Common operating systems

Match each device to the operating system it usually runs: (a) most desktop and laptop computers, (b) the iPhone, (c) most mobile phones from other brands, (d) Mac computers, (e) many servers and school devices. Systems: Windows, iOS, Android, macOS, GNU/Linux.

Which operating system does your home or classroom computer use? Describe it: name, what its desktop or home screen looks like and two applications you use on it. How is it similar to and different from your mobile phone's system?

Make a list of four real devices around you (your mobile phone, your home computer, a games console, a family member's phone...) and write down which operating system each one uses. Which one surprises you the most and why?

Explain in your own words the difference between free/open-source software and proprietary software, and give an example of each type of program that you know or use.

True or false? Justify each answer: (a) free software is always free of charge; (b) proprietary software can be copied and modified freely; (c) GNU/Linux is free/open-source software; (d) Windows is proprietary software.

The diagram shows two empty columns, one for free/open-source software and another for proprietary software, and six cards with programs and systems to classify, as shown in the diagram.

Place each card in the correct column and explain the criteria you used to decide. Then create a new card for each column.

Which operating system is the most widely used on mobile phones? What about personal computers? Try to explain in your own words why each one dominates in its field (cost, applications, familiarity...).

A video game company launches its new title exclusively for Windows. Analyse what reasons it might have (how many people use each system, how much it costs to port the game) and explain what options people using macOS or GNU/Linux have to play it.

A designer states that he uses macOS 'because everyone in the industry uses it'. Analyse how group habits ('everyone uses X') influence the choice of systems and programs, what advantages and dangers that criterion has, and whether you would use it to choose your next computer.

Many local councils and public administrations use GNU/Linux on their computers. Compare Windows and GNU/Linux for use in a school, considering licence costs, who can study and improve the code, and available applications, and draw a conclusion.

The City Council of a municipality with 50 computers is considering migrating its entire system to open-source software. The Councillor for the Treasury states that the savings will be total and immediate because "open-source software costs nothing", but the head of IT warns that in the first year, the migration could cost more money than staying as they are. Justify why the technician is right by explaining two real indirect costs that the change will entail, and design a two-phase transition plan so that public services are not disrupted during staff adaptation.

An autonomous community approves that all secondary schools use only open-source software in their classrooms. A group of families protests, claiming that their children "will be at an educational disadvantage compared to those who learn with commercial software from big tech companies". Refute this statement with two well-founded arguments regarding educational value and technological independence, and design two practical measures to help teachers and students adapt to the change without lowering the standard of the lessons.