INTRODUCTION

Computers are showing up everywhere you look, and even in places you can't see. Computers check out your groceries, pump your gas, dispense money at the ATM, turn the heat on and off, control the way your car runs. They're everywhere! They're everywhere! In fact, the computer is rapidly becoming, as tightly woven into the fabric of our lives as the automobile. When automobiles were new, many people said "Those smelly, loud, complicated things will never replace the horse!" And "Those things break down in just a few miles, while my faithful horse goes on and on and repairs itself!" Nowadays it's hard to imagine the world without all the variety of four-wheeled, internal combustion vehicles. How many can you name? Sedans, pickup trucks, fire engines, front-end loaders, 4-wheelers, golf carts, bulldozers, cranes, vans, dump trucks... We have an "automobile" for every purpose under heaven - and in different models and colors, too.

So it is with computers. There are different kinds of computers for different purposes. They are just as varied in size, expense, and ability as our more familiar 4-wheeled vehicles are.

What is a computer?
A computer is an electronic device that executes the instructions in a program. A computer has four functions: a. accepts data b. processes data c. produces output d. stores results

Input Processing Output Storage

Some Basic Terms

Hardware Software Data Information the physical parts of the computer. the programs (instructions) that tell the computer what to do individual facts like first name, price, quantity ordered data which has been massaged into a useful form, like a complete mailing address

What makes a computer powerful?

Speed

A computer can do billions of actions per second.

Reliability

Failures are usually due to human error, one way or another. (Blush for us all!)

Storage

A computer can keep huge amounts of data.

LESSON 1 : COMPUTER TYPES

There is a computer for every use under heaven, or so it seems. Let's look at the kinds of computers that there are, based on general performance levels.

Personal or micro
Computers for personal use come in all shapes and sizes, from tiny PDAs (personal digital assistant) to hefty PC (personal computer) towers. More specialized models are announced each week - trip planners, expense account pads, language translators...

Hand-held (HPC)

PDA

Tablet PC

Laptop

Desktop

Tower

Workstation

When talking about PC computers, most people probably think of the desktop type, which are designed to sit on your desk. (Bet you figured that one out!) The tower and the smaller minitower style cases have become popular as people started needing more room for extra drives inside. Repairmen certainly appreciate the roominess inside for all the cables and circuit boards ... and their knuckles.

A workstation is part of a computer network and generally would be expected to have more than a regular desktop PC of most everything, like memory, storage space, and speed. The market for the smallest PCs is expanding rapidly. Software is becoming available for the small types of PC like the palmtop (PPC) and handheld (HPC). This new software is based on new operating systems like Windows CE (for Consumer Electronics). You may find simplified versions of the major applications you use. One big advantage for the newer programs is the ability to link the small computers to your home or work computer and coordinate the data. So you can carry a tiny computer like a PalmPilot around to enter new phone numbers and appointments and those great ideas you just had. Then later you can move this information to your main computer. With a Tablet PC you use an electronic stylus to write on the screen, just like with a pen and paper, only your words are in digital ink. The Tablet PC saves your work just like your wrote it (as a picture), or you can let the Hand Recognition (HR) software turn your chicken-scratches into regular text.

Main frame
The main frame is the workhorse of the business world. A main frame is the heart of a network of computers or terminals which allows hundreds of people to work at the same time on the same data. It requires a special environment - cold and dry.

Supercomputers
The supercomputer is the top of the heap in power and expense. These are used for jobs that take massive amounts of calculating, like weather forecasting, engineering design and testing, serious decryption, economic forecasting, etc. A Gallery of images of Cray supercomputers - from the current model back to the earliest.

The first Cray supercomputer was

introduced in 1976 - the Cray-1.

Distributed or Grid Computing

The power needed for some calculations is more than even a single supercomputer can manage. In distributed computing using a PC grid many computers of all sizes can work on parts of the problem and their results are pooled. A number of current projects rely on volunteers with computers connected to the Internet. The computers do the work when they are not busy otherwise. The projects that need distributed computing are highly technical. For example, the http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/ project looks for signs of intelligent communication in radio signals coming from space. (SETI stands for Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence.) If you volunteer your computer for this project, you might be asked to load a small screen-saver program onto your own computer. When the computer is not busy, the screen saver comes on. The program downloads some signal data, starts to analyze it, and later reports the results back to SETI@Home. Once the program is installed, you do not have to do anything else but watch the progress in the screen saver. Another method does not use a screen saver, but uses any idle time on your computer to work on the project. Results are sent to the project's home over the Internet. Some current distributed computing efforts are: Entropia: FightingAIDS@Home http://folding.stanford.edu/ modeling evolution of resistance to drugs and designing better AIDS treatments working on how proteins fold, which is important to understanding how they work and reproduce Distributed.Net cryptography and mathematical problems http://demo.cs.brandeis.edu/golem/ (Genetically Organized Lifelike Electro Mechanics) evolving robots PiHex calculating the value of Pi to certain large places (done!)

Other Important Terms

Server
The term server actually refers to a computer's function rather than to a specific kind of computer. A server runs a network of computers. It handles the sharing of equipment like printers and the communication between computers on the network. For such tasks a computer would need to be somewhat more capable than a desktop computer. It would need:

more power larger memory larger storage capacity high speed communications

Minicomputer
The minicomputer has become less important since the PC has gotten so powerful on its own. In fact, the ordinary new PC is much more powerful than minicomputers used to be. Originally this size was developed to handle specific tasks, like engineering and CAD calculations, that tended to tie up the main frame.

LESSON 2 : INPUT DEVICES

What is Input? Input

Processing Output Storage

Everything we tell the computer is Input. Types of Input

Data is the raw facts given to the computer. Programs are the sets of instructions that direct the computer. Commands are special codes or key words that the user inputs to perform a task, like RUN "ACCOUNTS". These can be selected from a menu of commands like "Open" on the File menu. They may also be chosen by clicking on a command button. User response is the user's answer to the computer's question, such as choosing OK, YES, or NO or by typing in text, for example the name of a file.

Keyboard
The first input device we will look at is the Keyboard. The image used on the next page to illustrate the various keys may not look like the keyboard you are using. Several variations are popular and special designs are used in some companies. The keyboards shown below put the

function keys in different places. The Enter and Backspace keys are different shapes and sizes. One has arrow keys while the other doesn't. It's enough to confuse a person's fingers!!

The backslash key has at least 3 popular placements: at the end of the numbers row, above the Enter key, and beside the Enter key. We also have the new Windows keyboards which have two new keys. One pops up the Start Menu and the other displays the right-click context sensitive menu. Ergonomic keyboards even have a different shape, curved to fit the natural fall of the wrists.

POINTING DEVICES A variety of pointing devices are used to move the cursor on the screen.
The most commonly used ones have two or three buttons to click and for special functions.

Mouse

A ball underneath rolls as the mouse moves across the mouse pad. The cursor on the screen follows the motion of the mouse. Buttons on the mouse can be clicked or double-clicked to perform tasks, like to select an icon on the screen or to open the selected document. There are new mice that don't have a ball. They use a laser to sense the motion of the mouse instead. High tech! Advantage: Moves cursor around the screen faster than using keystrokes. Disadvantage: Requires moving hand from keyboard to mouse and back. Repeated motion can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome

Trackball

Instead of moving the whole mouse around, the user rolls the trackball only, which is on the top or side.

Advantage:

Does not need as much desk space as a mouse. Is not as tiring since less motion is needed. Disadvantage: Requires fine control of the ball with just one finger or thumb. Repeated motions of the same muscles is tiring and can cause carpal tunnel syndrome. Glidepad Uses a touch sensitive pad for controlling cursor. The user slides finger across the pad and the cursor follows the finger movement. For clicking there are buttons, or you can tap on the pad with a finger. The glidepad is a popular alternate pointing device for laptops. Advantage: Does not need as much desk space as a mouse. Can readily be built into the keyboard. Has finer resolution. That is, to achieve the same cursor movement onscreen takes less movement of the finger on the glidepad than it does mouse movement. Can use either buttons or taps of the pad for clicking. Disadvantage: The hand tires faster than with a mouse since there is no support. Some people don't find the motion as natural as a mouse. Game Devices Cursor motion controlled by vertical stick (joystick) or arrow buttons (gamepad)

Advantage:

A joystick gives a more natural-feeling control for motion in games, especially those where you are flying a plane or spaceship. Both have more buttons for special functions than a mouse and can combine buttons for even more actions.

Disadvantage: More expensive Bulky Better ones require an additional peripheral card for best performance Pen Input Used esp. in Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) Pen Input is used for:

Data Input -

Pointing Device -

Command Gestures -

by writing. PDA recognizes your handwriting. (If only your friends could, too!) Functions like a mouse in moving a cursor around the screen and clicking by tapping the screen. You can issue commands by moving pen in patterns. So a certain kind of swirl would mean to save the file and a different kind of swirl could mean to open a new file.

Advantage:

Can use handwriting instead of typing Can use gestures instead of typing commands small size Disadvantage: Must train device to recognize handwriting. Must learn gestures or train device to recognize the ones you create Can lose the pen which is not usually attached to the device Touchscreen Make selection by just touching the screen.

Advantage: It's natural to do - reach out and touch something. Disadvantage: It's tiring if many choices must be made. It takes a lot of screen space for each choice since fingers are bigger than cursors.

Digitizers and Graphics Tablets

Converts drawings, photos, etc. to digital signal. The tablets have special commands

Advantage: Don't have to redraw graphics already created Disadvantage: Expensive

LESSON 3 : OUTPUT DEVICES

What is Output?
Input Processing

Output
Storage

Output is data that has been processed into useful form, now called Information

Types of Output
Hard copy: printed on paper or other permanent media

Soft copy: displayed on screen or by other non-permanent means

Categories of Output

Text documents including reports, letters, etc.

Graphics charts, graphs, pictures

Multimedia combination of text, graphics, video, audio

The most used means of Output are the printer and the computer screen. Let's look at the features of each.

PRINTER
The job of a printer is to put on paper what you see on your monitor. How easy this is to do
and how successfully it is done determines whether or not you are happy with your printer choice. Monitor screens and printers do not use the same formatting rules. In the olden days of computers, the way something looked on the screen could be VERY different from how it would look when printed. Early word processors didn't have a way to show what the printed version would look like. Now a word processor that doesn't have print preview, would be laughed off the shelf. Most have a WYSIWYG view, where you see almost exactly what the document will look like in print, while you are still working on it.

How fast? The speed of a printer is measured in:

cps = characters per second lpm = lines per minute ppm = pages per minute

The faster the printing, the more expensive

the printer.

What paper type used?

Continuous-Form Paper Advantage: Dont need to put in new paper often Disadvantage: May need to separate the pages and remove the strips of perforations Single Sheet Advantage: Can change to special paper easily, like letterhead or envelopes Disadvantage: Must add paper more often

What print quality?

LQ Letter Quality = as good as best typewriter output NLQ Near Letter Quality = nearly as good as best typewriter output Draft used internally or for a test print The better the quality, the slower the printing.

A more numerical measure of print quality is printer resolution. Measured in dots per inch
(dpi), this determines how smooth a diagonal line the printer can produce. A resolution of 300 dpi will produce text that shows jagged edges only under a magnifying glass. A lower resolution than this will produce text with stair-step edges, especially at large sizes. Even higher resolutions are needed to get smooth photo reproduction. Professionals in graphics use 1200 to 2400 dpi printers.

What will it print? Printers vary in what varieties of type they can print. You must know the limits of your printer
to avoid unhappy surprises! Typeface Set of letters, numbers, and special characters with similar design

Styles Size

Bold, italic, underlined... Measured in points One point = 1/72 of an inch like: 12 pt 18

pt 24

pt

36 pt

Font Color Graphics

Use 10 or 12 pt for writing a letter or report. A complete set of letters, etc. in the same typeface, style, and size Printing in color takes longer, uses more expensive inks/toner, looks best on more expensive papers, but can add a lot to the quality of the output Pictures add a lot to a document, but not all printers can print graphics.

How big? The footprint, or the physical size of a printer, determines where it can
be placed.

What kind of cable connection?

Serial cable Sends data only 1 bit at a time Printer can be up to 1000 feet away from the computer. Maximum data transfer speed = 115 kilobits/s (.115Mbits/s)

Parallel cable

Sends data 8 bits at a time Printer must be within 50 feet of the computer. Maximum data transfer speed: 115 kilobytes/s (.115MBYTES/s). This is 8 times faster than the maximum

serial speed. Newer printers may need bi-directional cable so that the printer can talk back to the computer. Such a cable is required if the printer can give helpful error messages. It's startling, but nice, the first time your computer politely says "Ink is getting low" or "Please place paper in the AutoSheet feeder." USB cable Printer must be within 5 meters (16.5 feet) of the computer, when connecting straight to the computer. [You can hook up several 5 m. cables and USB hubs in a chain - up to 25 meters.] Maximum data transfer speed: 12 megabits/s (1.5 MBYTES/s) Lots faster! Best choice: The new USB (Universal Serial Bus) connection is likely your best choice, if your printer can use it. It is faster and a USB connector can be unplugged and replugged without turning off the system. USB ports are gradually, but rapidly, replacing parallel ports. The printer cannot handle the data as fast as the USB port can send it. The real limit on how fast a printer works is in how fast printer can get the characters onto the paper. Serial cable may have to be used if a printer is shared in a fairly large office, due to the length needed.

LESSON 4 : MEMORY STORAGE

What is Storage?
Input Processing Output

Storage Storage refers to the media and methods used to keep information available for later use. Some
things will be needed right away while other won't be needed for extended periods of time. So different methods are appropriate for different uses

Remember from early times all the kinds of things that are stored in Main Memory. Thus,

Main Memory

Primary Storage is Main Memory

This keeps track of what is currently being processed. It's volatile. (power off erases all data) Poof!!

For Main Memory, computers use RAM, or Random Access Memory. This uses memory chips and is the fastest but most expensive type of storage.

Secondary Storage is called Auxiliary Storage

This is what is not currently being processed. This is the stuff "filed away", but ready to be pulled out when needed. It is nonvolatile. (power off does not erase) Auxiliary Storage is used for: Input - data & programs Output - saving results of processing

So, Auxiliary Storage is where you put last year's tax info, addresses for old customers, programs you may or may not ever use, data you entered yesterday - everything that is not being used right now.

MAGNETIC DISKS Of the various types of Auxiliary Storage, the types used most often involve some type of
magnetic disk. These come in various sizes and materials, as we shall see. This method uses magnetism to store the data on a magnetic surface.

Advantages: high storage capacity reliable gives direct access to data A drive spins the disk very quickly underneath a read/write head, which does what its name says. It reads data from a disk and writes data to a disk. (A name that actually makes sense!)

Types of Magnetic Disks

Diskette / Floppy Disk Sizes:

5"

3"

Both sizes are made of mylar with an oxide coating. The oxide provides the magnetic quality for the disk. The "floppy" part is what is inside the diskette covers - a very floppy piece of plastic (i.e. the mylar) Other Removable Media Several other kinds of removable magnetic media are in use, such as the popular Zip disk. All of these have a much higher capacity than floppy disks. Some kinds of new computers come without a floppy disk drive at all. Each type of media requires its own drive. The drives and disks are much more expensive than floppy drives and disks, but then, you are getting much larger capacities. Hard Disks These consist of 1 or more metal platters which are sealed inside a case. The metal is one which is magnetic. The hard disk is usually installed inside the computer's case, though there are removable and cartridge types, also. Technically the hard drive is what controls the motion of the hard disks which contain the data. But most people use "hard disk" and "hard drive" interchangeably. They don't make that mistake for floppy disks and floppy drives. It is clearer with floppies that the drive and the disk are separate things.

OPTICAL DISKS

An entirely different method of recording data is used for optical disks.

You may guess from the word "optical" that it has to do with light. You'd be exactly right! To make an optical disk, tiny lasers create peaks and valleys in a plastic layer on a circular disk. In the device that reads the optical disk these peaks and valleys are read as 1's and 0's by shining another laser on the disk.

CD ROM The most common size of optical disk is the CD-ROM, which stands for Compact
Disk - Read Only Memory. It looks just like an audio CD. Almost all software is being distributed on CDs now. The price of the drives that read the disks (but can't write one) has dropped low enough that a new system will come with a CD drive unless you go to some effort to avoid it! Such drives will also play your audio CDs, if you have a sound card and speakers. The CDs that contain commercial software are of the Write Once Read Many (WORM) variety. They can't be changed once they are created. This is where the ROM part comes from. The CD-ROM is useful as a backup medium only when you really need indefinite storage of non-changing material. For data that changes often it is too expensive since a disk can only be used once. What you need for backup storage of changing data are rewritable disks. These use a different material for the laser to work on that can be softened and lasered again. The drives and disks are still quite expensive. But prices are dropping fast.

Advantages
1. The optical disk is much sturdier than the other media discussed so far. It is physically harder to break or melt or warp. 2. It is not sensitive to being touched, though it can get too dirty or scratched to be read. 3. It is entirely unaffected by magnetic fields. Plus you can imprint a pretty label right on the disk!

So for software providers, the optical disk is a great way to store the software and data that they want to distribute or sell.

Disadvantages
1. The main disadvantage has been cost. But the cost of a CD-RW drive has dropped drastically and quickly. In 1995 such a drive was around $3000. In the summer of 1997 CD-RW drives were down to just under $1000. In june 2003 a CD-RW that will read at 40X speed, write on CD-R media at 40X speed, and write on rewritable media at 12X, can be bought for under $100 US!! So for commercial use, the read/write drives are quite cost effective. For personal use, they are available, but may not be quite yet cheap enough to use for data storage for most folks. The cost of disks can add up, too. Recordable disks (one time only) cost about $.30 US each (june 2003). Re-writable disks cost about $.64 to $.85 each. 2. It is not easy to copy an optical disk. (This is an advantage as far as commercial software providers are concerned!) This is balanced by the fact that it is not as necessary to have extra copies since the disk is so much sturdier than other media.

LESSON 5 : OPERATING SYSTEM

Operating systems Between the hardware and the application software lies the operating system. The operating
system is a program that conducts the communication between the various pieces of hardware like the video card, sound card, printer, the motherboard and the applications.

Common Operating Systems Originally the operating system was created by each company that manufactured a processor
and motherboard. So each operating system was proprietary, that is, unique to each manufacturer. Problem: changing to a new computer meant your software had to be replaced! Not good marketing. So there was pressure early on to standardize things so that software could be transferred to the new (and of course better!) computer. This required more standardization in operating systems.

The winner in the PC market was MS-DOS, Microsoft's Disk Operating System, and its twin at IBM, PC-DOS, also written by Microsoft. Now it's hard to recall those days when each computer had its own unique operating system. More on DOS Commands

Windows 95 and Windows 98 are actual operating systems on their own. The previous versions of Windows use DOS as the operating system and adding a graphical user interface which will do multitasking. But with Windows 95 Microsoft released an operating system that can take advantage of the 32-bit processors.

Windows Me (Windows Millennium Edition) is an upgrade of Windows 98, release date Sept. 14, 2000. The system resources required for this operating system are significantly higher than previous versions of Windows.

Windows NT (the NT apparently came from New Technology) is an operating system for client-server type networks. The latest version of NT has a user interface that is practically identical to Windows 95. Since Windows NT is designed for the higher demands of networks, it has higher demands itself for disk space and memory.

Windows 2000 is an upgrade of Windows NT rather than of Windows 98.

Windows XP is an upgrade to Windows 2000. It comes in two versions - Home and Professional. The Professional version contains all the features of the Home version plus more business features, like networking and security features. Microsoft: Which edition to choose

Windows CE is for small devices like palmtop and handheld computers. Lite versions of a number of major applications are available to run on these devices. You can link your small computer to a regular one to synchronize documents and data.

The Apple Macintosh is a multitasking operating system that was the first graphical interface to achieve commercial success. The Mac was an immediate success in the areas of graphics production, and still commands the lion's share of that market. Apple made a major marketing error when they decided to keep their hardware and software under tight control rather than licensing others to produce compatible devices and programs. While the Apple products were of high quality, they were always more expensive than comparable products that were compatible with Microsoft's DOS operating system. Apple's share of the computer market has dropped to an estimated 2.4% worldwide and 3.48% of the US market (MacWorld July 3, 2002). This is an example of how a near lock on a market can be lost in a twinkling. Mac OS X, Version 10.2 (Jaguar) is the current version. Since January 2002, all new Mac computers use Mac OS X.

IBM's 32-bit operating system is OS/2. This is a popular system for businesses with complex computer systems from IBM. It is powerful and has a nice graphical interface.

Programs written for DOS and Windows can also run on this system. This system has never really caught on for PCs.

UNIX is an operating system developed by Bell Labs to handle complex scientific applications. University networks are likely to use UNIX, as are Internet Service Providers. A lot of people have experience with UNIX from their college work. Many computer old-timers love UNIX and its command line interface. But all those commands are not easy to remember for newcomers. X-Windows is a graphical interface for UNIX that some think is even easier to work with than Windows 98.

Linux is an operating system similar to UNIX that is becoming more and more popular. (And it has the cutest logo!) It is a open-source program created by Linus Torvalds at the University of Finland, starting in 1991. Open source means that the underlying computer code is freely available to everyone. Programmers can work directly with the code and add features. They can sell their customized version of Linux, as long as the source code is still open to others. You can find more info at the Linux home site. By the way, the word Linux is generally pronounced with a short I and the accent on the first syllable, like LIH-nucks. Here is a link to an audio file of Linus Torvalds pronouncing it in English.

LESSON 6 : UTILITY AND APPLICATION PROGRAMS

Utility Programs
Utility Programs perform tasks related to the maintaining of your computer's health - hardware or data. Some are included with the operating system. But someone always thinks they have a better version for you to buy. And they are frequently right!

File Management programs make it easier to manage your files. In the high days of DOS it didn't take much to improve on the text-only type-it-all-yourself methods that DOS provided. Many programs were written to help the user find files, create and organize directories, copy, move, and rename files. Some even used the mouse to point and click to accomplish these tasks. You don't appreciate the vastness of the improvement until you've tried to do these things from the command line. The newer graphical interfaces that come with operating systems like Windows 95 have reduced the need for alternate file management programs.

Disk Management programs involve formatting and defragmenting disks. Defragmenting means putting files on the disk so that the whole file is in sequence. This reduces the time to access the file. Some disk management programs even let you specify that certain files that are accessed often, like the operating system itself and frequently used programs, are at the front of the disk. Anything that speeds things up will have customers.

Memory Management software handles where in RAM programs put their current data. They move certain memory-resident items out of the way. This can effectively increase the memory available by getting all the unused pieces together in one spot, making a useable amount.

A Backup program, which also restores the backed up data, is a must if you have any data at all that you want to keep around for a while. The software will compress the data to take up the least space (Recall the problem with slack space we found in the discussion of Storage: Disk Format).

Data Recovery programs are for those who just said "Whoops!" They attempt to recover deleted or damaged (corrupted) files.

Data Compression programs squeeze out the slack space generated by the formatting schemes

Anti-virus programs are another must-have program. They monitor the computer for the activity of viruses, which are nasty little programs that copy themselves to other disks to spread to other computers. Viruses can be merely annoying or they can be vastly destructive to your files.

Application Programs
Application programs are meant to accomplish specialized tasks they are designed for.

Word Processing
There are many different kinds of applications, all with lots of spiffy features. Word processing is the application that is used most often and most widely. We will start with it to learn about the terms and features that are common to most applications, as well as some that are specific to word processing. Then we will look at other major applications and what they do. Major word processors include Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, and Lotus WordPro.

Spreadsheet
A spreadsheet is the application of choice for most documents that organize numbers, like budgets, financial statements, grade sheets, and sales records. A spreadsheet can perform simple or complex calculations on the numbers you enter in rows and columns. Some popular spreadsheets include MS Excel, Lotus 1-2-3, and Quattro Pro.

Purpose:

Organizing numbers

Major Advantages: Can calculate for you using formulas Auto-update of related numbers when data changes Can display data in graphs and charts

Database

A database is a collection of data that you want to manage, rearrange, and add to later. It is a
good program to use to manage lists that are not entirely numbers, such as addresses and phone numbers, inventories, and membership rosters. With a database you could sort the data by name or city or postal code or by any individual item of information recorded. You can create forms to enter or update or just display the data. You can create reports that show just the data you are interested in, like members who owe dues. Both spreadsheets and databases can be used to handle much the same information, but each is optimized to handle a different type most efficiently. The larger the number of records, the more important the differences are. Some popular databases include MS Access, dBase, FoxPro, Paradox, Approach, and Oracle.
Purpose: Managing data

Major Advantages: Can change way data is sorted and displayed

Graphics
Graphics programs deal with pictures, either static or moving, flat or 3D. There are an amazing number of different formats for images in the world and no one program can handle them all. Adobe Photoshop is the most widely used graphics program for professionals. PaintShopPro is popular because it offers most of Photoshop's features at a lower cost and with a friendlier interface. There are many other programs. Some specialize in handling photographs or animations or creating logos. Purpose: To create and edit images

Presentations

This kind of program links together a sequence of slides containing text and graphics, for example for a sales presentation or training. It includes a number of tools for creating graphics that are quite useful. Examples of presentations programs: Microsoft PowerPoint, Corel Presentations, Lotus Freelance Graphics
Purpose: Turning information into visual form

Major Advantage: Pictures convey info faster than tables of numbers

Communications
These programs temporarily connect computers to each other to exchange information. They may use telephone lines or dedicated cables for the connection. This allows you, for example, to work at home on the weekend and transfer all you've done to your computer at work before you leave home. These are not the same as networking programs where computers are actually linked together all the time. Most communications programs now include many different communication functions in one interface.
Purpose: Major Advantage: Transmitting data and messages between computers Speed

A communications program includes one or more of the following actions:

sending and receiving files: FTP (File Transfer Protocol) exchanging messages in a group: chat programs private messages: instant messaging voice messages video conferencing phone calls over the Internet

Browser

An Internet browser is a program that lets you navigate the World Wide Web. [It's what you are using to view this page!] A browser displays web pages, keeps track of where you've been, and remembers the places you want to return to. More information is available over the Internet every day, and more tasks can be done. You can buy books, check on your bank account, buy and sell stocks, even order pizza over the Internet. But you have to have a browser to do it. Internet Explorer is by far the most popular browser, though there are many others around. Netscape was once the dominant browser and is still used, but it is falling further behind in market share all the time.
Purpose: Major Advantage: Navigating the Internet Can display graphics, which older internet applications don't Keeps a list of places you want to return to.

Email
Email, or electronic mail, is becoming more and more popular as people learn to communicate again with written words. For many purposes it is superior to a phone call because you don't have to catch the person in and you can get straight to the point. No time is wasted on casual conversation. It also leaves a written record to refer back to for a response or if you forget who said what. Email is superior to the traditional office memo because it uses no paper (Save the trees!!) and it can be sent to a whole list of people instantly. Commonly used email programs include Microsoft Outlook Express, Microsoft Outlook, Netscape Mail, Eudora, and Pegasus.

Purpose: Major Advantage:

Transmitting messages between computer users Speed

Major Disadvantage: You don't know if the receiver actually reads it, though you can find out if they received it. Of course in a phone conversation you don't really know if the person is actually listening either!

With no body language or vocal intonations it is difficult to convey the emotional tone you want. Irony and sarcasm are particularly dangerous since your reader may take you seriously.

Lesson: 7

Computer Relate Health Problems - For Kids

Previous : Lesson 6 - Home Adults use computers on a lot of jobs, unfortunately, many college students and adults have been hurt while using them. Using a computer can affect different parts of your body, like your fingers, hands, wrists, arms, shoulders, neck, back, and eyes. While computers look safe enough, there are some dangers that are good to know about, and you will want to avoid them as much as possible. Read on for some hints on staying healthy at the computer.

Little Bodies
Kid's bodies are a lot smaller than much of the furniture and equipment used with computers. If you have to use adult-sized chairs and desks at home and in school, you may be uncomfortable sitting and have awkward arm and head positions. There are some things you can do to feel more comfortable and protect your body at the same time. Let us see what can go wrong and how we can fix it!

Sitting
Your body does not move much when using the computer, so you want to make sure you are sitting comfortably in your chair.

Fitting the Chair to You

If you use adult-sized chairs that raise you up where your feet don't touch the ground and you can not sit back against the backrest without sticking you feet straight out, then it surely does not fit you well!

Pillows, pads, boxes, and big books can be used to help make the chair fit you better. If your feet don't reach the floor, use a footrest, or ask if you can stack up some thick books or a box under your feet. Pillows and pads can take up all that extra seat room that your small body does not need. This way you have something to lean back against and your feet to rest on.

Fitting the Chair to the Computer

If you have a chair that fits you, but the computer is on a table that is too high, pillows and pads can also be used to help you sit higher if you need to. If that does not work, try a larger chair or maybe a smaller computer table can be found.

The computer keyboard should be about as high as your belly -- not chest or shoulder height where you have to reach up to use it. Your arms, shoulder, and neck can get sore fast if the keyboard is too high for you!

Perfect Fit!
If you don't have any of the problems above, you may be one of the lucky kids that actually have a chair and computer table that fits! Some schools are making computer stations just the right size for kids, some are even adjustable -- Imagine that!

Computer Slump
Even with the perfect chair and computer table, you need to remember to lean back in your chair and rest on the backrest when you are typing. Don't slouch or lean forward, as this is bad on your back! Get into the habit of keeping a good back posture now and it will be happy for a long time.

But this is not the only thing you need to watch . . .

Keyboarding
When your use the keyboard, keep it close in front of you. Don't put it so far back that you need to reach forward to use it.

Straight Shot
Try to keep your wrists straight and level with your lower arms while you type. Avoid bending your wrists too much as it makes it harder for your

fingers to work and could hurt your wrist over time. Some kids like wrist rests in front of keyboards to help keep their wrists straight, but don't rest on them while typing.

Natural Curve
Your fingers have a natural curve, like a rainbow or waterfall. Allow your fingers to keep their curve as you type -- don't stretch and flatten them too much while typing.

Home Stretch
If you know how to rest on the home row and touch type, remember to move the whole hand to reach far-away keys . . . don't make your fingers stretch too far from home. Sometimes keyboards are too big for small fingers, move the hand to the keys and keep your fingers happy.

Thor's Hammer vs. Butterfly Dance

Type lightly. You don't need to pound on the keys like thunder . . . a light touch will work fine -- think of your fingers as butterflies dancing on the keys.

Mousing
Almost all computers have mice now. They are nice to point with and move things around on the computer, but you need to watch how you use them -otherwise they might turn around and bite you.

Squeeze Play
Some kids like to hold the mouse tightly. However, like hitting keyboard keys too hard, it is not a good idea. Use a light touch on the mouse while holding it as well as clicking its button(s). Too much force on the mouse tires the hands and arms using it -- a form of mouse bite!

Computer mice may be too big for little kid hands. You might try looking for a smaller mouse or use a trackball that does not need to be held, and you can also use several fingers at once to move the ball.

Straight Shot
Like when using the keyboard, try to keep your wrists straight and level while mousing around! Wrist rests can be helpful here as well. Many mouse pads come with built-in wrist rests to help keep straight wrists.

Vision

The Window to Your Computer

Besides your keyboard and mouse, there is also the computer monitor that you need to keep an eye on. In fact, that is probably about all you are looking at when you are using the computer -- and that is where a whole other set of problems start . . .

Left, Right, High, Low . . . Where does the Monitor Go?

The computer monitor (screen) should be right in front of you and a little lower than your eyes. By having the monitor off to the side or too high or low, you can end up being a real headache . . . not to mention that the neck and shoulders will surely hurt as well.

Remember that where the eyes go, the body follows. If you have to look to the side, up, or down, then your head and neck turn as well. Having the monitor too low can also cause you to slump in your chair as well. Sometimes the monitor sits on the computer case, so by moving the computer case to the side, the monitor can be lowered. If you need to raise the monitor, a few books underneath it will usually do the trick. There is also the option of adjusting yourself -- maybe you can adjust the height of your chair until you are in the right place.

That Blinding Light

Windows and indoor lights can make it harder to use computer monitors. It is hard on the eyes to try to adapt to see the monitor when there is a bright light that can also be seen at the same time (direct glare). There should be about the same amount of light coming from the screen and the area you can

see around the computer monitor. Moving the computer so that windows and lights are not in front of you, or putting a shade over windows and lights, can help to avoid this problem.

Washout
Another problem with light is that it can come from behind you and bounce off of the computer screen (indirect glare). When this happens it becomes harder to read what is on the screen. Moving the light or the computer may also be possible to solve the problem. Otherwise, a monitor hood or glare screen may be needed.

Break Away
Time can pass very fast when you are at the computer, or playing video games. It is important to do lots of different things during the day. Our bodies are not intended to hit keyboard, mice, and game controller keys for hours straight. Take a break and get away from the computer about every 30 minutes or so -- whether or not you feel an ache or pain. And if you do feel an ache or pain, that's a sure clue that you need to stop for a little while! Make sure to listen to your body's signals . . . it may be a cry for help! Get up and move around for a few minutes, some ideas are:

Take a quick walk around the house or apartment Call a friend and see how her work on the computer is going If you're hungry, grab a snack to give you some energy

Anything you do is OK, as long as it gets you to rest the muscles you've been using and use the muscles you've been resting. Pay special attention to your eyes, too: if they hurt or your eyelids twitch, you should stop for a bit. Looking away from the monitor every once in a while and focusing on something far away for a few seconds should give your eye muscles enough of a workout to keep them feeling OK.

Real World

Cyberspace and other computer uses can be educational and fun, but nothing compares to adventures and activities in the "real world". Don't get lost in cyberspace . . . get out and explore the world around you.

Health
Eating good foods and exercise are great ways to stay healthy. The healthier you are and the more you vary your activities throughout the day will help in avoiding problems from using the computer. Taking care of your body while at the computer means you'll feel better and be able to work and play better.

Computer Lessons for Kids and Small Adults

Introduction

These lessons are intended for young people (small adults are also allowed) to help you understand the basics of how computers work and how to use them. Like everything else you read, these words should not be taken as the gospel truth, just someone's perceptions, and you can use your own abilities to filter and absorb what helps you, and chuck the rest.

Why is it good to learn how computers work?

Inside this head, and inside many other heads, there are two kinds of knowledge; the memory work kind of knowledge and the logical kind of knowledge. People who have their computer knowledge on the memory work side often have problems installing new programs, using someone else's computer or adapting to new operating systems like Windows 95 and many other computer related difficulties. Things that should live on the memory work side of the brain are such things as "What is the capital of New York state?" and "Who was the King of England in 1675". There is no way that knowledge on the logical side can help you with these. For instance, logically speaking, New York City, a very major place, just has to be the capital of New York state, however it's

not. Albany is. You just have to memorize that. And logic is not going to help you with the king question either, I mean, what's logical about kings anyway? However, can you imagine the state we would be in if you had to memorize the answer to all the mathematical questions? "Okay, students, is there anyone here who hasn't memorized the answer to 457 + 7,985 - 598 ?" You can't memorize them all, but you can learn the logic behind them so you can figure them out. Then you can't be tricked! It is important that you learn how to figure out things about computers because there are just too many things to be done with them to try to memorize it all. Any ways, as anyone who has studied hard for a test the next day knows, it's always the stuff you didn't memorize that they ask! So, lets get started on putting your computer knowledge firmly on the 'logical' side of your brain.

Computer Lessons for Kids and Small Adults

Lesson 1 What do the parts do?

You are pretty familiar with your TV, maybe too familiar! The TV is mostly an output machine or device. This means that the stuff, be it information or junk, flows from the TV out to you. It also has some input controls so that you can give it some input. These are the volume control, the on off switch and the channel changer, which lives under the couch.

So output is the flow of information to you and input is the flow from you to the device.

Now computers. Computers have:

parts to receive input parts to give output parts to do work parts to remember things while the power is on (short term memory) parts to remember things when the power is off (long term memory)

What is kind of surprising is how much effort is spent getting input and giving output, and how little is actually spent on doing work! By work I mean heavy duty arithmetic or searching through long lists for a certain item.

So now, the parts of the computer.

The Parts of a Computer Item Duty

Monitor (screen)

Output

Printer

Output

Processor

Work

Keyboard

Input

Mouse

Input

Modem

Input and Output

Memory (RAM)

Short term storage

Floppy Disks

Long term storage

Hard Disks

Long term storage

The computers main job is to run programs. Programs are instructions in a language that computers and programmers understand. A programmer, or a team of programmers writes a program and saves it on a long term storage device like a floppy drive, a hard disk or a CDROM. Then, when you want to run that program, you type its name and the computer goes and gets the program off the hard drive, or wherever it is stored, and brings it into its short term storage, called RAM, and runs the program.

Computer Lessons for Kids and Small Adults

Lesson 2
The DOS Operating System
I think that people, who were forced to find their way around computers running the MS-DOS operating system, are at an advantage because they know what files are and where they live. Operating environments such as Windows and the MAC try to cover up these details, making it harder to learn what really is going on.

Picture yourself sitting at a computer with just the DOS prompt on the screen. The DOS prompt usually looks like this C:> . Did you know that there is a program running? Well, yes there is, it's the disk operating system, DOS. It's busy doing what it does best, which is waiting for you to tell it what to do. So you slide up to your trusty input device, the keyboard, and you type a word, say dor and then you press Enter. Before talking about what happens next, let's look at what just happened. Each time you pressed a letter, it actually did go to the computer, because it appeared on the output device, the monitor. If you follow the wires, you see that the only way to get to the monitor from the keyboard is through the computer! So, we learned something, DOS really is running because somehow the action of pressing a certain key on the keyboard input device, resulted in a letter being printed in the proper location on the screen output device! That is actually quite a feat, and computers had been around a long time before a program could do that. The fact that DOS puts the character whose key was

just pressed on the screen is called echoing and it's done only as a convenience to you, the user. And they say that DOS is not user friendly! DOS also knows enough not to try to interpret what you have typed until you press the

Enter key,

indicating you are finished. There is nothing magical about the Enter key, it is just another key, but one that the DOS program, and many other programs, have been programmed to recognize as "OK, I'm finished inputting, you figure out what I input.". Okay, so now DOS has three letters in a row, in computer terms called a string. The DOS program has a list of steps to follow when it receives a string from the keyboard.
Check to see if it is a command you recognize. If yes, then do it.

.com or .exe or .bat but has the same first part, such as dor.com or dor.exe or dor.bat. If there is, then get a copy of that file from the long term storage device
If not, then check to see if there is a file in the current directory that ends in and put it into the short term storage, the RAM, and run the program. If there is no such file in the current dir, then look in each directory that is listed in a list of directories called the Path. If you can find such a file, then, again, pull it into RAM and run it (called executing the file). If DOS has taken all of these steps and still can't interpret what you want, then, using the monitor output device, tell the user

'Bad command or file

name'.
Just be thankful that the computer wasn't given boots as an output device, because a kick in the shins would be more appropriate, after sending the poor thing on such a wild goose chase! So, one thing we've learned is that dor is a pretty meaningless word to both DOS and us! Now try typing dir Hey, that's better. dir is a command that DOS knows, and it means "list all the files and directories that are in the current directory." Now, when you see 'Bad command or file name' after telling DOS to do something, you don't have to just sit there with this confused look on your face. On the logical side of your brain you can figure out why you got that ouptut instead of the one you were expecting. If you had typed the name of a program, say

wp and were expecting to start-up Word Perfect,

but received that friendly 'Bad

command or file name' instead.

head exactly what DOS had tried to do.

then you can go over in your

First, it checked to see if wp was a command it recognized - no it wasn't. Then it looked for wp.com or wp.exe or wp.bat in its current directory, the directory the operating system was left in. If it was there, DOS would have grabbed the file off the hard drive and put a copy in the RAM. But it wasn't there. Then DOS looked in all the directories that are listed in its path variable. You can see what directories it looks in by giving DOS the command path. [ Giving DOS the command path means typing path at the dos prompt C:> and pressing

Enter ].

DOS spits out the list of directories it has been told to look in. It didn't find such a file there, so it told you so. DOS can be a lot of fun to program, and is actually an excellent place to start real programming. My daughter started with MicroWorlds Project Builder (Logo) and then we did some DOS programs and now she's writing small C++ programs.

Computer Lessons for Kids and Small Adults

Lesson 3 - Files, the Overview

The idea about files and directories is very important and actually if you can get a firm grasp of files, you are then on the downward side of the learning curve. If you understand files, you'll be able to figure out most things, and a lot of the black magic involved in using a computer, and a lot of the fear, will simply disappear. These lessons will spend a lot of time talking about files.

First I'll give a quick overview of files and then we will make comparisons between files and things you already know.

What do I mean by Files?

Files are clumps of computer data stored somewhere in your computer. Each file has a name, a location, and a length, and usually a date of when it was last changed. Files are stored in several places. on floppy disks on hard drives on CD's in the computers memory (RAM) in the computers special read only memory (ROM) on tapes of a tape back-up device. Any files that are in the memory of the computer are lost when the power is turned off. That is not as scary as it sounds because what you usually have in memory is only a temporary copy of the file, the original stays on the hard drive or floppy or wherever it is usually kept. Pretty well the only time the original is in memory is when you are creating a new file and haven't saved it yet.

What Do Files Do?

Files hold and store information that can be read by the computer. That's all they do.

What Kinds of Files Are There?

All files are basically the same, they all have a name, a location, a date and they all hold information. However, they can hold lots of different kinds of information, so we often think of this as different kinds of files. Actually it is just the type of information that is different.

Here are some of the main types of files you will encounter. They often have certain letters at the end of their names so you can tell from their names what sort of information is inside. Some files you can easily look at the information inside and many others you can't, at least not without a program that is specifically designed to look inside that type of file.
name What's inside A list of instructions for the computer, a program A list of instructions for the computer, a program A list of instructions for the computer, a program Text, that is readable information. Graphical information What does it do?

anything.com

It runs, you execute it by typing the name or double clicking on it.

anything.exe

It runs, you execute it by typing the name or double clicking on it. Bigger and more common that .com's

anything.bat

It runs, you execute it by typing the name or double clicking on it. Usually small and quite easy for you to make

readme.txt

It is there for you to read.

anything.gif

When viewed using a graphics program, you can see the picture.

lesson3.htm

Textual

When viewed using a browser

information

program, you can see the text in a pretty format. When viewed using an ordinary editor, you can see the text and the codes that make it pretty.

What do you do with files?

What you do with a file depends on the type of information that it holds, but some things can be done with all files. Run them - if they hold a program. Look inside them, if they hold graphics information or text. Listen to them, if they hold audio information. Copy them - this is one of the main things you will do. When you run a program, what actually happens is that the file, with the program inside, is copied from the long term storage device into the RAM, where its' list of instructions are executed (run). You also copy files from a floppy to your hard drive or from one place on your hard drive to another. Move them - This is like copying except that the original is NOT left behind. It is often safer to copy a file from one place to another and then delete the original, once you are sure the copy went well. Delete them. When you no longer need a particular file, you can zap it. Create them. When you compose a document in a word processor or any other program such as an editor or spreadsheet, you are creating a new file. Usually saving goes hand in hand with creating.

That is enough for an overview. You probably now are pretty sure what I mean when I talk of a file. Next comes two comparisons of files to things that are familiar and then a sort of history of files. A lot of this information is repeated again and again, so if you don't understand what I mean, don't worry about it, I'll be saying it again later! As I said, getting a firm grasp of handling files is essential to becoming a computer guru. It's almost all you need.