Chapter Introduction

System Software Introduction goes here. Define platform. Mention (again) terms application software and system software.

System software runs behind the scene and is responsible for running hardware. Operating systems are the most common type of system software. Microsoft Windows is the most commonly used operating system, but not the only one. Apple’s OS X is used in Mac computers. There is also Linux/UNIX which is widely used in large complex computer systems and internet servers. Popular desktop Linux versions include Ubuntu, Solaris and SuSE.

It is important to become familiar the concepts of a computer operating system. You will encounter all three operating systems around campus. Windows is widely available in computer labs around campus. Macs are also used in the Math and Stats department. To upload a webpage on the campus servers you must use UNIX. Linux computers are also located around campus and are primarily used in Computer Science.