Operating Systems

From Styleguide

An operating system is a special piece of software that controls the basic functions of a computer. OS acceptable after first reference.

Always capitalize the names of operating systems. Preceding the name of an operating system with the company that makes it is optional.

When referring to computer games, identify what operating system they are developed for. EA is releasing Madden NFL 08 for Windows PCs. NOT: EA is releasing Madden NFL 08 for the computer.

Specify individual versions of the operating system only if context requires (i.e. in discussions of system requirements). Use the following examples when referencing operating systems.

• Microsoft DOS – DOS acceptable on all references.
  • DOS 6.0

• Microsoft Windows – Windows acceptable on all references. Windows computers can be referred to as PCs on all references.
  • Windows 3.1
  • Windows 95
  • Windows 98
  • Windows 2000
  • Windows ME
  • Windows XP
  • Windows Vista

• Apple Macintosh – Macintosh or Mac OS acceptable on all references.
  • Mac OS 9.1
  • Mac OS X

• Linux – Do not refer to specific distributions of Linux. First or most general reference should read GNU/Linux, acknowledging that this operating system is primarily the creation of Richard Stallman's GNU Project, begun in 1984, whereas Linux is properly the name of the kernel alone, created by Linus Torvalds in the early 1990s. The GNU Project strongly prefers the full GNU/Linux label, but a reasonable compromise is to use that name once in any article, then continue with the more euphonious and widely-recognized abbreviation, Linux.