A school purchased a desktop computer with the specifications below for administrative purposes - NSC Information Technology - Question 2 - 2017 - Paper 2

1. The operating system provides a user interface, allowing users to interact with the computer easily.
2. It manages system resources such as memory, CPU, and storage, ensuring efficient operation.
3. The operating system facilitates communication between hardware and software, coordinating tasks and processes.

Multitasking: This technique allows multiple applications to run simultaneously by sharing the CPU's processing time among them. It gives the appearance that programs are running at the same time.

Multithreading: This involves breaking a single program into multiple threads that can be executed independently. It helps optimize resource use and improves the responsiveness of applications.

Quad Core refers to a processor that has four independent cores on a single CPU chip, allowing it to process multiple tasks concurrently and increasing overall performance.

1. The amount of RAM that can be addressed by the operating system is limited due to the architecture (32-bit vs 64-bit).
2. RAM is more expensive than secondary storage, making it less feasible to install larger amounts.

The function of a router is to facilitate communication between different networks, allowing devices to access the Internet and route data efficiently.

The wireless communication technology provided as part of the package is LTE/Wi-Fi.

A dedicated video card has its own processor, enabling it to handle image generation and rendering tasks independently from the CPU. This offloads work from the CPU, allowing it to focus on other computations, thus enhancing overall system performance.

Cache memory is high-speed memory that stores data and instructions that are likely to be used by the CPU. It reduces the time taken to fetch data from slower memory (RAM), thus improving the CPU's performance by speeding up access to frequently used information.

The plug-and-play process allows the operating system to automatically detect new devices when they are connected and install the necessary drivers for them to function without user intervention.

When a device requires CPU attention, it sends an interrupt signal to the CPU, prompting it to halt its current tasks and handle the needs of the device.

The advantage of file synchronizing services is that they ensure users have the latest version of their files available across multiple devices, enhancing accessibility and data consistency.

Indexing of files means creating an index that contains information about the contents of files, allowing for quicker searches and retrieval. The benefit of applying this feature is improved efficiency and speed in locating files based on their content rather than names.

The operating system on a mobile device is typically stored in the device's internal memory or flash storage.

1. Limited hardware resources such as processing power and battery life, which necessitate optimization to maintain performance.
2. Variability in screen sizes and resolutions, requiring responsive design to ensure usability across different devices.