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Are you ready to start learning about computers? This chapter will help by introducing you to the computer and showing you its benefits and uses. You learn ...
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Getting Familiar with
Computer Basics
Benefits of Using
a Computer Getting Familiar with Computer Basics^ chapter 1
Quality The tools that come with a computer enable you to create high-quality documents and drawings, even if you are not a typesetter or an artist. With just a few simple techniques, you can create documents that look professional or are exactly suited to your present task.
New Skills Because we live in a computer age, you often require basic computer skills to accomplish many daily tasks. Typing on a keyboard, using a mouse, and other basic computer skills are useful in many different situations and are often required by employers.
Speed Computers allow you to perform many everyday tasks more quickly. For example, if you mail a letter to a friend, he or she may receive it in a few days. However, if you send an e-mail, it will be received in a few minutes. Similarly, if you manually compose a newsletter, it may take you a week, whereas using a computer, it may take just an afternoon.
What You Can Do
with a Computer
Monitor Your Finances You can use your computer to perform basic financial management. For example, you can create a budget, record expenses, balance your checkbook, calculate your taxes, and monitor your mortgage. If you run a small business, you can allocate income and expenses, create financial reports, and calculate your profit and loss.
Perform Research You can use your computer and the Internet to research almost any topic that you can think of. For example, you can learn more about a vacation destination, trace your family history, access back issues of newspapers and magazines, and compare products before you buy them.
Create Documents You can use your computer to create letters, resumes, memos, reports, newsletters, brochures, business cards, menus, flyers, invitations, and certificates. Anything that you use to communicate on paper, you can create using your computer.
What You Can Do with
a Computer (continued)
Make New Friends You can use your computer and the Internet to enhance your social life. You can chat with other people by typing messages to them, join mailing lists, find support groups, find clubs and organizations in your area, and find a date.
Keep in Touch
You can use your computer to communicate with friends, family, colleagues, and clients that you do not often see face to face. You can send e-mail messages and instant messages, and you can even talk to another person using a microphone and your computer’s speakers.
Learn New Life Skills
You can use your computer to learn new life skills. Programs are available that teach you how to speak a different language, play chess, cook, garden, design a home, play a musical instrument, and design and make clothes.
Buy and Sell You can use your computer and the Internet to buy and sell things. Many online stores enable you to purchase anything, from books to baby accessories, and have it delivered to your door. There are also auction sites, such as eBay, that enable you to sell items that you create or that you no longer need.
Create Items You can use your computer to bring out your creative side. For example, you can create your own greeting cards or wedding invitations, draw pictures, manipulate digital photos, edit digital movies, record sounds, and compose music.
Play Media
You can use your computer to play digital media, including music CDs, audio files, video files, animations, DVDs, music, and movies that you have downloaded from the Internet.
Play Games You can use your computer to play many different types of games. You can solve a puzzle, fly a plane, race a car, go on an adventure, play football or baseball, battle aliens, plan a city, play backgammon or checkers, or deal poker.
Getting Familiar with Computer Basics (^) chapter 1
Handheld PC A handheld PC is a very small computer — usually weighing less than a pound — that you can hold comfortably in your hand or carry in a jacket pocket. A handheld PC is also called a personal digital assistant (PDA) or palmtop. Most people use a handheld PC to store their schedules and check their e-mail while out of the office. A newer type of handheld computer is the ultra mobile PC (UMPC), which comes with a relatively large screen and can run a wider variety of programs than most handheld PCs.
Server
A server is a powerful computer that acts as a central resource for a number of other computers that are connected to it. These other computers can be desktops or stripped-down terminals that use the server to run programs and store data. Some servers are mainframes , which are giant computers that run large-scale operations, such as airline reservation systems.
Tablet PC
A tablet PC is a computer that looks similar to a small notebook. However, the tablet PC screen pivots so that it lies on top of the keyboard, making it look like a writing tablet. You can use a digital pen to input your data, or select items on the screen.
Getting Familiar with Computer Basics (^) chapter 1
Tour the Personal
Computer
HP Pavilion m7750n
SmartMedia/CompactFlashI/II/MDxD MMC/RS/Plus/MS/PRO/Duo/PRO DuoSD/MiniMobile
Main Personal Computer Parts
Front of a Personal Computer Case
Tour the Personal
Computer (continued)
HP Pavilion m7750n
SmartMedia/xD MMC/RS/Plus/SD/MiniMobile CompactFlashI/II/MD MS/PRO/Duo/PRO Duo
Power Switch When the computer is off, press the power switch to turn the computer on. When you have finished working with your computer and have shut down all of your programs, press the power switch again to turn off the computer.
Activity Light The activity light flashes on and off when your computer is performing a task, such as accessing the main hard disk.
Memory Card Readers The memory card readers are slots into which you can insert various types of memory cards, which are a form of portable storage. See Chapter 2.
Front Access Ports The front access ports are similar to many of the ports on the back of the computer (see the next page), but are often easier to reach.
CD or DVD Drive A CD drive is a storage device that accepts data CDs (compact discs), which resemble musical CDs. Most new computers have a DVD drive , which accepts data DVDs. For more information, see Chapter 2.
Personal Computer Ports
Getting Familiar with Computer Basics (^) chapter 1
R (^) DTV Ant
outdigital audio
ETHERNET
side rear rear mic out in
Keyboard Port You use the keyboard port to plug in the keyboard.
Mouse Port You use the mouse port to plug in the mouse.
Monitor Port You use the monitor port to plug in the monitor.
USB Ports You use a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port to plug in a USB device. Many computer peripherals — including keyboards, mice, and printers — come in USB versions.
FireWire Port You use a FireWire port — also known as the IEEE 1394 port — to plug in a FireWire device. Devices such as digital video cameras often use FireWire connections.
Network Port You use the network port to plug in a cable that connects to a network or to a high-speed Internet modem. This is also called an Ethernet port.
Sound Ports You use the sound ports to plug in sound devices, such as your speakers (the green port on most systems) and microphone (the pink port). Some systems have Line In and Line Out ports to connect the computer to external audio equipment.
TV Tuner Ports You use TV tuner ports to connect a Media Center PC to a TV. The TV tuner ports enable you to send signals to and receive signals from a TV.
FM Antenna Port You use an FM antenna port to connect an FM antenna, which enables a Media Center PC to receive FM radio signals.
Modem Port You use the modem port to connect your computer’s internal modem to your telephone system.
Application Software Application software refers to the programs that you interact with to perform specific computer tasks. For example, a word-processing program enables you to create documents such as memos and letters, a graphics program enables you to draw an image, and an e-mail program enables you to send and receive e-mail messages.
System Software System software refers to programs that operate behind the scenes to ensure that your computer system functions properly. This software is most often referred to as the operating system. Some examples of system software include Windows Vista and Mac OS X. For more information about the operating system, see Chapter 2.
Windows VistaWindows VistaWindows VistaWindows Vista
Explore Computer
Software Getting Familiar with Computer Basics^ chapter 1
