1. Input Devices
2. The Display
3. Software Applications
4. The Operating System
5. The File System
6. Memory
7. The Network Environment
8. The Internet
9. Search Skills
10. Computer Specifications (Hardware Overview)

The Operating System (OS) is the "How" of the personal computer. The OS in short establishes how we can do anything using the computer. It's main purpose is to allow applications, like "Microsoft Word", or "Internet Explorer" to be used by us. But, in fact the OS is also busy translating user input into actions, and communicating the results of these actions back to the user by updating the display, playing sound, etc.

The operating system is commonly defined partly by what it is not (it is not "software"). However, the operating system is actualy made up of many individual software programs which have evolved into a larger interrelated system.

The purpose of this "Operating System" is to be the glue that connects the input devices, the software, and the display together and have desirable things happen. It's a hard job!