OS(Operating system), OSs are the backbone software to any computer it is the program that allows evering thing else to be added, it is the first piece of software you install on a newly build computer. OSs as we think of them today did not exist until the early 1960s. There are different types of user the two most common are command line and GUI(Graphical User Interface) command line was big in the 60s and 70s.
The two biggest OSs today are Microsofts Windows OS, and Apples Macintosh OS. One of the first GUIs to hit the market was the Apple lisa. It did not sell very well due to the $10,000 price tag. Then apple came out with the macintosh and it sold well due to the drastic price drop. There are many smaller OSs that are gaining popularity one to note is Linux. Linux is built off of UNIX which is ca command line driven OS. Still used by many large corporations,but not the general public due to its large price tag. This is where linux comes in, linux and its variations which there are too many to list are free and some offer a GUI. Linux is a very popular OS which is one of the few that can act as a server with no 3rd party software.
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History of computers
Charles Babbage is the man credited with creating the concept of input,storage, processing,and output, when he outlined his idea of the ultimate calculator. The problem with his design was that it was mechanical and vulnerable to mechanical problems like wear. What made computers a viable thing instead of "Thing of fantasy" was the invention of electronic devices. With that we created the vacuum tube, then the transitor that replaced that, and is now the basis for all of our electronics today.
Sources: History of computers
Operating systems