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Bonus point: A link is something you can literally lift off a Web page.
  technofile
Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983

Computing 101: A simple dictionary for newcomers


Dec. 30, 2001


By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2001, Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2001, The Post-Standard

   How come computers are so hard for newcomers to figure out?
   If you're wondering the same thing, I've got good news for you. I'm going to explain things in plain-Jane English. You'll get the inside story on stuff nobody else seems willing to tell you. If you're new to computers, or if you've been strugling with them a long time without ever feeling like you could tell a selection from an infection, this article is for you.
   1. Let's get our terminology straight first. Your computer is that ugly beige box sitting in front of you, either on your desk or on the floor. (You don't win any points if your computer is candy colored or black or some other unconstitutional shade. Just go along with things and don't interrupt.)
   2. Your computer probably has at least two power buttons, not just one.
   You've got to learn which one does what. One turns the computer on and off. The other turns the monitor on and off.
   The computer power button is ... well, it's on the computer. The monitor power button probably is closer to you and easier to find, so that's why a lot of people think that IT is the computer power button.
   You need to have both of them "ON" for everything to work right.
   3. Even if your computer has a handle on it, you're a turkey if you move it while it's on.
   Don't move your computer unless it's unplugged. The slightest movement can make a hard drive take a dive.
   4. Computers hate you if you turn them by unplugging them or by turning them off from a powerstrip. You can't treat your PC as if it were your TV. You have to shut it down gracefully.
   Click the Start button and choose Shut Down, or, if you have a Macintosh, press the power button on the keyboard.
   Zapping the pwoer suddenly, as you would do if you turned off your PC from a powerstrip, keeps the computer from organizing the shutdown. And that messes up the disk drive.
   5. You're not stuck with a mouse. If you get sore wrists using a mouse or if you simply have a hard time moving one steadily, you can buy a sort of upside-down mouse called a trackball. A trackballs
   6. You'll hear a lot of talks about "mega-this" and "giga-that." "Mega" means million and "giga" means billion.
   These days everything is a million this or a billion that, so just accept it.
   7. Your computer screen is almost surely wacky. They all come that way, more or less.
   To adjust it properly, turn the contrast control (the one with the circle that has a vertical split) all the way up, then back it off a little bit. Then turn the brightness control (the one that has a sun symbol) as far as down possible without making the picture too dark.
   That way you make the blacks nice and black (that's actually what the contrast control does) and the whites nice and white (that's what the brightness control does).
   Whew! Things look better now.
   8. Hardware is stuff you can bang on. Software is stuff you can't.
   Hardware is the computer, the printer, the table lamp, your car, Uncle Bill's boat.
   Software is computer code. Software is like your phone number. You can't bang on it. You can't touch it or throw it away.
   It lives on its own, so to speak. It doesn't matter where it's located or how it's stored. It's still software.
   9. Mail you send and receive using your computer is called e-mail. That stands for "electronic mail."
   E-mail is sent through an electronic post office. Every now and then your computer goes out (electronically, of course) and picks up the mail from the electronic post office.
   E-mail is different from instant messages. They can arrive at any time. They don't go through an electronic post office, and your computer doesn't have to go out and pick them up. They arrive by themselves if you're running instant message software. (All instant message programs are free, so you don't have to buy anything. But your kids know this already. Just ask them.)
   10. Underlined things on Web pages are called links. If you put your mouse pointer on top of a link and click the mouse button, a Web page opens up.
   This is pretty much well known by now. But I'll give you an advantage over your brother-in-law by telling you something just about nobody else knows: A link is a thing that can be moved around. You heard that right. A link is something you can literally lift off a Web page.
   Do you think I'm kidding? Have I finally bought the bonkers farm?
   Not at all. Here's how to lift any hyperlink off a Web page:
   Click on the link without letting go of the mouse button. Then drag your mouse (while you are holding down the button) out of the Web browser and onto your desktop. Let go of the button.
   Your link appears on the desktop, looking like an icon.
   Is that cool or what?
   Oh, and by the way, a selection is what happens when you click once on something. The item turns a dark color to show you it's ready for the next step, whatever that may be. An infection, in computer terms, is what happens when a virus does bad things to your PC. Don't take chances. Make sure you have good antivirus software running all the time.