Computer Terms 101

It's like learning a foreign language, what are all those new words your computer savy friends are saying: "hey, I just upgraded my RAM, got a big HD, with 350 GB's of space, and new wifi card , oh and I just noticed that the FSB on my MB, is great, I am going to check my Bios and Registry later today".

Ok, the Basics:

Right Click / Left Click when do you do one or the other, and when do you single click or double click, oh boy.

Left Click = an action, you left click when you want to perform a function or take action, its a verb, a way to take your computer to war.

Right Click = a proposition, you are asking the computer to show you what your options are, can I save, copy, paste, delete, kill, etc.

You double click when you are Left clicking on a program and you want it to open, you single Left Click inside the program when you want to open something inside a program, so you pull the file out of the cabinet by unlocking and opening it (double click), then you pull the contents out of the file you want to read (single click).

Right click is always a single click on your mouse.

Ok, now that we have muddled our way through that, what about all those Abbreviations?

GB = GigaByte and is 2 to the 30th power, or 1,073,741,824 bytes.

It can be estimated as 10 to the 9th power, or one billion (1,000,000,000) bytes. A gigabyte is 1,024 megabytes (MB) and precedes the terabyte (TB) unit of measurement. Hard drive sizes are typically measured in gigabytes, such as a 160GB or 250GB drive. The term gigabyte is often often abbreviated as simply a "gig" in speech. For example, if you have a 250GB hard drive, you could say, "I have 250 gigs of disk space." The prefix "giga" comes from the Greek word "gigas," meaning giant.

So that did not help? OK, in order you have a Byte, then a MegaByte, then GigaByte, and last the TeraByte. A terabyte is huge.

RAM = Random Access Memory. RAM is made up of small memory chips that form a memory module. These modules are installed in the RAM slots on the motherboard of your computer.

Every time you open a program, it gets loaded from the hard drive into the RAM. This is because reading data from the RAM is much faster than reading data from the hard drive. Running programs from the RAM of the computer allows them to function without any lag time. The more RAM your computer has, the more data can be loaded from the hard drive into the RAM, which can effectively speed up your computer. In fact, adding RAM can be more beneficial to your computer's performance than upgrading the CPU.

To check how much RAM a Windows computer has, open the "System" Control Panel. This can be done by right-clicking "My Computer" and selecting "Properties..." To view how much RAM is installed in a Macintosh computer, select "About This Mac" from the Apple Menu.

Virus ~ A computer virus is not much different than a biological virus like the flu, a computer virus is something you don't want to get, and something you want to inoculate for. Computer viruses are small programs or scripts that can negatively affect the health of your computer. These malicious little programs can create files, move files, erase files, consume your computer's memory, and cause your computer not to function correctly. Some viruses can duplicate themselves, attach themselves to programs, and travel across networks. In fact opening an infected e-mail attachment is the most common way to get a virus.

So how do we inoculate our computer we use an anti-virus program or software.

Anti - Virus ~ is a software program used to identify and remove those nasty virus's we just talked about, most of the more newer programs come complete with an anti-spyware program as well. An anti-virus software program is one program that I firmly believe in spending the money on, and one of 3 programs you really must have on your computer if you plan to spend any time online or using the internet.

What to do when you take your new computer out of the box for the first time.

Before you even start plugging your new computer in and connecting stuff to it RECORD THE SERIAL NUMBER AND THE SERIAL NUMBER TO THE OS (that is on a sticker on your computer) then record the name of each of the software discs it came with, and the serial numbers that go with the individual software.

You should also know that there really are no little gremlins living in your new computer just waiting for you to release them. They live in your hard drive, the monster in your new computer lives in your CPU.

Now that you have that done lets connect the keyboard, monitor, mouse, and that's it, leave all your accessories off for the moment. Before you plug your new computer into the wall though make sure you are using a good surge protector. Just FYI, all the components in your new computer are color coded, the blue plug is your monitor, and your mouse and keyboard are mostly likely USB and they will plug into any USB port on your computer, the green plug is for your speakers or headphones, and the almost light orange one is for your microphone.

Let's make sure the computer is what you ordered, did it come with the OS (operating system) that you expected. For example if you ordered a PC (personal computer) do you have Windows Vista Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, or Ultima.

Now let's take a look at the software it came with. How much of that software is really junk and advertising? Let's uninstall all the excess software you don't need.

Now lets make sure you have a Firewall, an Anti-Virus program, and Anti-Spyware program. If not that is the first programs you will install before any other programs.

Now for giggles let's run our anti-spyware and see what Dell has installed on my brand new computer. LOL (Laughing Out Loud), 15 pieces of spyware all Dell Tracking Codes, threat level = harmless, but I don't really care, spyware is evasive and has to go, quarantine them all. Thanks Dell.

Now we will have to connect to the internet, today all of your registrations will be done online they don't do mail in cards anymore, and make sure you register your purchase, this validates your warranty.

Next we install the programs you want, Family Tree Maker, a Game, Quickbooks, whatever you use.

Next we install the external toys you have for your new computer. MP3 Player, Web Cam, Camcorder, Camera, External Hard Drives, External Floppy Drives, External Card Readers and so much more.

There are going to be separate instructions for every step we took today in class, just be patient and give me the time to write them.

Now we are ready to work, play, fuss at or celebrate our new computer.

Next weeks class will be on computer terms and what they really mean to you.