LAYMAN TECHNOLOGIES
Technology on your terms
Technology on your terms
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Computers 101
Before we begin, a little disclaimer: this guide is NOT intended to make you independent. Even technicians still consult each other for different perspectives and suggestions, and unique challenges will arise out of nowhere. Computers 101 is meant to provide you with the vocabulary and communication skills necessary to facilitate further learning and basic troubleshooting in everyday computer use (read: you can talk to a technician, and he will understand). I hope you find it helpful.
The above illustrates the typical home office arrangement these days. On the left, you see a "desktop" computer system, and on the right you see a "laptop" computer system. In the middle is shown the two common networking items used to share an internet connection. There can be other peripherals such as printers and webcams and the like, but they are optional and outside the scope of this primer. By being able to identify the items in the above image, you will be able to significantly improve your communication with others when you have computer questions.
As important as it is to "speak the lingo", honesty is of much higher value when trying to troubleshoot an issue. If you don't know the term, describe. While you may feel silly saying "The thing that displays the picture hasn't been showing anything since yesterday" when you're got a monitor that's not cooperating with you, you'll solve the problem much more quickly than if you were to just guess at the terms and say something like "My modem is broken. It's not displaying anything."
In addition to the above vocabulary, I will bold any additional vocabulary you should take note of.
So, lets start using the machine (assuming it's all plugged in and setup: see Computers 102 for that). Your computer will have a certain Operating System (OS). I will be using Microsoft's Windows XP for the examples below, but you'll find the general ideas apply to many of the other popular OSs (Windows Vista, Mac OS X). When you press the power button on the computer (make the monitor is on too!), it will start to boot. The booting process is all the time waiting before your OS becomes responsive. Once the OS is all loaded up and ready to go, you'll see your desktop. Here's what a typical Windows XP desktop will look like:
I'm not sure if pictures are worth a thousand words, but this one is worth at least 6. Know these terms:
Icons - those little pictures/logos with labels listed along the left side. They represent, in visual form, some program or file, for ease of access. These particular ones were placed on the desktop because they are likely to be frequently used.
Wallpaper/Background - the beautiful rolling hills in the... well... background. You can change it to whatever picture you want (we'll get into that in Computers 102)
Stay tuned. This guide is still being constructed (and some pictures unavailable). It should be complete May 2010.
The above illustrates the typical home office arrangement these days. On the left, you see a "desktop" computer system, and on the right you see a "laptop" computer system. In the middle is shown the two common networking items used to share an internet connection. There can be other peripherals such as printers and webcams and the like, but they are optional and outside the scope of this primer. By being able to identify the items in the above image, you will be able to significantly improve your communication with others when you have computer questions.
As important as it is to "speak the lingo", honesty is of much higher value when trying to troubleshoot an issue. If you don't know the term, describe. While you may feel silly saying "The thing that displays the picture hasn't been showing anything since yesterday" when you're got a monitor that's not cooperating with you, you'll solve the problem much more quickly than if you were to just guess at the terms and say something like "My modem is broken. It's not displaying anything."
In addition to the above vocabulary, I will bold any additional vocabulary you should take note of.
So, lets start using the machine (assuming it's all plugged in and setup: see Computers 102 for that). Your computer will have a certain Operating System (OS). I will be using Microsoft's Windows XP for the examples below, but you'll find the general ideas apply to many of the other popular OSs (Windows Vista, Mac OS X). When you press the power button on the computer (make the monitor is on too!), it will start to boot. The booting process is all the time waiting before your OS becomes responsive. Once the OS is all loaded up and ready to go, you'll see your desktop. Here's what a typical Windows XP desktop will look like:
I'm not sure if pictures are worth a thousand words, but this one is worth at least 6. Know these terms:
Icons - those little pictures/logos with labels listed along the left side. They represent, in visual form, some program or file, for ease of access. These particular ones were placed on the desktop because they are likely to be frequently used.
Wallpaper/Background - the beautiful rolling hills in the... well... background. You can change it to whatever picture you want (we'll get into that in Computers 102)
Stay tuned. This guide is still being constructed (and some pictures unavailable). It should be complete May 2010.
