COMPUTER
BASICS
Welcome!
Computer
Basics is an introduction to personal computers, the Windows operating system,
and Windows-based programs (if you don’t know what any of that means, don’t
worry . . . you soon will!).
Some Basic Terms Defined
Hardware is the physical
parts of a computer system that you can see and touch. Besides the main box of the computer (called
the CPU, or Central Processing Unit), hardware also includes input devices, such as the keyboard and mouse, and output devices like the monitor and printer.
Software is the electronic instructions that tell
the computer what to do. Software often
comes pre-loaded on your computer’s hard drive, or it can be purchased and installed
by the user. The software that runs the
computer is called the operating system – typically a version
of Microsoft Windows. Other software programs,
called applications, help you
accomplish specific tasks like word processing or viewing the Internet.
Types of Computers
Windows-based PC
Various
companies including Dell, Gateway, and Hewlett-Packard manufacture these
computers, but they all have one thing in common – they’re designed to run the
Microsoft Windows operating system.
Applications for these computers must be Windows-compatible. The processor (the “brain” of the computer)
is typically an Intel Pentium.
Apple Macintosh
These
computers are manufactured exclusively by Apple. They run
a
different operating system called the Mac OS.
Applications, of course, must be Mac OS-compatible. The processor inside these computers is
typically a G4.
Once
Upon A Time . . .
We interacted with the first home
computers through a primitive system called DOS. The user typed a command at the prompt to
tell DOS what to do – making it necessary to remember scores of command words. The world wanted something easier!
Then along came the GUIs (graphical user
interfaces) – colorful new programs which allowed the user to point and click
instead of remembering command words.
Microsoft Windows and Apple’s Mac OS are the most popular GUIs.
