We are all familiar with the concept of sitting down at a computer system and writing documents or performing some task such as writing a letter. In this instance there is one keyboard and one monitor that you interact with.
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Operating systems such as Windows 95, Windows NT Workstation and Windows 2000 professional are essentially single user operating systems. They provide you the capability to perform tasks on the computer system such as writing programs and documents, printing and accessing files. |
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Consider a typical home computer. There is a single keyboard and mouse that accept input commands, and a single monitor to display information output. There may also be a printer for the printing of documents and images. In essence, a single-user operating system provides access to the computer system by a single user at a time. If another user needs access to the computer system, they must wait till the current user finishes what they are doing and leaves. Students in computer labs at colleges or University often experience this. You might also have experienced this at home, where you want to use the computer but someone else is currently using it. You have to wait for them to finish before you can use the computer system.
