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The operating system (OS) consists of the master system of programs that manage the basic operations of the computer. Features of the OS are booting, CPU management, file management, task management, and formatting. (1) In booting, the OS is loaded into the computer's main memory. (2) The supervisor or kernel manages the CPU. The OS also manages memory. (3) In file management, the OS records the storage location of files. (4) Task management includes multitasking, executing more than one program concurrently. (5) Formatting, or initializing, consists of preparing a disk to store data or programs.

Device drivers are specialized software programs that allow input and output devices to communicate with the rest of the computer system. Utility programs perform tasks related to the control and allocation of computer resources. They enhance existing functions or provide services not supplied by other system software programs. Tasks performed by utilities include the following: backing up data, recovery of lost data, and identification of hardware problems.

The user interface is the display screen that enables user interaction with the computer via keyboard or via the mouse, which has an onscreen pointer. Today's screens have a graphical user interface (GUI), in which a desktop, or main interface screen, allows you to select from icons (little pictorial symbols) or menus (lists of activities). Most icons have a rollover feature that pops up an explanation when a mouse rolls over it. Menus may be pull-down (from the screen top), fly-out (explode out to the right), pull-up (from screen bottom), and pop-up (anywhere on screen). A title bar contains the name of the window. A menu bar contains the names of pull-down menus. A toolbar displays icons and menus representing frequently used options or commands. The data and programs appear in a frame called a window, which can be resized or repositioned on screen. Most toolbars contain a Help command to provide answers to questions; for some specific tasks, context-sensitive help is available.

There are three categories of platforms, or particular combinations of processors and OSs -- for desktops/laptops, for networks, and for handhelds.

Principal desktop/laptop OSs are DOS, Macintosh OS, and the Microsoft Windows series. DOS was Microsoft's original OS. The Macintosh operating system runs only on Apple Macintoshes. Microsoft Windows 95, 98 and most recently Me is the most popular OS for desktops and portables.

Principal network server OSs are NetWare from Novell; Windows NT and its successor Windows 2000 from Microsoft; the recently-released Microsoft XP which combines elements of Windows Me and Windows 2000, and has a new GUI;

Unix, available in several versions, including Sun's Solaris; and Linux, a free version of Unix and a kind of open-source software modifiable by anyone.

Principal OSs for handhelds are Palm OS, which runs the Palm and the Visor, and Windows CE (a slimmed-down version of Windows), which became Pocket PC, a simpler version.

The purpose of application software is to manipulate raw data into files of information. A file is a named collection of data or a program existing in secondary storage. Three types are document files (created by word processing), worksheet files (created by spreadsheets), and database files (created by database management programs). Files can be imported or acquired from other programs and exported or sent to other programs.

Productivity software, which is designed to make users more productive, may exist in stand-alone form, such as word processing or spreadsheet programs. Or several programs may be combined in an office suite. Some productivity software exists as groupware, which several users may share online.

Three features that help you create documents are the cursor, the movable symbol on the display screen; scrolling, the ability to move up, down, or sideways through the text; and word wrap, which continues text on the next line automatically when you reach the end of a line. An outline feature enables you to show the hierarchy of headings within a document. Features for editing documents are insert and delete, undelete, find and replace, cut/copy and paste, spelling checker, grammar checker, and thesaurus (for presenting alternate words).

Formatting, or determining the appearance of a document, is made easier by templates, preformatted documents, and wizards, which answer your questions and format a document. Aspects of formatting are fonts, or typefaces and type sizes; spacing and columns; margins and justification (spacing of words in a line); page numbers and page headers/footers (repeated text at top/bottom); and other formatting such as use of clip art (ready-made pictures). The manufacturer usually specifies automatically standardized format settings, or default settings. Most programs give several options for printing out documents. Documents may be saved, or preserved, in secondary storage, such as hard disk.

Spreadsheet grids are organized with column headings across the top, row headings down the left side, and various labels or descriptive text. Columns and rows intersect in a cell, and its position is called a cell address; several adjacent cells constitute a range. A number entered in the cell is called a value, and its location is indicated by a cell pointer or spreadsheet cursor.Formulas, or instructions for calculations, are used to manipulate data; built-in formulas are called functions. Values can be changed and then recomputed; such recalculationis an important reason for the popularity of the spreadsheet, since it allows you to do what-if analysis -- to see how changing numbers can change outcomes. For specialized needs, worksheet templates, custom-designed forms, are available. A nice feature of spreadsheets is the ability to create analytical graphics, graphical forms -- such as bar charts, line graphs, and pie charts -- that make numeric data easier to analyze.

You can find what you want with a query, locating and displaying records. Records can also be sorted, as alphabetically, numerically, or geographically. Search results can then be saved, or they can be put into different formats, printed out, copied and placed in other documents, or transmitted (as via e-mail) to someone else. A specialized type of database software is a personal information manager (PIM), which helps you manage addresses, appointments, and to-do lists.

Financial software includes personal-finance managers, entry-level accounting programs, and business financial-management packages. Personal-finance managers (Quicken, Microsoft Money) help users track income and expenses, write checks, do online banking, and plan financial goals. Tax programs help with tax preparation and filing. Some financial programs automate bookkeeping and payroll tasks. Others help in business start-ups or in making investments.

Desktop-publishing (DTP) software (QuarkXPress, PageMaker, Microsoft Publisher) enables users to mix text and graphics to produce high-quality output for commercial printing. Users can choose various type and layout styles and can use files (text, graphics) from other programs. Drawing programs allow users to design and illustrate objects and products; painting programs allow them to simulate painting on screen.

Project management software helps users plan and schedule the people, costs, and resources required to complete a project on time.

Computer-aided design (CAD) programs are used to design products, structures, engineering drawings, and maps. CAD/CAM software -- for computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing -- allows products designed with CAD to be input automatically into an automated manufacturing system that makes the products.