I)
Things to consider before buying a computer—think about your purposes
A) What purpose will it serve?
E-mailing, Internet browsing, Internet shopping, word processing, graphics,
playing media?
B)
What
software will I be using that will help me meet these purposes?
C)
What
kind of computer will run the software I need to meet the purposes?
D) How much do I have to spend
(it won’t help me if I spend less money but can’t meet the purposes I have
purchased the computer for)
E)
Do
I want to spend the time to learn?
F)
How
long should I keep my computer? Every 14 months or so the computer industry
doubles what computers can do, but if the computer still serves your purposes,
you don’t need to buy a new one.
II).
Aspects of the computer
A) Hardware is the part of the computer you can
touch—keyboard, mouse, monitor, printer, etc.
B) Software is what runs on your computer—you can’t
touch it but you can use it
C) Memory
D) The operating system--a layer of software between
the hardware and the software
A)
Mouse
1) A ball underneath mouse moves around a
surface causing a pointer to move around the monitor screen
2) There are 3 types of clicks—click,
double-click, and right-click
3) Click means to push the left mouse
button
4) Right-click brings up a menu related to
exactly where you are on the screen
5) Playing a game like solitaire builds your
mouse skills and allows you to try out all the things you can do with a mouse
B) Keyboard is another method of entering
information—what can you do with the keyboard?
1) You can type in text
2) You can use keys and
combinations of keys to make things happen
a)
Enter
key—above right-shift key—works like typewriter return
b) Alt and CTRL keys located on both sides of the
spacebar can be used in combination with other keys to execute actions
c) ESC key in the upper left corner helps to get you
out when you’re stuck
d) Function keys F1 through F12 is another way to do
things—F1 typically displays help information about using a program
C) Processor
1) CPU or Central Processing Unit determines how
powerful your computer is—measured in units from megahertz (MGZ) to gigahertz
(GHZ)
2) How much CPU you need is determined by what you
want to do with your computer (your purposes)
3) The basic user needs enough CPU to run word
processing, Internet, home accounting, low-level photo software
4) The outside of the box
will tell you type of chip and units
D) Printers
1)
Ink
jet (also called Bubble jet)
a)
Price
range is $50.00 to $500.00
b)
Can
be non-photo quality or photo quality
c)
DPI
(dots per inch) is the unit of measurement for ink jet printers
d)
Most
printers people choose today are close to high end because people want to print
photos
e)
Some
printers use single cartridges for all colors and when you run out of one
color, you have to throw out the whole tank. Higher end printers have colors in
individual tanks.
f)
Speed—how
fast does it print? Measured in pages per minute
2)
Laser
a)
High
speed
b)
Crisp
text
c)
Price
range is $500.00-$10,000.00
d)
Usually
used for business purposes
V)
Memory
A) RAM or Random Access Memory—short-term memory
1)
Ram
is memory used actively while you’re doing things
2)
Important
because you will do many things simultaneously as you become more proficient.
You need enough short-term memory to support what you are doing so your
computer won’t freeze or crash.
3)
How
much Ram do you need?
a) Get as much Ram as you can afford because you can
never have enough Ram
b) 128 megabytes of Ram is good for the basic user
4) Units of measurement
a) A bit is the basic measurement of the amount of
information stored on a computer or the amount of room you have to store it
b) A bit is the smallest unit (like a penny in money
units) and is shown with small b
c) A byte is the next size up—it equals 8 bit units
and is shown as using a capital B
d) Units go on up through
megabytes and gigabytes
B) Hard drive—long term
memory
1) Where all your computer’s memory is stored—long
term—not just what you’re using at a given moment
2) Still measured in units
of bits, megabytes, etc.
C) CD
Rom—memory stored on a disk
1)
Information
on disk can be loaded onto your computer through your CD Rom drive—software can
be loaded this way
2)
Can
play music off a CD
3)
CD
Rom speeds are measured as kilobytes per second
a)
Measured
from single speed through 50X (times)
b)
A
slower player doesn’t present things as smoothly as you would like but a good
sound card will create a sound that’s as powerful or better than your home
stereo system
c)
A
cheap computer will have a lower quality sound card but you can purchase a
better one and have put in it
VI)
Operating system
1)
Windows
(Windows 95, 98, 2000—also called ME, XP)
2)
Mac
3)
Linux
B) Windows
1) Before Windows there was DOS, in which every
application was done in an entirely different way
2) Now, with Windows, there’s consistency—Windows is
the glue that holds everything together
4)
What
about Windows XP?
a)
Takes
a lot of space because of its higher system requirements
b)
Requires
more Ram, more hard drive, super VGA video adapter
c)
Have
to have 233 MHZ processor
d)
64
Ram minimum, 128 recommended
e)
Not
compatible with current printer, scanner, etc.
f)
It
is a good program, superior in some ways, but if you want it you should purchase
it with a new computer designed for it to get around the problems