Actually, most people
would simply ask??¦
Um, What Exactly Is an OS?
Great question, and thanks for playing!
OS stands for ???operating system,??? which is the software that makes your Mac work. Without
an operating system, a computer is just a pile of cables, chips, and silicon. If your Mac were
an aircraft carrier, its operating system would be the crew and you would be the captain. The
operating system carries out your commands, opening files, surfing the Web, sending email,
scanning and printing, and swabbing the deck (okay, that last one was just to see if you were
paying attention). There are lots of operating systems in the world of tech, but only one that
comes natively with your Mac: Mac OS X. That??™s pronounced ???Mac OS Ten,??? the Roman
numeral, not ???Mac OS Ex,??? the letter. Other operating systems will work with your Mac, as
mentioned earlier in our discussion of Intel processors, but that??™s a topic for later (Chapter 18).
While there are other operating systems out there, Mac OS X is generally regarded as the
cream of the crop. No other operating system combines the ease of use, stability, and high level
of security that Mac OS X provides out of the box, and it??™s the best-looking operating system
around.
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