Task Manager is the utility of the Windows Operating System and on Mac, it is called as Activity Monitor. This post will discuss about Task Manager on Windows OS, Activity Monitor on Mac OS, and how to open/ launch Task Manager on Mac and Windows.
What is Task Manager
Task Manager is the utility program of the Windows Operating System. It allows administrators or users to view, manage and terminate applications or processes and make necessary changes to optimize the performance of the system.
Fig. 1 – Introduction to Task Manager
Similarly, on Mac OS; this utility program is called as Activity Monitor. It also helps in checking which applications or processes are running and using maximum CPU cycles etc. Task Manager and Activity Monitor are also used to force stop any running processes, if the system hangs or it is affecting your systems stability and performance. This feature to forcibly stop any process is called as ‘End Task’ on Windows OS and ‘Force Quit’ on Mac OS.
More About Task Manager on Windows
When this program is launched on Windows OS, you can see different Tabs namely:
- Processes
- Performance
- App History
- Startup
- Users
- Details
- Services
Processes
It lists all the running applications and background processes of your system as shown in the fig. 2. It also displays usage of different components like CPU, Memory, Disk, Network etc.
Performance
It displays real time information of CPU and Memory usage in graphical format. You can also find details regarding Physical and Kernel Memory.
App History
It shows history for all applications and processes. It displays statistics like CPU usage, data consumed by apps etc.
Startup
It basically helps in managing the applications which run on Startup as too many apps on Startup slows down the system.
Users
This helps in viewing different processes running under different User accounts.
Details
It provides detailed information regarding running processes.
Services
It helps in management of System Services.
Fig. 2 – Screenshot of Running and Background Processes
More About Activity Monitor on Mac
Task Manager on Mac is known as Activity Monitor and functions of both are almost similar. When Activity Monitor is launched, you can see different Tabs namely:
- CPU
- Memory
- Energy
- Disk
- Network
CPU
It displays information regarding different processes running on the system and its CPU usage.
Memory
It gives the information regarding memory usage by different applications and processes. It also provides data regarding Physical, Virtual memory, swap used etc.
Energy
It gives detailed information of process that impacts energy consumption.
Disk
This tab displays the amount of data that a process has read from and written back to the hard drive.
Network
It displays information regarding Network Data.
Fig. 3 – Screenshot of Activity Monitor in Mac OS
How to Open/ Launch Task Manager on Windows
There are several ways to launch this utility. Few are listed below.
- Ctrl+ Alt+ Delete
- Windows+ X Key
- Taskbar
- Search Bar
Ctrl+ Alt+ Delete
Using Ctrl+ Alt+ Delete keys is the easiest way to launch this utility and everyone is familiar with this option. Press and hold down Ctrl and Alt keys together and hit Delete key. This brings up a screen with different options like Lock, Switch user, Task Manager, Sign out and Cancel. Scroll down and select ‘Task Manager’.
Windows+ X Key
You can also open Task Manager by pressing and holding down the Windows logo key and X key.
Taskbar
Right click on the Taskbar to launch this program.
Search Bar
Type Task Manager in the search bar to launch the utility.
Fig. 4 – (a) End Task on Windows (b) Force Quit on Mac
How to Open/ Launch Activity Monitor on Mac
Activity Monitor on Mac can be launched by following below mentioned steps:
- Locate ‘Finder’ icon on the dock and click on it.
- Select Applications from the side menu of the window.
- Once the Applications folder opens, click the Utilities folder and open it.
- Double- click on the Activity Monitor icon to launch the utility.
Conclusion
Hope you found this article useful. Thanks for reading and stay tuned!
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