How Operating Systems Evolved – The Silent Engines of Technology - video Dailymotion

Opio Douglas

Every time you power on your phone or boot up your laptop, something remarkable happens—instantly and invisibly. Behind the screens, apps, and icons lies a quiet force driving everything: the Operating System.  In this video, we trace the incredible evolution of OSes—from the punch-card era to voice-powered assistants. Explore how early machines like the ENIAC worked without OSes, how time-sharing and UNIX revolutionized computing, and how GUIs, mobile platforms like iOS and Android, and AI are reshaping the operating system's role in our lives.

Transcript

00:00When you open your phone, when your laptop boots up, when your tablet springs to life

00:13in your hands, something is working in the background quietly, instantly, invisibly,

00:18loads your apps, unlocks your camera, syncs your files, empowers every tap, click, and

00:24swipe.

00:25It's called the operating system, and without it, your device would be nothing but a lifeless

00:29shell.

00:30Today, we take it for granted.

00:33But operating systems have a long, fascinating history.

00:36A story that mirrors the evolution of computing itself.

00:40Let's start at the beginning.

00:42In the 1940s and early 50s, computers were the size of rooms.

00:47Giant humming machines built with vacuum tubes and punch cards.

00:51No screens.

00:52No keyboards.

00:54No icons.

00:55Just pure hardware.

00:57If you wanted them to perform a task, you didn't open a program.

01:01You hardwired the instructions directly.

01:04You literally programmed the machine using switches, cables, and punched paper.

01:10There was no concept of an operating system.

01:13Everything was manual, physical, and painfully slow.

01:17But as computers grew more powerful, engineers began to imagine something smarter.

01:21A layer of software that could manage the machine for you, organize memory, load programs,

01:27schedule tasks, and handle input and output.

01:30And so, in the 1950s, the first operating systems were born.

01:36They were primitive, built for mainframe computers that filled entire rooms.

01:41IBM and General Motors collaborated on one of the first systems, GMNA-IO.

01:48It could load and run programs from magnetic tape automatically, one at a time.

01:52It wasn't interactive.

01:54You submitted a job and waited for the results.

01:58No screens.

01:59No windows.

02:00Just paper and blinking lights.

02:02But then came a revolutionary idea.

02:04Timesharing.

02:05Instead of letting one person monopolize a machine, why not let multiple users interact

02:10with it one after the other in rapid cycles?

02:12The operating system would juggle everyone's requests so quickly that it felt like the computer

02:18was serving all users at once.

02:20This breakthrough led to the creation of MULTEX in the late 1960s, one of the most influential

02:26operating systems ever made.

02:30MULTEX introduced many concepts we still use today.

02:33File systems, user permissions, hierarchical directories, and even early ideas about cybersecurity.

02:41And from MULTEX came UNIX.

02:43UNIX, developed at Bell Labs in 1969, was simpler, faster, and more elegant.

02:50It was designed for programmers, and it became a foundation for many of the operating systems

02:55we still use.

02:56UNIX didn't have a graphical interface.

02:59No icons or buttons.

03:00Just a black screen and a blinking cursor.

03:03You had to type everything.

03:04Commands, file paths, system calls.

03:07But for those who mastered it, UNIX was powerful, could run on different machines.

03:12It was modular.

03:13It became the standard for universities, researchers, and eventually businesses.

03:16And then, in the 1980s, everything changed again.

03:22Computers were getting smaller, cheaper, personal.

03:26The PC revolution had begun.

03:28Apple launched the Apple II, and then the Macintosh, which introduced the graphical user interface

03:34to the mainstream.

03:36For the first time, everyday users could interact with computers using a mouse.

03:41Windows, and icons instead of lines of code.

03:45Meanwhile, Microsoft released MS-DOS, a text-based OS for early IBM PCs.

03:51It was basic, but it worked.

03:53Then came Windows.

03:55The first version of Windows in 1985 was clunky, a shell that sat on top of MS-DOS.

04:01But it hinted at something bigger.

04:03A world where anyone could use a computer.

04:06In 1995, Microsoft released Windows 95.

04:10It was a game-changer.

04:11The start menu.

04:12The taskbar.

04:14Plug-and-play hardware.

04:15It brought together a visual interface with powerful functionality, and it brought personal

04:19computing to the masses.

04:21At the same time, Apple was building its own OS legacy with macOS later.

04:26In 2001, it would evolve into macOS.

04:30Based on UNIX principles, but with Apple's signature polish and user-friendliness.

04:35And then there was Linux, the open-source wildcard.

04:39Born in 1991, as a personal project by Linus Torvalds, Linux grew into a global phenomenon.

04:46It was free, flexible, customizable.

04:50Linux didn't conquer home desktops, but it quietly became the backbone of the Internet.

04:55Servers, supercomputers, Android phones, routers, and even smart TVs, all powered by Linux-based

05:03systems.

05:04In 2007, Apple introduced the iPhone, and with it, iOS.

05:11It was sleek, touch-based, and tightly integrated with hardware.

05:16It didn't just run apps, it redefined how we interacted with technology.

05:20Soon after, Google released Android, a Linux-based OS built for variety.

05:26Android could run on phones, tablets, TVs, cars, almost anything.

05:30It was open, adaptable, and eventually became the most widely used mobile OS in the world.

05:37So operating systems kept evolving.

05:39They became faster, smarter, and more invisible.

05:42Today, your OS handles more than you can imagine.

05:46It manages memory, handles security, connects hardware, syncs across cloud platforms, optimizes

05:54performance.

05:55All in real time, while you browse, scroll, and swipe without a second thought.

06:00And now, we're entering a new chapter, Intelligent Operating Systems.

06:05AI and machine learning are becoming part of the core experience.

06:09Your OS learns your habits, predicts your actions, automates tasks before you even ask.

06:15Voice assistants aren't just apps, they're part of the operating system itself.

06:20Operating systems are syncing across phones, computers, tablets, watches, TVs, even cars.

06:28Everything is becoming part of one seamless digital ecosystem.

06:32And yet, through all this innovation, the role of an operating system remains the same.

06:38To bridge the gap between you and the machine.

06:41To make the complex feel simple.

06:43To make the invisible feel natural.

06:46From punched cards to neural processors.

06:49From black screens and typed commands to multi-touch gestures and virtual assistants.

06:54Operating systems have quietly shaped every digital experience we've ever had.

06:59They are the silent engines of technology.

07:02The unsung minds behind the screen.

07:04And as long as we have computers wherever they live, however they evolve an operating system will be there.

07:09Humming softly beneath the surface, making it all work.

How Operating Systems Evolved – The Silent Engines of Technology

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