Identifying the Assets
This term refers to the primary hardware components that require active management, including the CPU, RAM, and secondary storage.
What are System Resources?
This is the primary problem a user faces when the primary memory (RAM) is too small for the running applications.
What is Wasted User Time (or system lag/slowness)?
The OS performs this task to keep track of which parts of the RAM are currently in use and by which program.
What is Memory Management?
This technique involves using a portion of the hard drive to act as an extension of the RAM when memory is full.
What is Virtual Memory?
This is the primary reason for producing a dedicated operating system for a device like a digital camera or a microwave.
What is to Optimize Resource Use (or maximize efficiency)?
This specific resource determines how quickly a computer can process instructions and is often a limiting factor for rendering 3D graphics.
What is Processor Speed?
This high-end type of computer system must manage massive resources to serve thousands of users simultaneously, unlike a standard PC.
What is a Mainframe?
This OS function involves managing communication between the computer and external devices like printers and keyboards.
What is Peripheral Management?
This is a signal sent to the CPU by hardware or software indicating an event that needs immediate attention.
What is an Interrupt?
This type of software is often stripped down in a dedicated OS to save space and processing power.
What is Application Software (or UI components)?
This measurement refers to the amount of data that can be transmitted over a network connection in a given time.
What is Bandwidth?
This type of portable device often has severe limitations in screen resolution and battery life, requiring a dedicated OS.
What is a Cell Phone (or Smartphone/PDA)?
This technique allows the OS to switch between different programs so rapidly that it appears they are running at the same time.
What is Time-slicing?
This process involves the CPU actively checking each peripheral device to see if it requires attention.
What is Polling?
This is a disadvantage of building a dedicated OS instead of using a generic one like Linux or Windows.
What is High Development Cost (or lack of flexibility)?
These are two specialized processors mentioned in the guide that handle visual and auditory data respectively.
What are the Graphics Processor (GPU) and Sound Processor?
In this specific environment, the OS must manage resources so that multiple users can access the same processor at once.
What is a Multi-access (or Multi-user) Environment?
The OS uses this to decide which process gets to use the CPU next based on its importance or urgency.
What is Priority (or Scheduling)?
This memory management technique divides memory into fixed-size blocks to manage data storage more efficiently.
What is Paging?
This TOK question asks if we can truly "manage" a resource if we don't fully understand the physics of how it operates at the hardware level.
What is the Nature of Knowledge (or the abstraction of hardware)?
This small, high-speed memory sits between the CPU and RAM, and its limited size can significantly slow down a system if managed poorly.
What is Cache?
This is a consequence of inadequate processor speed in a system intended for high-speed data processing.
What is Data Bottlenecking (or inadequate rendering)?
This is the "bridge" that allows the OS to communicate with a specific piece of hardware.
What is a Hardware Interface (or Device Driver)?
This refers to the set of rules or "scheduling" the OS uses to determine how resources are allocated to different tasks.
What are Policies?
This is the term for an OS that is "hidden" within a device and performs a single, specific function.
What is an Embedded OS?