Control panel (computer)

Many computer user interfaces use a control panel metaphor to give the user control of software and hardware features.

Computer History

The term control panel was used for the plugboards in unit record equipment and early computers. Although debatable, the metaphor's popularity is attributed not to the Xerox Star or the Apple Lisa which pioneered the first graphical user interface metaphors. The operation of these machines did in fact appropriate windowed methods of controlled user settings by single click selections and variable fields. In 1984 the Apple Macintosh in its initial release made use of fundamental graphic representation of a "control panel board" imitating the operation of slider controls, on/off buttons and radio-select buttons that corresponded to user settings.

Different types

• In Microsoft Windows operating systems, the Control Panel is where various computer settings can be modified.
• In Macintosh operating systems prior to Mac OS X, a control panel served a similar purpose. In current iterations of the Mac operating system the equivalent to control panels are referred to as System Preferences.
• In web hosting, browser-based control panels, such as CPanel and Plesk, are used to manage servers, web services and users.
• There are different control panels in free desktops, like GNOME, KDE, Webmin...

See also

• Control panel (engineering)