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Desk Accessories
A desk accessory (DA) or desklet in computing is a small transient or auxiliary application that can be run concurrently in a desktop environment with any other application on the system. Early examples, such as Sidekick and Macintosh desk accessories, used special programming models to provide a small degree of multitasking on systems that initially did not have any other multitasking ability. Personal information managers Early personal information managers, such as Norton Desktop and Borland's Sidekick, provided pop-up calculator, alarm, calendar and other functions for single-tasking operating systems like MS-DOS using terminate-and-stay-resident techniques. Apple Macintosh Introduced in 1984 as part of the operating system for the Apple Macintosh computer, a Desk Accessory (DA) was a piece of software written as a device driver, conforming to a particular programming model. The purpose of this model was to permit very small helper-type applications to be run concurrently ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Computing
Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computer, computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and the development of both computer hardware, hardware and software. Computing has scientific, engineering, mathematical, technological, and social aspects. Major computing disciplines include computer engineering, computer science, cybersecurity, data science, information systems, information technology, and software engineering. The term ''computing'' is also synonymous with counting and calculation, calculating. In earlier times, it was used in reference to the action performed by Mechanical computer, mechanical computing machines, and before that, to Computer (occupation), human computers. History The history of computing is longer than the history of computing hardware and includes the history of methods intended for pen and paper (or for chalk and slate) with or without the aid of tables. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Suitcase (Macintosh)
A suitcase is a form of baggage. It is a rectangular container with a handle and is typically used to carry one's clothes and other belongings while traveling. The first suitcases appeared in the late 19th century due to the increased popularity of mass tourism at the time and were meant to hold dress suits. They were originally made using heavier materials such as leather or steel, but, beginning in the 1930s, were constructed with more lightweight materials like plastic and cardboard. Before the 1970s, the idea of rolling luggage was shunned by the travel industry, who viewed it as much less masculine than traditional luggage. American entrepreneur Bernard Sadow pitched his version of the wheeled suitcase, for which he was granted a patent in 1972, to various department stores before it was picked up and sold at Macy's stores starting in 1970. It took several years to become the predominant form of suitcase, and Sadow's version was soon superseded by the Rollaboard, a type o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apple Macintosh
Mac is a brand of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 1984. The name is short for Macintosh (its official name until 1999), a reference to the McIntosh (apple), McIntosh apple. The current product lineup includes the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro laptops, and the iMac, Mac Mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro desktops. Macs are currently sold with Apple's UNIX-based macOS operating system, which is Proprietary software, not licensed to other manufacturers and exclusively Pre-installed software, bundled with Mac computers. This operating system replaced Apple's original Macintosh operating system, which has variously been named System, Mac OS, and Classic Mac OS. Jef Raskin conceived the Macintosh project in 1979, which was usurped and redefined by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in 1981. The original Macintosh 128K, Macintosh was launched in January 1984, after Apple's 1984 (advertisement), "1984" advertisement during Super Bowl XVIII. A series of increment ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cooperative Multitasking
Cooperative multitasking, also known as non-preemptive multitasking, is a computer multitasking technique in which the operating system never initiates a context switch from a running Process (computing), process to another process. Instead, in order to run multiple applications concurrently, processes voluntarily Yield (multithreading), yield control periodically or when idle or logically Blocking_(computing), blocked. This type of multitasking is called ''cooperative'' because all programs must cooperate for the scheduling scheme to work. In this scheme, the process scheduler of an operating system is known as a cooperative scheduler whose role is limited to starting the processes and letting them return control back to it voluntarily. This is related to the Asynchrony (computer programming), asynchronous programming approach. Usage Although it is rarely used as the primary scheduling mechanism in modern operating systems, it is widely used in memory-constrained Embedded sy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Context Switching
In computing, a context switch is the process of storing the state of a process or thread, so that it can be restored and resume execution at a later point, and then restoring a different, previously saved, state. This allows multiple processes to share a single central processing unit (CPU), and is an essential feature of a multiprogramming or multitasking operating system. In a traditional CPU, each process – a program in execution – uses the various CPU registers to store data and hold the current state of the running process. However, in a multitasking operating system, the operating system switches between processes or threads to allow the execution of multiple processes simultaneously. For every switch, the operating system must save the state of the currently running process, followed by loading the next process state, which will run on the CPU. This sequence of operations that stores the state of the running process and loads the following running process is called a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Graphics Environment Manager
GEM (for Graphics Environment Manager) is a discontinued operating environment released by Digital Research in 1985. GEM is known primarily as the native graphical user interface of the Atari ST series of computers, providing a WIMP desktop. It was also available for IBM PC compatibles and shipped with some models from Amstrad. GEM is used as the core for some commercial MS-DOS programs, the most notable being Ventura Publisher. It was ported to other computers that previously lacked graphical interfaces, but never gained traction. The final retail version of GEM was released in 1988. Digital Research later produced X/GEM for their FlexOS real-time operating system with adaptations for OS/2 Presentation Manager and the X Window System under preparation as well. History GSX In late 1984, GEM started life at DRI as an outgrowth of a more general-purpose graphics library known as GSX (Graphics System Extension), written by a team led by Don Heiskell since about 1982. Lee Jay ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
GEOS (8-bit Operating System)
GEOS (''Graphic Environment Operating System'') is a discontinued operating system from Berkeley Softworks (later GeoWorks). Originally designed for the Commodore 64 with its version being released in 1986, enhanced versions of GEOS later became available in 1987 for the Commodore 128 and in 1988 for the Apple II. A lesser-known version was also released for the Commodore Plus/4. GEOS closely resembles early versions of the classic Mac OS and includes a graphical word processor (geoWrite) and Computer graphics, paint program (geoPaint). A December 1987 survey by the Commodore-dedicated magazine '' Compute!'s Gazette'' found that nearly half of respondents used GEOS. For many years, Commodore bundled GEOS with its redesigned and cost-reduced C64, the C64C. At its peak, GEOS was the third-most-popular microcomputer operating system in the world in terms of units shipped, trailing only MS-DOS and Mac OS (besides the original Commodore 64's KERNAL). Other GEOS-compatible softwar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apple IIGS
The Apple IIGS (styled as II) is a 16-bit personal computer produced by Apple Inc., Apple Computer beginning in September 1986. It is the fifth and most powerful model of the Apple II family. The "GS" in the name stands for "Graphics and Sound", referring to its enhanced multimedia hardware, especially the state-of-the-art audio. It is compatible with earlier Apple II models, and Apple initially sold a kit for converting an Apple IIe into a IIGS. The system is a radical departure otherwise, with a WDC 65C816 microprocessor, 256 KB or 1 MB of random-access memory expandable to 8 MB, resolution and color similar to the Amiga and Atari ST, and a 32 channel Ensoniq wavetable synthesis chip. Bundled with a computer mouse, mouse, it is the first computer from Apple with a color graphical user interface (color was introduced on the Macintosh II six months later) and the Apple Desktop Bus interface for keyboards, mice, and other input devices. The IIGS blurred the lines between the App ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Icon (computing)
In computing, an icon is a pictogram or ideogram displayed on a computer screen in order to help the user navigate a computer system. It can serve as an electronic hyperlink or file shortcut to access the program or data. The user can activate an icon using a mouse, pointer, finger, or voice commands. Their placement on the screen, also in relation to other icons, may provide further information to the user about their usage. In activating an icon, the user can move directly into and out of the identified function without knowing anything further about the location or requirements of the file or code. Icons as parts of the graphical user interface of a computer system, in conjunction with window (computing), windows, Menu (computing), menus and a pointing device (mouse), belong to the much larger topic of the history of the graphical user interface that has largely supplanted the text-based interface for casual use. Overview The computing definition of "icon" can include three ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Address Space
In computing, an address space defines a range of discrete addresses, each of which may correspond to a network host, peripheral device, disk sector, a memory cell or other logical or physical entity. For software programs to save and retrieve stored data, each datum must have an address where it can be located. The number of address spaces available depends on the underlying address structure, which is usually limited by the computer architecture being used. Often an address space in a system with virtual memory corresponds to a highest level translation table, e.g., a segment table in IBM System/370. Address spaces are created by combining enough uniquely identified qualifiers to make an address unambiguous within the address space. For a person's physical address, the ''address space'' would be a combination of locations, such as a neighborhood, town, city, or country. Some elements of a data address space may be the same, but if any element in the address is different, ad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Computer Font
A computer font is implemented as a digital data file containing a set of graphically related glyphs. A computer font is designed and created using a font editor. A computer font specifically designed for the computer screen, and not for printing, is a screen font. In the terminology of movable type, movable metal type, a ''typeface'' is a set of characters that share common design features across styles and sizes (for example, all the varieties of Gill Sans), while a ''font'' is a set of pieces of movable type in a specific typeface, size, width, weight, slope, etc. (for example, Gill Sans bold 12 point). In HTML, CSS, and related technologies, the Font family (HTML), font family attribute refers to the digital equivalent of a typeface. Since the 1990s, many people outside the printing industry have used the word ''font'' as a synonym for ''typeface''. There are three basic kinds of computer font file data formats: * Bitmap fonts consist of a matrix of dots or pixels represent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
