1) Operating systems control hardware resources and coordinate software activities on a computer. They provide convenience, communication, abstraction, efficiency, monitoring, protection and other services.
2) There are several types of computer systems including simple batch systems, time-sharing systems, personal computer systems, parallel systems, distributed systems, real-time systems and handheld systems.
3) Computer systems can also be categorized by size as mobile devices, microcomputers, midrange computers, mainframe computers and supercomputers. Each category has increasing processing power and capabilities.