Session One.

INPUTS:

Keyboard.   This is one of your two most commonly used pieces of equipment.   It has a standard typewriter layout plus loads of weird keys that you have never seen in your life.   Please don’t worry too much about them right now.   Even I don’t know what they all do,  and I have made a good living out of computing for the past 45 years.

How competent you will become is entirely a personal thing.  I have seen people twinkling away with all ten fingers within a couple of weeks,  while others become two-finger merchants.  It doesn’t matter how fast or how slow you are – the computer is a very patient thing,  and it will be quite happy to wait until you have finished.

Mouse.   A mouse is used to pick out parts of your Windows program,  and to start off smaller sections.   It will take you a few minutes to get used to using one,  but once you have found out what it does and how it works,  you will wonder why you didn’t try before.  

Floppy Disk Drive.   This is where you insert small programs or files on small 3 ½” plastic squares.   They are rarely found on modern PC’s,  and you probably wont ever use them.

Hard Drive.   This piece of equipment is something you will never see unless you take the cover off your PC.   It is where all of your programs are stored,  all of your love letters,  all of your personal stuff.   It is also where the Windows program is stored,  and the CPU is continuously reading and writing to it.   As long as you know it is there and what it does,  there is no need for you to worry about it.   It looks after itself.  

CD-ROM Drive.   You know what a music CD looks like?   Well,  that fits into the CD-ROM drive,  and will play perfectly well (providing you have speakers fitted).   It is also the way you will install new programs when you buy them from your friendly computer shop.  

One little tip…..  when you remove a CD from the CD-ROM Drive,  always close the door.   If you leave it open,  it is so easy to bash it off when you swing your chair around – then you have to buy a new one!

Modem.   “A what?” I hear you cry.   Please don’t worry.   A modem is a gismo that allows your home PC to connect to a telephone line (or cable if you are disgustingly rich).   You may have heard a horrible screeching sound over your telephone from time to time;   it was probably a facsimile machine.   That sound is the language of a Modem.   The Modem’s job is to send and receive computer signals so that they can go over a telephone line 

Other Bits ‘n Pieces.   Again,  don’t worry too much about these right now.   I could have mentioned Scanners,  Digital Cameras,  IPods…  There are lots of things that people have invented for you to spend your hard-earned money on,  but don’t really need.   We shall talk about them at the end of the course.

More can be read here:

OUTPUTS.

Monitor.   Also known as a VDU (Visual Display Unit) or simply as a Screen.   You need to see what your home PC is up to,  and that is simply what your Monitor does.   They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes,  including the new flat-screen jobs which are very expensive – but very nice!

Printer.   Printers are cheap these days,  but the ink cartridges are very expensive.  That is how the companies can afford to sell the printers so cheaply.   I will tell you how to keep the cost of ink cartridges down.

There is a new type of Printer available on the market now which is a combined Printer,  Photocopier and Scanner.   They are commonly referred to as a 3 in 1.   They work out at about $100 a time,  but they take up very little space,  and are ideal for plugging in a digital camera if you have one.   Please,  do not buy one before talking it over with me.

Speakers.   Depending on your needs,  you should really have a minimum of two speakers,  but you can add a third base speaker,  or really go up-market and get a set of five,   or even seven speakers.   Some people like to watch DVD movies on their PC’s,  and that is when it is nice to have a very good sound system.   A pair of small speakers will be quite sufficient at this stage.

Hey – I have been doing all the work here so far.   Now it is your turn!

 

Please answer all of the following questions.   If you don’t know the answer,  read back through these notes – it is all there.

 

Then bring this sheet with you to the next session.   This will make sure that you do your homework!   Good luck.

 

v     ………Is a Keyboard an Input or an Output?

v     ………What is at the heart of every computer?

v     …....... What connects your PC to a telephone line?

v       …… What would you use to play a music CD?

v     ……… Name two types of Output.

v     ……… What do you use to pick out parts of Windows?

v      ………Where can you buy a computer that is faster and   smaller than a 1940’s computer for a dollar?

 v     ……….Name one way of using a home PC that you can think of that I haven’t mentioned.

 

 More can be read here:

 

Well done.   That’s Session One all wrapped up and finished with.

 

Are you ready for the next Session?   I hope so.   See you soon.