Figure 1.1: The USB symbol.
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What do you see in your mind when you think of a computer? A screen with a keyboard, right? But, of course, there is much more to a computer than that. Any part of the computer you can touch or see while the computer is unplugged is called hardware. (Note that this includes stuff that's there, but you can't get at it easily, like computer chips and wires and things like that.) Hardware can also be called external devices, because they are outside of the computer. But there are many types of hardware, and each does something different. So, what are they, and what do they do?
At the very heart of a computer system is the computer core, also known as the tower. (I prefer the term "computer core," however, because sometimes it doesn't really tower - it's just a box that sits on the desk.) The core contains all the vital components that are the guts of a computer: circuit boards, chips, and such. Inside the computer core's case is the central processing unit, commonly known as the processor or CPU. It also holds devices for reading media. In addition, it provides ports for hardware such as keyboards, printers, and monitors. A port is a receptacle for a plug on a cord leading to a device. The port serves as the interface between the device and the computer, enabling communication of data between the various parts of the system.
An exciting development in the computing world was the introduction of the Universal Serial Bus (USB) port technology in the middle of the 90s. The USB port is an oblong port that is located on either the front or the back of the computer core. Most new computers have two on the back, two on the front. (Ports on the front are usually hidden from view by a small door.) Near USB ports (and on most plugs designed for USB), there is a three-pronged arrow, the symbol of a USB device, as shown in Figure 1.1. The multi-purpose USB ports enable smooth two-way communications between a device and the computer core. Small amounts of power may also be sent through the cord.
Figure 1.1: The USB symbol.
USB ports are very simple to use. Simply plug the device in. If additional software (a driver, see below) is needed to use the device, Windows will prompt you for a disk containing the needed data. However, many types of devices are plug-and-play, meaning no setup is required.
A huge array of USB-compatible devices have been developed, including many models of the other hardware described throughout the remainder of this section - and more, such as Palm® and PocketPC® handheld computers, digital cameras, flash media, camcorders, and even coffee mug cozies.
Should you ever run out of ports, you can acquire more in the form of a USB hub, which is a device holding a number of ports, with a cord leading to a USB port in the computer. (One not-too-bright lady attempted to plug a USB hub into itself and could not figure out why it didn't work.)
On today's computers, there is a slanted arrow on the screen called a cursor. An external device called a mouse moves the cursor. Most mice have two buttons at one end of the mouse. The buttons make a clicking sound when pressed, so pressing a button on a mouse is called clicking. Unless it's otherwise stated, you click with the left button. Clicking with the right button is called right-clicking. You may also be instructed to double-click, which is clicking twice rapidly. To move the cursor, drag it across the desk in the direction you want to go to. To press an on-screen button, move the cursor with the mouse to the button, then click it.
Whenever the computer is busy, the cursor will change from an arrow to an hourglass to let you know that it is doing something.
Wheel mice have a small wheel between the two buttons. This is used for scrolling down when all the text can't fit on the screen.
Even though the mouse can be hard to master, it represents a pivotal role in the development of a computer. Before there was the mouse, all input was fed through the keyboard. (More about this below.)
The keyboard is a plastic holder with several buttons on top. There are buttons for all 26 letters and 10 digits. Pressing any button, or key, on the keyboard, is called pressing, pushing, or hitting it. There are other keys on the keyboard. One is the escape key, located at the upper left of the keyboard, only labeled ESC. This key is used for dropping out of a program or menu very quickly.
Now look to the right of ESC. There is a row of buttons labeled F1, F2, etc. These are called the F keys. There are usually 12 F keys, though a few keyboards go up to F40. F1 can be thought of as a universal help key. If you need help, most programs will provide it when F1 is pressed.
Notice that there are symbols above the number keys, such as @, #, $, and %. To access these, hold down the shift button while pressing the key you want. There are two SHIFT buttons, the one on the left side of the keyboard and one on the right. This is also used to capitalize letters. To type a capital "S," press down the "S" key while holding down SHIFT.
Above the right SHIFT is the enter key. ENTER is used to confirm text. For example, if you see a screen that says "ENTER PASSWORD" after typing in your password hit ENTER to confirm the text. ENTER is also used in word processing to start a new line, or in spreadsheets to move down a row.
NOTE
Some keyboards - especially those manufactured by Apple - label ENTER as RETURN. So, if my directions say "Hit ENTER," just hit RETURN. It should be in exactly the same location.
Look to the right of the right SHIFT. There are four arrow keys. These are used to scroll around between different things. For example, to move right one character in a text area, press the right arrow key. Pretty easy.
The big blank bar below the letter keys is the spacebar. It's used to insert spaces between words.
On either side of the space bar are two buttons, labeled CTRL and ALT. CTRL stands for 'Control', and, well, ALT is just ALT. They are used in conjunction with other keys to provide shortcuts to many common functions. Key combinations are listed with the two keys and a '+'. For example, CTRL + C. To press a key combination, hold down the first button (in the example, CTRL), and then press the second button (C). Some key combinations have 3 keys.
The far right end of the keyboard has a grid of 9 keys that looks like a calculator. This is the number pad or numpad. The numpad, however, serves two functions. What it does is determined by the num lock light, directly above the numpad. If the light is off, the numpad functions like the arrow keys (hitting 8 is like hitting UP). If the light is on, then the numpad functions like the regular numbers on the typewriter (hitting 8 types 8).
There are various areas all throughout the computer where you will need to input text. To type text, move your cursor over a text box. It will change to an I-beam-shaped bar. Now click where you want to type, and a | blinking vertical bar, called an insertion point, appears. You may now start typing. All text you type appears directly in front of the insertion point. This may sound weird, but once you try it out, it immediately makes perfect sense. If you've ever used a typewriter, just think of the insertion point as the carriage: where the new letters appear when you hit a key.
Deleting text is simple - hit Backspace, and the character immediately to the left of the insertion point disappears. But what if the mistake appears in the middle of the word, for example, you spelled "COOKIE" as "COPKIE"? Many beginners will just delete the PKIE, and then retype OKIE. However, you can move the insertion point over to the mistake by pressing the arrow keys, or by clicking directly behind the mistake. Then you can delete the mistake, and then return to where you were by clicking or moving with the arrow keys.
While nearly everyone is aware of the Backspace key, not as many know about the smaller Delete button right above the arrow keys. This Delete button acts just like the Backspace button, but it deletes text after the insertion point. This can occasionally be useful.
A crucial skill is learning to highlight text. This is telling the computer to select text so that you can change the whole block in some way, such as deleting it, replacing it, and so on. To do this, simply drag the cursor over the text you want to select. It turns white on a colored background to denote that it's currently being toyed with. Now to delete it, just hit Backspace like when you're deleting regular text. Or you can replace the selected text, simply by starting to type the text that you want to replace it with. To un-highlight something, click on something else or press an arrow key.
Look at the group of keys above the arrow keys, the group that contains the small delete key. There are four other keys there, which are designed to speed moving around in long texts. For example if you were reading a really long book on your computer screen (something I love to do), then it would obviously take a really, really long time to scroll all the way to the top of the screen if you wanted to get to the start of the text. Fortunately, there are these keys and key combinations that help make this easier.
Keyboards are relatively simple to take care of, but there are a few simple rules to follow:
The printer is an external device used to print computer data out on paper. The printer is connected to the computer's parallel port by way of a parallel cable - or to a USB port with a USB cable.
Printers come in two basic configurations - one with the paper tray sticking up at the back (like my Canon BJC-3000), and one with the paper tray in the front (like many Hewlett-Packards). There are all kinds of printers, so for help with yours, check with your printer manual or librarian.
A scanner is an optional device that is used to scan paper images (drawings, pictures in books, photos, etc.) and convert them into computer files for insertion into documents. You can also use the scanner as a basic copy machine. Scanners have saved my life in the past - I've lost worksheets before and used my scanner to make a quick copy of a neighbor's worksheet. Again, since there are infinite kinds of scanners, check with your manual or librarian for help.
Using a scanner with optical character recognition (OCR) software, you can scan text and convert it to an editable text file. OCR software is by no means perfect, but it can save some serious time. Rather than having to retype something out of a book, you can simply scan it. Beware - OCR software makes some mistakes, especially when processing handwritten content.
OK - you've got your hardware all set up. Now it's time to talk about software. Software is anything you can't see if the computer is off - things like files, programs, and the like.
To understand programs (also known as applications), we're going to flash back to the early Eighties. Computers were just starting to replace typewriters and teletypes, and Bill Gates and his crew wouldn't begin to hammer out the first version of Windows until several years into the future. In order to get your computer to do anything, you had to type everything in computer language - often Beginner's All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code (BASIC) was used.
This BASIC code was used to ask for two numbers and add them:
10 INPUT A 20 INPUT B 30 LET C = A+B 40 PRINT C 50 END
Such code could go on for thousands of lines. All those lines of code (source code) were saved under a single name (called compiling a program). With a single command, all the code could be run without having to type the whole program. Typing EXEC PROGRAM1 was much, much shorter than retyping the source code.
BASIC still lives on today in the form of Microsoft's Visual Basic, which uses standard Windows controls (described in detail in the next section) to reduce the amount of code you must write. VB (as it is known by programmers) is the probably the easiest programming language to learn. If you are interested in VB, a number of books are available on the subject.
NOTE
Many advanced programs, including Word, Excel, and Windows itself, along with the programs that make your toaster pop up at the right time, are written in C++, a considerably harder language to learn than VB. Other languages include C (an early version of C++), Pascal, FORTRAN, PERL, and Java.
There are many, many types of software to do different things. Many programs cannot be categorized under just one of these labels: Linux, for example, is an operating system, open source, and freeware.
Whatever kind of computer you have, from a supercomputer to a calculator, it must have an operating system. The operating system (or, as it is commonly known, the "OS" or "platform") is the basic software for controlling every aspect of the computer's existence. It organizes the computer's data, it recognizes other programs, configures hardware, and so much more. It automatically starts up (boots) when you turn on the computer.
In the 1970s, when computers were just appearing, there were many, many kinds of operating systems. Each model of computer usually had a specialized operating system. However, different operating systems are usually not compatible (you couldn't run a Windows program on a Mac) so, in turn, the computers were not compatible. Early operating systems included UNIX, Commodore, and the Mac OS.
NOTE
Apple is a company, not a computer. Macintosh is a model of computer made by Apple - but it also has its own OS, so most people equate the two.
Microsoft (then called Micro-Soft) acquired rights to the QDOS (Quick and Dirty Operating System) and renamed it MS-DOS (Micro-Soft Disk Operating System). DOS (as it is commonly called) quickly became popular and brought Micro-Soft into the limelight. DOS was a command-line system: There was no mouse; you had to type a command, which caused the computer to run a program or other function. (DOS can still be used today - see Appendix C.)
In 1985, Microsoft released Windows 1.0, which contained a GUI, a graphical user interface. Windows was designed to be an extension and replacement of DOS. While this was not a new invention - the first Mac OS had a GUI - it was a big step forward in the computer world. DOS was being pre-installed on new computers. Windows 1.0 was clunky, problematic, and hard to use. As a result, most people kept using DOS.
Version Numbers
It has long been programming practice to number each new version of a program with the syntax major.minor.revision. For example, Word 2000 has a version number of 9.0.2720, which indicates that it is the 9th major version, and the 2,720th revision of that major version. FrontPage 2000 has a version number of 4.2.2717. The reason they are both known as "2000" is because they are released as a set with the other members of the Microsoft Office suite. The set was released in 2000.
However, when Windows 3.0, 3.1, and 3.11 (3.1.1) were released, they were quickly adopted as the platform of choice. Windows was still not very powerful, but it had progressed far enough along that knowledge of DOS was not needed quite as much.
At the same time as Windows 3.1, Microsoft released the Windows NT 3.1 (New Technologies) platform as a version of Windows for professionals. Windows NT was designed to handle more office-based tasks, such as handling multiple users.
The next release, Windows 95 (released in 1995), was powerful enough that DOS finally became obsolete. Windows 95 contained a remarkable number of new features, including the start menu, taskbar, and pop-up menus. Windows 95 firmly cemented Microsoft's hold on the computer world.
After Windows 95, Windows 98 became popular. Windows usership was up the highest it had ever been before. Windows 98 was very similar to Windows 95, but there was more support for new technology, including advanced media and support for the brand-new Universal Serial Bus (USB) technology. Win98 remains popular to this day.
In time for Y2K, Microsoft released Windows ME (Millennium Edition). Unlike its predecessors, ME was a total failure for Microsoft. ME was very unstable. It would lock up or crash at the drop of a hat. Virtually no computers still run Windows ME.
NOTE
Windows 95, 98, and ME are all referred to as Windows 9x or Win9x, short for "Windows 95/98/ME."
At the same time as the Windows ME release, Microsoft released Windows 2000 as the latest incarnation of Windows NT. Being extremely stable and reliable (more reliable than any in the 9x series), it was met with great success, and was being used by non-professionals more than ME. Only a couple of years later, in 2001, Windows XP, was released. XP is the current version. The streamlined user interface is very intuitive and easy to use. It is the first version of Windows to use 3-D window decorations.
Windows XP will definitely not be the last release of Windows. Work on the next is already underway. Code-named "Longhorn," it is now availiable for testing.
In addition to Mac, there is a third major operating system, which seems to be the only one that has an actual chance of competing with Windows. It is called Linux. Linus Torvalds (a student in Finland) created it in the early 1990s. It is derived from the ancient 1960's OS called UNIX. (LINUS + UNIX = LINUX)
Unlike Windows, Linux is built around a block of freely obtainable code, called the Linux kernel. Anyone with the skills can get this code and tailor it to their own personal taste. Add some extra software, and you have a distribution (commonly known as a distro). The distro can then be sold to other users. There are at least 400 distros in existence today. These 400 distros compete, which really drives down the price. Buying Windows XP can cost $100 - I got the SuSE LINUX distro for only $40. (Actually, if you have a fast enough Internet connection, you can get the software off the Internet for free - legally.)
Why doesn't Linux take over the computer world? Because many types of hardware and software don't work well with it. Industrious individuals and companies are working to fix this problem, however. The WINE Group, in particular, write software that emulates a Windows system, enabling many Windows programs to run under a Linux operating system.
In addition to Linux and Mac, there are other die-hards who use the old UNIX, an IBM system known as OS/2, as well as FreeBSD (a variant of UNIX) and Solaris.
Some operating systems are designed for computers with multiple users. In these multi-user operating systems, each user has an established user account, which may have a password. Once a user has entered their user name and password (called logging in), they may have access to the programs on the computer and their own personal data. Each user may customize the computer to their own tastes without affecting any of the other users. They are denied access to other users' files and options that may damage the computer.
Some users have special accounts called Administrator accounts. Users with administrator rights may access all the data on the computer, create and delete other user accounts, set the amount of access other users may have, install programs, change all options, etc. (In Linux systems, the Administrator account is called the root superuser, or simply root.)
Multiuser operating systems have a variety of uses. In the home, a watchful parent with an Administrator account can monitor their children's activities and set up rules to limit their Internet access. In an office environment, user accounts can be set up for employees to log into a network. (More on this in Chapter 8.)
UNIX and Linux have always been multiuser operating systems. Windows NT was the first version of Windows to support multiple users. Since Windows 2000 and XP are based on Windows NT, they also support multiple users.
NOTE
Earlier versions of Windows had some rudimentary multiuser capacity, but not enough to be considered a "true" multiuser OS.
If you happen to possess a multiuser operating system, you should normally login as a normal user rather than an Administrator. The reason is twofold:
Since the first issue is glaringly obvious in meaning, we'll simply skip it and go on to the second reason. Some people, for some twisted, evil reason, think it's fun to destroy people's computers. While it's debatable whether this merits their exile to Uranus (I personally think it's a stellar idea [pun!]), they intentionally try to ruin your computer. If you're not an Administrator and they try to wipe out your hard drive...
Figure 1.2: Only administrators can format hard drives.
It's fun to watch them twitch. :)
NOTE
For more about these evildoers, see Section 1-6.
Overwhelmingly populating the software world, commercial software is a program that you must buy. Actually, you never actually "buy" software - you only purchase a license to use it.
To understand this, think about something else you might buy - for example, a telephone. As far as the manufacturer cares, once you leave the store with your new phone, you may do anything you wish with it. The company doesn't care if you call your friends with it, start an illegal pyramid scheme, open it up and use the components in another project, or whatever. The company doesn't care if you create a new phone identical to the original phone (as long as you don't try to sell it under their name). The phone is yours and you own it.
Software is a totally different concept. The company definitely doesn't want you to copy the programming code into a new program. And they don't want you to copy the program and give it away (or sell the copies), which is called distributing it. You don't own the software; you just own the right to use it. (You do own the media on which the software is on though; the company doesn't care if you use the discs as Frisbees, dog toys, Christmas ornaments or whatever.)
What you can and can't do with the software is displayed while you are installing it on your computer. This is called the EULA, which stands for End User License Agreement. (You are the end user - the person who ultimately ends up using the software. Even though the store bought the software from the company, they don't use it, and therefore don't have to agree to the EULA.) You are then given two options - you can either 1) accept the EULA and enter into a legally binding contract with the company, or you can 2) reject the EULA and not use the software. Though it seems unfair, it's the way commercial software works.
The price of commercial software varies between under $1 to well over $6000.
Shareware is a way to "try before you buy." With shareware, you get a free trial period (usually 30 days), after which you must register it with the company (by paying for it), or delete it from your computer. What happens after the trial period expires varies - sometimes nothing happens, but more often, the program will not start without receiving a valid registration code. Sometimes the programs will become partially disabled after the trial period, as described below.
From the outset, some shareware will be partially disabled, but there is no time limit. Some programs will not let you use certain features (often the Save command) or impose a watermark over your work.
Games are a popular venue for shareware. The classic 1991 game Commander Keen: Invasion of the Vorticons was a three-game trilogy. Part 1 was distributed as shareware. When you registered, you recieved Parts 2 and 3, thereby enabling you to save Earth, defeat the Grand Intellect, etc. This setup turned id Software into one of the most popular game manufacturers ever.
Freeware is pretty straightforward - it's software that's free. Freeware has become hugely popular on the Internet. Many amateur programmers prefer to release their product as freeware - it helps them get better known to the computing world and it's nice. Much freeware contains no EULA or is open-source (see below).
Freeware has many advantages besides the obvious - freeware helps amateurs practice their programming skills, and it is often more efficient than commercial software.
An open-source program is one with code that is freely available. Open-source programs are often freeware, because one could simply obtain the source code and make a new version of the software for free (assuming that they had the tools and programs used to create the program).
Open-source programs are usually very stable and develop very quickly. For example, the WINE Group (mentioned above) releases a new version of their program at least once a month. This is because other programmers who use the application examine what they like and don't like. Then, they obtain the source code, add to it, then send their changes back to the company (or organization - many open-source programs are created by nonprofit software groups). Problems or nuances (called bugs) with the program are found and fixed very quickly.
The only potential problem with open-source applications is that they may be hard for non-programmers to get started with. Some open-source developers do not release ready-made applications, just source code, which must be compiled into a program.
Most open-source applications are released under the GNU General Public License. A programmer named Richard Stallman began the GNU Project in 1983. GNU can be almost a religion for programmers, falling under the basic ideal that software should remain free of restrictions against copying and modifying it. Therefore, this "free software" would be better and more efficient.
CAUTION
The "Free Software" referred to above refers to freedom, not free as in no cost. This is explicitly stated in the GNU General Public License.
The GNU General Public License, or GPL, is a EULA for programs that fall under GNU guidelines. It ensures that you may obtain source code if you desire, and that you may modify, copy, and distribute it.
The BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) is like a minimalist OS. When you flip the switch on the computer, it is under the BIOS's control. It handles things like setting up the hard drives where your OS is, checking for floppy disks, and such. After the initialization, the BIOS hands control over to the operating system - which is called booting it.
NOTE
Turning on the computer is also known as booting it up.
Though the BIOS doesn't seem to do much, it is a crucial part of the computer. After all, if you can't find the operating system, how could you run it?
The BIOS can be set up to check for boot disks. A boot disk is a floppy disk or CD-ROM that contains a basic operating system. Most often, boot disks are used for installing a new OS or fixing damaged operating systems that cannot boot on their own. With the advent of the CD-ROM (which can hold more data than a floppy), larger, more complex operating systems may be placed on boot disks.
The BIOS options screen is displayed by pressing an access key while the computer is under BIOS control (right after you flip the switch). Often, it is DELETE, TAB, or F1. Your BIOS's access key is displayed during start-up. However, you should NEVER access the BIOS options screen unless you have an expert to assist you.
CAUTION
Never! I mean it! The only reason I included this section is for completeness, so you can keep up with nerds when they talk about BIOS's and boot disks. So DON'T TINKER WITH YOUR BIOS!
This final type of software serves a unique task: drivers bridge the gap between the operating system and a piece of hardware. For example, nearly all printers come with a CD that contains a driver for that printer. After you hook up the printer, you install the driver, which allows data to be sent to the printer.
Not all hardware requires a driver. Hardware that needs no driver is called plug-and-play: you just connect it and it works. Many types of monitors, keyboards, and mice are plug-and-play.
Newer versions of Windows - especially Windows XP - include many drivers automatically available. After you attach a new device, XP will detect it, and, if a driver is found, Windows will set it up for you. If a CD is still needed, Windows will ask for it. It makes setting up new hardware quick and easy.
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