Computer Terms
Almost every household now owns a computer, but many people don’t have a clue as to what many computer terms mean or how to even get around on one. It is not as hard as it seems, and there are many inexpensive classes out there to teach you how to use your new personal computer or more commonly known as a pc. Most new computers come set up with programs already installed. A cd comes with your pc with easy to follow instructions. An (ISP) stands for internet service provider. This is the company that you choose and pay so you can connect to its computer and get on the Internet. The Internet is a group of computers all over the world that are connected to each other. Using your computer and a modem, you can connect to these other computers and tap their resources. You can view pictures, watch video clips, play action games, chat with other people, and shop without leaving your home.
A modem is hardware that enables a computer to send and receive data through an ordinary telephone line or television cable. The monitor is the screen on which the computer displays information. A browser is a program used to view pages on the Web. Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator are currently the two most popular browsers. The toolbar is a strip of buttons typically displayed near the top of a program window, below the menu bar. The toolbar contains buttons called icons that you can click to enter common commands. Essentially these toolbar icons are shortcuts allowing you to bypass the menu system. An icon is a graphic image onscreen that looks like a little picture. An icon represents another object, such as a program, file or folder.
The taskbar is the button bar that runs across the bottom of the Windows desktop. On the left is the Start button and on the right is usually a digital clock and a few program icons. When you are using programs, each one shows a button on the taskbar. When you click one of these buttons, the corresponding window comes to the front of your screen and becomes the active window. You can close this window by clicking on the X at the upper right hand side of your screen. A search engine is a site, or part of a site, that allows you to search for words and phrases either locally or on the world wide web. For instance, www. Google.com. The arrows to the right of your screen allow you to move the page up and down which is referred to as scrolling.Your cursor is the small triangular shaped pointer that travels across your monitor scren as you move your mouse. Anything that you type appears at the place where the cursor is flashing on your screen.
The mouse is a hand-held device that you move across the desktop to move an arrow, called a mouse pointer, across the screen. Used instead of the keyboard to select and move items such as text or graphics, execute commands, and perform other tasks. Megabyte is a standard unit used to measure the storage capacity of a disk and the amount of computer memory. A virus is a program that attaches itself to other files, duplicates itself without the user’s knowledge, and may cause the computer to do strange and sometimes destructive things. The virus can attack the computer by erasing files from the hard disk or by formatting the disk, which can destroy all your data. Viruses are frequently transmitted through programs attached to e-mail messages. It is extremely important that you buy the latest anti-virus software and install it on your computer.