Computer Knowledge For You Posts: January, 2010

Essential Computer Basics to Know

The component of nature known as the most essential matter for the living is called oxygen. One cannot survive for even a second without oxygen. But these days, if a person is asked the same the question then he or she will give a different answer – computer. In recent times computer has become the most vital part of life, due to its wide application in almost every field of the society. Hence, it has become essential to know computer basics.

Essential Computer Basics

This term is very much relative from the point of users. For a beginner it means simple operations like turn on, turn off, gaming, document typing and editing, painting by Windows Office. A person having some exposure to these operation can consider photo editing by Adobe Photoshop, data base management by Windows Excel and Access, Internet surfing with the help of Mozilla Firefox, Netscape Navigator, MSN Explorer etc. On the other hand, knowledge of computer language, network management can be considered as essential computer basics to learn by an experienced person.

Why Learn?

In recent times the market scenario has been changed drastically in terms of job profile, public demand, Government policies, socio economic structure etc. and for these reasons having a basic knowledge on computer becomes essential for everyone to survive in this rat race. If a person comes with lacunae regarding computer operation, then the employment opportunities becomes restricted to some specific areas only. Apart from the employment status, one needs to posses basic computer knowledge to protect his/her personal computer, having valuable data or information, from the risk of hacking, malware and virus attack and this basic knowledge of protecting a computer becomes a credential aspect when it comes to secure the data of a profit making organization from the rival group of companies.

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Computers – A Man Made Brain

A small summary in how the introduction of computers has managed to cause a revolution in all our lives

Today, the world is a global village where all of us can freely and easily communicate with one another without getting affected about the distance. We also have access to all kinds of information on any possible topic. All this and more has been possible only with the help of computers. These man made machines are one of the main reasons that the world is shrinking and people are able to connect with one another like never before. This machine which is responsible for storing as well as processing all kinds of data is very helpful in taking care of a lot of tasks on the behalf of mankind.

The speed with which this electronic gadget works is so impressive that it can finish the work in a much lesser time and with a lot more accuracy than any human being. The use of computers has lead to an improvement in the standards to working, writing, playing, communicating as well as studying. Today, there is hardly anyone who does not make use of this machine on a regular basis. In fact, it has now become a common household item. You can choose from a laptop which is mobile and can be carried anywhere or a desktop which is installed in one place.

As far as the activity of writing is concerned, computers have proved to be a blessing as they have thesaurus, dictionary and selling checker software installed in them which makes proof reading extremely simple and quick. The options of cut, copy and paste also help in saving a lot of precious time on the behalf of the writer. Typing on a computer keyboard is a lot simpler than typing on a typewriter. Hence, this is an ideal machine which assists in the creation, editing, storing and printing of documents.

The internet is another main feature of the computer. This internet is a huge network of a lot of other computers which helps people in staying connected with each other and also finding information of all kinds. The electronic mail, online games, online gambling and online chats are becoming a way of life for the people all over the world. It is also possible to learn and educate people over the internet. A lot of schools and universities offer online courses and online degrees which save the time and effort of the student by allowing him to study in the confines of his house on the computer.

With time and development, there are a lot of facilities that are added each day which make life immensely comfortable, convenient and simple. You no longer have to go up to the bank as the online banking option allows you to carry out all your banking transactions over the internet including the payment of your bills. Railways and air tickets can be booked on your computer in a matter of seconds; mathematical calculations can be correctly carried out, examinations can be conducted, gamblers can play their favorite games online sitting in the privacy of their homes and a lot of other such comforts are provided to the generation of today due to the evolution of the computers and the introduction of the internet.

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Brief Explanation about Computer Components

An insight into the Computer Components which are responsible for the smooth and efficient functioning of a computer

Computers have become a basic necessity n today’s world with their use becoming apparent in all the different aspects of life including education, work, entertainment as well as communication. Every household owns at least one computer which helps them in more ways than one. It is hence important that we know about the various computer components and their respective functions so that we can use them more efficiently and have a good idea of where the problem lies when the computer fails to function properly.

Computers can be classified into two main types, the portable and the desktop. The portable computers are the ones which can be carried from one place to the other. Notebooks, laptops and hand held computers are some of the examples of the portable computers. However, it is the desktop computers that are used by most of the people. We shall now take a look at the computer components that form a part of the desktop computer. The same components are used in the portable computers except for a few differences.

1.Case: The first and most important part of the computer is the computer case that comprises of the following:

Power supply: the power supply is an extremely important constituent of the computer as it makes for the source of energy on which the computer runs. There are different kinds of power supplies that are used for different kinds of computers.
Motherboard: a motherboard is the part which consists of the most crucial components that help in the functioning of your computer. It houses the microprocessor which is also referred to as the brain of your computer which is responsible for the instructing, commanding and controlling of all the operations carried out in the computer; the memory which is in the form of a RAM that is essential in order to save and store data on your computer; the drive controllers that are vested with the task of controlling the interface of your computer and also your hard drives, these controllers help in controlling the operations of the hardware. In almost all the computers, these controllers are mounted on the motherboards but there can be other controllers which are meant for the faster functioning of existing drives or working of new drives. In addition to all these constituents, there can be other support cards on the motherboard for video, networking, sound and a lot of others.
Hard disk drive: the hard disk drive is essential as it is the place where all your files are stored. The operating systems for most computers are also installed in the hard drive.
CD-ROM drive: this is the drive where the read only files are stored. These days, there is new CD ROM drive that makes use of special software to facilitate reading and writing on these drives.
Floppy drive: this drive houses the floppy which is a small device for disk storage that can save around 1.4 megabytes of memory capacity.
The other forms of drives are in the form of tape backup devices, DVD devices and others.

2. Monitor: the monitor looks almost like a TV screen and lets you see whether and how the computer is responding to your commands.

3. Keyboard: this part is a device that lets you enter all your commands with the help of the various keys present on it.

4.Mouse: the mouse is a point and click interface which works efficiently in graphical environments and helps in entering commands.

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