IT109 is an introductory course on desktop operating systems that has replaced IT103 and switched its focus from Windows XP to Windows 7. It is a required course for associates degrees in information technology. The course covers operating system concepts over the first two weeks and introduces topics like hardware, software, memory and storage management, interrupts, and the structure of common operating systems. It examines open source operating systems like Linux and explores components of modern computer systems like multi-core processors and computer clusters.