Personal Computing skills

The word 'Computer' has been derived from the Latin word ' Compute' which means to count. In former time, computer was used to manipulate data like words and numbers. So, it was called as a 'Computing machine'. Presently, a computer has become an electrically powered device through different evolution of technology. According to the definition made by the Microsoft technologists- " A Computer is an electrically powered device or set of devices which works under the control of a stored program automatically accepting and processing data with minimum human intervention to produce results. Hence, a computer is automatic, re-programmable and a data processor to store information'. That is to say, the following concepts may be accepted apropos the definition of computer.

& A computer is an electrically powered device.

& It works under the control of a stored program.

& It accepts data, analyzes data, preserves data and displays them in the form of result.

& It completes work related to accounts very speedily and correctly

& It works out  complex mathematical problems

& It analyzes data and displays results by the representation of charts and graphs.

Brief History of Computer:

& Three thousand years ago before the birth of Christ, a machine named 'Abacus' was invented.

& With the help of this machine, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division were figured out.

& In seventh century, some machines were invented for calculation.

& In the 18th century, Jacquard invented weaving machine, which afforded some opportunities to compute.

& Babbage was the father of modern computer as he firstly introduced the use of memory and storage location in the computer.

& Despite no title for his wisdom of knowledge, he was appointed as a professor in 'Newton's chair' of Cambridge University for 11 years at the age of 36. He had never taught the students.

& In 1812 he invented 'Differentiatial  Engine'

& With the help of this machine, he could easily compute in different calculations.

& Afterwards, he had chalked out to invent 'Analytical Engine'. But for not having given the expenditure by the Government, he could not be able to make that machine. Indeed, the machine was of very large size and involved a huge amount of cost.

& After the death of Babbage, his close friend and the daughter of English poet Byron, Lady Ada Augusta invented such machine with some sort of programming language. For this reason, she had had the recognition of the world as the first ' Computer Programmer' of the world. She was uncommon talent to create machine like computer.

& During 2nd world war in 1944, this machine was mismatched due to bombardment 

& In 1946, under the supervision of Professor Howard Equine of Harvard University, a machine called 'Mark 1 ' was made. This machine was of complex combination of 3 million parts of electric equipment. This was looked like a dinosaur. In spite of that, this machine was the first computer of 1st generation (1944-1950).

& In 1946, ENAIC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator) was made. In it , 18000 electric lamps were used.

& This machine was made for exclusive demand of Army at that time.

& In 1948, the use of bulb was replaced by transistor. Transistor as used were very  tiny electronic switches by which the work was done like the electric bulbs.

& The size of the transistor was very small and in 1958, integrated circuit was invented and as a result, the use of computer spread to a great extent.

& Afterwards, in 1971 a revolutionary change occurred when microprocessor was invented by the 'Intel Company of  USA.

& During this time, Bill Gates of Microsoft Company of USA and the use of computer spread home and abroad wrote Dos program.

Structure of a data processing system: Input ® Process ® Output

We send information and instructions with the help of Input device (e.g. Keyboard and Mouse) which are displayed in the Monitor and then reported to the CPU where the data are processed, controlled and stored in the respective memory location and then in the form of output we acquire result in the Printer.

Input:

Keyboard, mouse , floppy disk, hard disk, mike etc.

Processing Unit: CPU: CU, ALU, Memory.

Output device:                   

Printer.

Most important component is output

Different parts of a PC

Monitor:

The monitor displays input data and the computer puts out after processing. Data or information is in the form of word and pictures.

CPU:

It stands for Central Processing Unit

It consists of two major components inside (a) Processor or active unit, which does the computational or processing jobs on data and information.

Memory: both long term ( in the form what are called hard disk, floppy disk ) and short term memory  ( for intermediate processing called Ram or Random Access memory and Read only memory or ROM i.e. Permanent Memory )

 The CPU also contains other components like communication devices, speaker etc.; One such communication device called modem. Modems can be outside a CPU. They allow the computer to communicate with another computer via a telephone line.

Computer Software:

Computer Software is a set of instructions that controls the computer and its peripheral devices. The non-physical properties of a computer system is called  Software.

Types of software:

There are three types of Software: a. Operating Software, e.g. DOS (Disk Operating System), Windows' 95 b. Application Software, e.g. Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint etc., c. Programming Software e.g. C ^++, Java, Q-Basic, PASCAL, Oracle etc.,

Operating the Personal computer: ON/ Off

For On: Wall socket, Voltage Stabilizer, UPS, Monitor and CPU.

For off: Just the reverse but before switching off the Computer, you must apply Shut Down Process as follows: Click Start Button, Click Shut down, Click yes to confirm Shut down and then O.K. to display the message " It is now safe to turn off your Computer "

Classification of Computer: 

Computer may be classified into two ways: a. According to Memory location and b. According to Technology. According to Memory size: Business Micro, e.g. PC (Personal Computer).We are commonly conversant with PC, Main frame Computer, Mini and Super Computer. According to Technology: Digital Computer, Analogue Computer and Hybrid Computer.

Microsoft Windows, 95                                                                                                                    

This session introduces you in windows and gets you up and running quickly. It always shows you how to do the most common tasks, provides you with notes, and points you to some of the fun and exciting new features that come with windows.

If you want to explore Windows in more depth or learn about some of the more technical aspects of Windows, the first topic in the session, "Where to find information you need" points you to other sources of information."

Õ Where to find information you need

Help is the primary source of information about windows. You can find common tasks in the contents and more in the Index, and search for text by using the Find Tab. To find Help, Click the Start button, and then click Help.

Õ Help on a specific  item

If a window contains a question mark button, You can see a description of any item in the window. Just click the button and then click the item.

Õ A new look and feel

The look and feel of windows has been improved to make it easier and faster for you to get your work done.

Õ Start button and task bar,

¨      My Computer, Windows Explorer,  Network Neighborhood, Long file name,  The desktop, Properties, Folders,  Shortcut Menus, Close,  Minimize, and Maximize And  What is this ?

Õ Start button and task-bar :

At the bottom of your screen is the task bar. It contains the start button, which you can use quickly – start a program or to find a file. It is also the fastest way to get help, when you open a program, document, or window, a button appears on the task bar. You can use this button to quickly switch between the windows you have opened.

Õ My Computer

You can use My Computer to quickly and easily see everything on your computer. Double Click the My Computer icon on the desktop  to browse through your files and folders.

Õ Windows Explorer

In windows explorer, you can see both the hierarchy of folders on the computer and all the files and folders in each selected folders. This is especially useful for copying and moving files. You can open the folder and contains the file you can move or copy, and then drag it to the folder you want to put it in.

To find windows explorer, Click the start button, and then point to the programs.

Õ Network neighborhood

If you are using a net work, the network neighborhood icon appears in your desktop.

Double click it to browse through the computers in your  work group and the computers on your entire network.

Õ Long  filenames :

You can now give any name to a file; you are not limited to eight characters with a three-character extension. You can even use spaces. The file name may be extended up to 255 characters with space.

Õ The desktop

When you start windows, the large area you see is called the desktop. You can customise the desktop by adding shortcuts to your favorite programs, documents, and the printers, and by changing it look to fit your mood and personality.

To adjust settings such as desktop color and back-ground, use your right mouse button to click anywhere on the desktop, and click properties.

Õ Properties

When you want to view or change information about any item, such as a document, program, folder, disk drive, or printer, you can look at its properties.

Use the right mouse button to click the item , and then click properties on the menu.

For Ms Dos based programs, you no longer need to create  and modify PIF files, you just modify the properties for the program.

Õ Folders :

Your documents and programs are stored in folders, which you can see in

 My Computer. In previous versions of windows, folders were called directories.

Õ Shortcut menus :

You can use your right mouse button to click any item and see a shortcut menu. This menu contains common commands that you can use on the item you clicked. For example, by clicking a file with your right mouse button, you can choose to open, copy, or delete it.

Õ Close, Minimize, and  Maximize buttons :

Every window has  X  ( close button ) in the upper right corner that you can click to close the window and quit the program.

The minimize and Maximize buttons also have a new look.

Õ What's This?

In dialog boxes, you can easily get Help on an option or area by clicking in the upper-right corner of the window and then clicking the item you want Help on. A pop-up window appears containing an explanation of the item. Then what you want, write the problem, then click search, you will get the answer. This is very important for practical purpose.

Another way to get Help is to use your right mouse button to click an item, and then you can find the answer or the ways you can get to solve the problem.

Õ Organizing  files and folders

            In Windows Explorer, you can see both the hierarchy of folders on your computer and all the files and folders in each selected folder. This is especially useful for copying and moving files. You can open the folder that contains the file you want to move or copy, and then drag it to the folder you want to put it in. It provides a graphic way to organize our files and folders.

It is a management tool as it organizes and controls files and folders according to a correct location. Whenever you create a file in any application package like MS Word and MS Excel etc., the files needs to be arranged systematically according to a definite location. The location may be defined as: Assume you have created a file in MS Word named xx.doc. Your file may be: C:\Fima|Ribec\xx.doc (Here Firma and Ribec are sub and sub subfolders respectively. The Windows explorer allows you to access all your drives, folders and files in one window.

 

To find Windows Explorer :

 

v  Click Start button, and then

v  Point to Programs and

v  click Windows Explorer

 

To create a new folder

Ø  In My Computer or Windows Explorer, open the folder in which you want to create a new folder.

Ø  On the File menu, point to New, and then click Folder. The new folder appears with a temporary name.

Ø  Type a name for the new folder, and then press ENTER.

 

To open a file or folder

Ø  Double-click the My Computer icon/ windows explorer

Ø  Double-click the drive that contains the file.

 

 

The file may be opened according to a location as follows :

Ø  Root folder i.e. c:\

Ø  Sub-folder

Ø  Sub-sub folder

For renaming files/folders

·         Select the file and then Click the New and then click the rename Command and type the  name you want to rename and then O.K/Enter

For deleting files

Select the file and then Click the File Menu and then click the delete Command and Click yes or yes to all and then O.K/Enter Or in selecting mood of the file press right mouse button and you will find delete command.

 

Copying Procedure

From hard disk to floppy disk and

Floppy disk to hard disk

 

floppy disk to hard disk

From Windows Explorer : Click 3.5" floppy , select the file and click edit menu and then copy command ; now select the folder ( in which the file you will paste it) , you click now on the edit menu and then paste.

 

From Ms Word Application

 

Open the file, then Go to the File Menu, select the save as command, you will find save as dialogue box and then select drive 3.5" disk and then O.K/Enter.

Copying from hard disk to floppy disk

 

 

From Windows Explorer

Click root folder, then sub or sub-sub folder in which location the files are arranged and select the file, you will copy, click edit menu and select copy command and select the location and in edit menu select paste command.

From MS Word Application:

Open the file by using open Command from the File Menu

Then

Click File Menu

Click Save As Command

Click 3.5" floppy and lastly Click Save

To format a disk

Ø  If the disk you want to format is a floppy disk, insert it into its drive. Otherwise, go to step 2.

Ø  Double-click the My Computer icon, and then click the icon for the disk you want to format. Be sure not to double-click the disk icon, because you can't format a disk if it is open in My Computer or Windows

Notes :

& Formatting a disk removes all information from the disk.

& You cannot format a disk if there are files open on that disk.

& If the disk has been compressed, use DriveSpace,

& or other compression software, to format the disk.

To create a shortcut in a folder

&            In My Computer or Windows Explorer, open the folder you want to create the shortcut in.

&            On the File menu, point to New, and then click Shortcut.

&            Follow the instructions on the screen.

To put a shortcut on the desktop

&            Click the item, such as a file, program, folder, printer, or computer, that you want to create a shortcut to.

&            On the File menu, click Create Shortcut.

&            Drag the shortcut icon onto the desk top. You can use the shortcut as a fast way to open the item.

& To change any settings for the shortcut, such as what kind of window it starts in or what key combination is used to access it,

& use your right mouse button to click the shortcut, and then click Properties.

& To delete a shortcut, drag it to the Recycle Bin. The original item will still exist on the disk where it is stored.

& Back up and delete unneeded files

& Click here  to start Backup.

& For information about using Backup, click the Help menu in Backup, and then click Help topics.

& When you are finished backing up unneeded files, double-click the My Computer icon.

&   Locate the file or folder you backed up, and then click it.

& On the File menu, click Delete.

& Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you have deleted all the files or folders you backed up.

& Double-click the Recycle Bin icon. If there are files in the Recycle Bin, click the File menu, and then click Empty Recycle Bin.

& Do you want to free up more disk space?

Yes.

No. I want to see how much free disk space I have now.