An Overview of Computer Operating Systems and Emerging Trends

Abstract

This article presents an overview of computer operating systems (OS) and emerging trends. OS is simply defined as an interface between computer hardware and the user. The objective of the study is to investigate the emerging trends of OS and to find out the direction of OS for modern computing systems. To achieve this goal the paper looks at the concepts of OS, its underlying architectures and evolution. The papers also outline the components of the OS provide knowledge on security issues with OS architectures and provide best practices to secure OS. The paper found out that the current trends in OS include IoT OS, Cloud OS, AI-powered OS, Blockchain OS, Hybrid OS and Container OS. The paper compares the strengths and weaknesses of the major OS. The Paper proposes a double-layer security approach where the OS is hardened with security policies and embedding security protocols in the Hardware architecture of the OS. It was discovered that every technology comes with its unique architecture and OS. This makes it worrisome for engineers to crack their brains to develop such a system. The paper further proposes the development of a universal OS for all architectures leaving room for further expansion while mitigating power consumption issues by incorporating green computing technology in the design architecture.