and several other basic hardware components. - The interrupt handlers tell the processor when the keyboard or other user input
device gives a signal, when users have a function they want to do it takes precedence - Interrupts usually take priority above other
processes, so it is “interrupting” the processes.
17
Q
What is the process when a computer turns on?
A
- Video ROM is tested and initialized
- The BIOS will continue scanning for ROMs that may be installed on the computer, there are different types of ROM
- Next… the BIOS checks if the system is booting from a cold boot or a warm boot.
- In the event of a warm boot, the BIOS will will skip the POST routines remaining.
- If a cold boot is indicated, the remaining POST routines will be executed.
18
Q
What does the BIOS do?
A
- The BIOS looks for bootable devices once it has ensured that all devices are functional, specified by the user
- The most common bootable device is the hard drive because that is where the operating
system is usually stored, however it is also possible to store a bootable system on removable media. - The operating system loads and takes over the computer once the BIOS finds it on the hard drive or removable media.
19
Q
What is the hierarchical file system?
A
- The hierarchical file system – when you install a hard drive, the root directory represented by a C
- The root directory – has two types of paths: absolute and relative – absolute file path starts at root directory (C) – ie. the absolute file path of Mary – C:\Documents\Letters\Mary
- Relative path – relative to where you are in file – how do it get to a file
20
Q
What is teh Linux file system?
A
- Linux file system – does not give hard drive letters – the root directory is represented a forward slash – but you can still do an absolute file path of a file
- Ie. the absolute file path of log – /var/log – doesn’t end in a slash and no double slash for Linux
21
Q
What is firewall?
A
Firewall is an application – monitors traffic going in and out of the computer through ports – manages ports
22
Q
What is command line interface?
A
Command Line Interface – you would see this when you opened your computer – not files
23
Q
What is DOS?
A
A DOS (Disk Operating System) environment is a text-based, command-line interface where users interact with the computer by typing commands to perform tasks. It’s a type of operating environment that provides direct access to the computer’s hardware and files, allowing users to run programs, manage disks, and configure system settings. This is in contrast to the graphical user interfaces (GUIs) common today.
24
Where do you perform a system update in Xubuntu?
click on the Xubuntu logo → Settings → Software Updater
25
What applications are located on the bottom of the menu window?
Settings Manager, Lock Screen and Log Out.
26
What is the middle section of the panel dedicated to?
The middle section of the panel is dedicated to window buttons for open applications. On the far right is the clock, displaying the date and time. To the left of that is the Notification Area. Here you will see indicators which give you information on your system, including network connectivity, sound volume level, battery status (when appropriate), instant messages. Some notification icons only appear when needed, for instance when software updates are available.
27
What does the default desktop have?
The default desktop has just three icons on it: Home, File System and Trash (icons for removable devices will also appear when those devices are present).
You can customize your desktop by right-clicking in a blank area and choosing Desktop Settings. From here you can change the wallpaper and modify menu and icon behavior.
28
What is Thunar?
Xubuntu comes with Xfce's file manager Thunar. For simplicity's sake, we will just refer to it as the File Manager. Load it from icon → Accessories → File Manager or by double-clicking the Home or File System icons on your desktop.
When using Thunar you will, in general, only have read rights to files you see while browsing under the File System shortcut.
29
What does the File Manager's default view consist of?
The File Manager's default view consists of a shortcut pane on the left side, the main area on the right, and a pathbar above the main area.
30
What does the shortcut pane provide?
The shortcut pane provides shortcuts to different folders on your system. The first shortcut under PLACES will lead to your home directory, the directory where you store all your personal data, and will have the name of the current user. That directory will probably appear empty. The File System shortcut under DEVICES will take you to the root of your filesystem.
31
How to access important folders quickly?
You can add your own shortcuts by simply dragging folders to the shortcut pane. This will allow you to access important folders instantly!
32
What is the main area?
The main area will always display the contents of the current folder. Double-click on folders to enter them, and right-click on files/folders to get a pop-up window offering you some choices of what to do with them. Select multiple files by dragging a rectangle over them with the mouse. Alternatively, select one file, hold down the Shift key, and increase/decrease the selection using the arrow keys.
To easily see the path you took to get to the current directory, you can change the default View options. From the File Manager menu, select View → Location Selector → Pathbar Style. Now you can click on any pathbar icon to change to the directory it represents. Note that right-clicking on pathbar icons will also bring up a pop-up window with some options.
33
How to create a new document?
Double click on your home folder. To create a new document, right-click on some empty space in your home directory and select Create Document → Empty File from the pop-up menu.
The File Manager will prompt you for a name; name the file "file1". After this, you will see the new file in your home directory. Right-click on it and choose Properties. This will show you some details about the file.
34
How to create a new folder?
To create a new folder, right-click on the empty space, and choose Create Folder. You will be prompted for a name; name it "My First Folder" and hit Enter. You will see this new folder in your home directory.
Now double-click on "My First Folder" to go inside the folder. Notice that the Path Bar shows that you are inside the folder
35
What are the two ways to move a file from a folder to another?
Next, we want to move "file1" from folder1 to folder2. There are two ways do this this.
1. Ensure the file is selected and use the Ctrl + X shortcut key to cut the file.
or...
2. Right-click on the file and choose Cut to cut the file.
Which ever way you choose to cut the file, you will notice that the file's icon will be greyed out. This means that it is currently being stored in memory.
36
How do you undo the deleting of a file or folder?
If you ever want to undo the deleting of a file or folder, open the Trash, right-click the file or folder and click Restore.
37
What is the most easiest and useful tweak to the menu?
The easiest and probably most useful tweak you can make to the Menu is to customize your Favorites. Accomplishing this is a simple matter of locating the application you want, right-clicking on it and selecting Add to Favorites. From that same right-click popup, you can also choose to add the application to the Desktop or to the Panel. Right-clicking on applications already in Favorites gives you the option to remove them or to sort the list. You can also rearrange Favorites just by dragging them.
38
What do you do if you do not know where a program is listed?
If you're not sure where a program is listed or what it is called, you can use the search feature. When you open the Menu, your cursor is already positioned in the search bar found at the top of the menu. Just start typing and an incremental search is performed on both application names and descriptions. Once you see your application listed in the results, you can directly launch it or right-click on it and add it to your preferred launch location.
39
What do you do for more option to customize the Menu?
For more options to customize the Menu, right-click onicon_menuand select Properties. There you will find three tabs to change Appearance, Behavior and Search Actions.
40
To add directories and launchers which don't appear as entries in the defult Menu?
To add directories and launchers which don't appear as entries in the default Menu, you'll need another tool. A more advanced menu editing utility called MenuLibre can be found by clicking icon_menu→ preferences_desktopSettings Manager → Menu Editor or by a right-click on icon_menu and choosing Edit Applications. Using this editor you can create, hide and reorder the directories which appear in the right-hand pane of the Menu. Within those directories you can then create application launchers and customize their behavior by configuring the many options available in this utility.
41
How to take snapshots of your screen?
We will be doing several activities that will require you to take "snapshots" of your screen. Linux offers a program that allows you to capture the entire screen, the active window or a selected region. You can set the delay that elapses before the screenshot is taken and the action that will be done with the screenshot: save it to a PNG file, copy it to the clipboard, open it using another application, or host it on ZimageZ, a free online image hosting service.
The first thing we need to do is navigate to the Screenshot application found in the Accessories category of the menu. Next, right-click on Screenshot and choose "Add to Favorites". See image below. Next, we need to start the Screenshot application. Click once on the Screenshot application icon from the Menu. If done correctly, you should see the Screenshot interface.
42
What sections does the Screenshot interface have?
Notice that the interface has two sections... "Region of Capture" and "Delay before capturing". The options found under "Region to capture" are:
Entire Screen: Takes a screenshot of the whole screen as you see it.
Active window: Takes a screenshot of the active window or if you set a delay, the one that is active after the delay.
Select a region: Allows you to select a region to be captured by clicking and dragging a rectangle over the area of screen that you wish to capture, before releasing the mouse button.
Capture the mouse pointer: The Capture the mouse pointer option allows you to select whether or not the screenshot will include the mouse pointer.
The "Delay before capturing" section allows you to set the delay that will elapse between pressing the OK button and screenshot being taken. This delay will allow you to open menus or to perform whatever action you require to see displayed in the screenshot.
43
What does the preview and action section show?
The Preview section displays a thumbnail of the screenshot. The Action section allows you to choose what should be performed on the screenshot taken. The Save option will save the screenshot to a PNG file. A save dialog will be displayed. You will be able to set the save location, and the name of the file. The Copy to the clipboard option allows you to paste the screenshot in another application, such as a word processor. This option is only available when a clipboard manager is running. The Open with option saves the screenshot to the system's temporary directory and opens it with the application chosen from the drop-down list. Applications which support images are automatically detected and added to the drop-down list. The Host on ZimageZ option allow you to host your screenshot on this free online hosting service, so that you can share it easily with other people. Host on Imgur is a similar service to ZImage.
44
What are breadcrumbs/breadcrumb?
Breadcrumbs or breadcrumb trail is a graphical control element used as a navigational aid in user interfaces. It allows users to keep track of their locations within programs, documents, or websites. The term comes from the trail of bread crumbs left by Hansel and Gretel in the fairy tale of the same name. Breadcrumbs typically appear horizontally across the top of a Web page, often below title bars or headers. They provide links back to each previous page the user navigated through to get to the current page or— in hierarchical site structures — the parent pages of the current one. Breadcrumbs provide a trail for the user to follow back to the starting or entry point. You will notice that Google drive, Moodle and many other websites use breadcrumbs.
45
How do you change the wallpaper on the desktop?
You can easily change your desktop wallpaper by navigating to logo → settings Settings Manager → Desktop, or alternatively, by right clicking on your desktop and selecting the Desktop Settings... option. Where you have multiple workspaces, you can choose to have the same wallpaper across all workspaces, or use a different wallpaper for each workspace by deselecting Apply to all workspaces and moving the dialogue to each workspace individually and selecting a different wallpaper.
Once the Desktop settings dialog is open, the Background tab gives you options for configuring the look of your desktop background. You can choose to use a single image or multiple images as wallpaper or you can use a color scheme.
46
What is the location of the images in the "Wallpaper for my desktop" pane controlled by?
The location of the images in the "Wallpaper for my desktop" pane is controlled by the Folder: option. By bringing up this pick list, you can choose an alternate location for the source of your images.
47
How do you create your own panel?
1. Right-click on the panel. From the context menu, select Panel → Panel Preferences.
2. Notice how there is a red bounding box around the panel, this is to indicate that the panel is in edit mode. See image below.
3. You will also notice the panel preference window has opened.
In the panel preference window, you will notice three (3) tabs. The Display tab, the Appearance tab, and the Items tab.
48
What does the display tab contain?
In the Display tab, you can control the panel's size and positioning, including:
General
Mode: Set the panel mode to horizontal, vertical or deskbar. In the deskbar mode, the panel is oriented vertically, just like in the vertical mode, while panel plugins are laid out horizontally. This mode works best with “number of rows” set to 2 or more.
Lock Panel: Don't show the handles on the panel which allow you to move the panel. When this option is disabled, you can drag the panel anywhere you want on your screen. The panel will also snap to the edges of your screen.
Automatically hide the panel:
Never: Always shows the panel.
Intelligently: Hide the panel when the currently focused window overlaps with the panel's position.
Always: Always hide the panel.
Don't reserve space on borders: Normally, maximized application windows do not overlap the panel. Setting this option disables this behavior and allows the windows to stretch to the screen edge. This option is only available when the panel is set to never hide.
Measurements
Row Size: Change the height (or width, if the panel is in the vertical or deskbar mode) of the single row of the panel. The total panel height (or width) is equal to the “Row Size” × “Number of rows”. The size is specified in pixels.
Number of rows: Change the number of rows (or columns, if the panel is in the vertical or deskbar mode) of the panel. Small panel plugins, such as launchers, will be laid out in multiple rows (or columns), while larger ones, like window buttons will continue to occupy the whole panel height (or width).
Length: Change the width (or height, if the panel is in the vertical or deskbar mode) of the panel. The size is specified as a percentage of the width (or height) of the monitor screen.
Automatically increase length: Increase the length of the panel length to accommodate all the plugins. This option is useful for setting up short panels, which expand as the panel contents changes.
By default the panel distributes the plugins from left to right (or from top to bottom, if the panel is in the vertical or deskbar mode). However, it is possible to align plugins to the center to the right (or bottom) of the panel by inserting an expandable separator to the left (or above) these plugins. By inserting two or more expandable separators it is also possible to position plugins at the center of the panel.
49
What is the apperance tab?
Background
Style: This allows you to change the transparency, color, and background image of the panel. You have three options to choose from.
None (user system style): The panel inherits colors from the currently selected GTK+ theme. You can view and change the current GTK+ theme by going to Settings → Appearance.
Solid Color: You can select a color using the provided color picker. The color you select will be applied to the panel.
Background Image: Select a background for your panel.
Alpha: Change the alpha transparency of the panel. Some panel plugins may still retain a non-transparent background. This option is only available if your panel style is set to None or Solid Color.
Color: Clicking this activates a color picker. You can select a color by using the color wheel, entering a hex value, or entering a color name. This option is only available if your panel style is set to Solid Color.
File: This allows you to select a background for the panel using a file browser. This option is only available if your panel style is set to Background Image.
Opacity
These options set the transparency of the entire panel.
Enter: This controls the transparency of the panel when a mouse pointer is not hovering over it. Ranges from 0 (fully transparent) and 100 (fully opaque). All panel plugins will be affected by this setting.
Leave: This controls the transparency of the panel when a mouse pointer is not hovering over it. Ranges from 0 (fully transparent) and 100 (fully opaque). All panel plugins will be affected by this setting.
50
What is the items tab?
The Items tab shows the items that are placed on the currently selected panel. In case items are hard to move or edit on the panel using the right-click menu, this tab allows you to move, add, remove and access the preferences of the items on the panel.
This tab contains a row of buttons that allow you to manipulate the items on the panel.
With the up and down buttons you can move the currently selected item in the panel.
The add button opens the add new items dialog.
The remove button can remove the currently selected item from the panel.
The preferences button allows for editing the settings of the currently selected item.
The about button displays information about the selected item. See image below.
51
What do you use to place certain applications in the panel?
Not all items available will be visible in this list). In order to place certain applications in the panel, we need to use the Program Launcher. Click to highlight the Program Launcher icon and click Add.
You will now notice that a launcher icon has been placed in the panel configurations window and an empty icon has been placed in the panel.
click on the Edit button button. A Launcher edit window will appear. Click on the Add button to make reference to an item. A window will appear with a list of all item
Scroll through the list and find the Mozilla Firefox Web Browser icon. Click to highlight and click the add Add button button
Once the Add button has been clicked, you should see the Firefox Web Browser icon appear in the Launcher edit window and the panel.
52
What is systems software?
- helps the computer carry out the basic operating functions
- types of systems software include: operating system, device drivers, utilities, programming languages
53
What are device drivers?
The small applications/programs that are used to communicate with peripheral devices
- ex. hard drive, printer, USB devices, etc
- pieces of code that work in teh background
- very essential for printing, etc
54
What are utilities?
- software designed to help in the management and tuning of operating systems, computer hardware and application software
- disk defragmenters - disk defrag (managing files on hard drive, they file all teh files in folders)
- system profilers - speccy (gives teh user a complete profile of the system and its hardware)
- network managers - frame flow (manage network on computer)
- application launchers - rocket dock (create panels for computer with different icons)
- virus scanners - norton antivirus
55
What are the programming languages?
python
java
C
C++
C#
- all use an integrated development environment such as eclipse
- an application allows the programmer code with more ease and efficiency
56
What is application software?
- software that causes a computer to perform useful tasks beyond the running of the computer itself
- application software includes: entertainment software, video editing and DVD authoring software(Final cut pro, adobe preimere), educational and referencing software(rosettastone language software), business software(quicken)
57
How is software broken down?
Software
System Software:
- Operating system
- DOS
- Linux
- UNIX
- Windows
- Mac OS
- Device Drivers
- Utilities
- Programming languages
Application Software
- Document production
- data mangaments
- spreadsheet software
- accounting finance
- mathematical modeling
- statistical
- entertainement
- graphics
- music
- video
- educational
- refrenence
58
What are dependencies?
Installing software on Linux used to be difficult, if you wanted to run software you needed to install other software which is called dependencies
But install it all, you had to use the terminal so porgrammers bundled applications into packaages which included all the information required to install the application. this made the terminal process a little easier as users only needed to type pseudo app get install and the application would automatically install as well as its dependencies
59
What is the software center?
can be used to see a list of and install packages avaible for Linux, to get here you click to Xubuntu logo and you click software
it has three tabs: all, installed, updates
in updates, this is where software that needs to be updated
in installed, this is where a list of the software that is installed in the system currently, also gives the option to remove the application
in all is a list of software and categories that list various software such as audio, graphics
if you press that categories then you will be presented with sub categories with a featured list of that category
if you click on one of the applications, a window will pop up giving a description, a rating and reviews and there will be an install button and it will require password to install
after installing, it will provide the option to remove or launch the application
and after software has been installed, it will show up in the menu under the category
60
How do you compress a folder?
Navigate to the folder. Right click on it and choose Create Archive... from the menu.
A window will pop up with various options. Ensure the .zip extention is selected from the drop down menu and choose where to save the file
