SOME COMPUTER BASICS
You will save yourself a lot of aggravation and embarrassment if you learn that the delete key is not your best friend. Never delete a file that you haven't personally created or loaded onto your computer. I know it looks like there is a bunch of stuff out there, and you don't recognize it so it must not be important. That is the wrong attitude. The computer uses all of those funny files to communicate with you and to accomplish the tasks that you assign it. So to save yourself from calling that computer technician (who couldn't be old enough to shave), always read those warning messages and click cancel if you aren't absolutely certain what is happening.
Another thing that can save you from calling that wonderful technician is to exit out of the computer gracefully. What that means is to Click on the Start button and choose Shut Down Computer if you are using Windows95 or closing out Program Manager in Windows 3.1. Wait until the screen tells you that it is safe to shut the computer off. Save turning your computer off while programs are open for those dire emergencies (like when you are truly locked up.) How do you know your computer is locked up, your mouse won't move or the hour glass won't go away. You don't have to wait for an hour, but please give the computer a little grace time. One sure way to lock a computer up is to keep clicking on something because nothing is happening. Please be kind to the mouse.
I'd like to take this opportunity to share with you some things that I've found helpful and necessary for using the PC.
THE ESCAPE KEY - On your keyboard, top left. Use this key when nothing seems to be happening or the computer is beeping at you. It will get you out of a lot of jams.
THE ENTER KEY - You can usually use this key instead of using your mouse to click on OK, START CHATTING, ENTER, etc. Saves on mouse elbow.
THE TAB KEY - Use this wonderful key to move from box to box when you're entering information. You can also use it to move between buttons (Shift-Tab will take you backwards.)
THE TEMP DIRECTORY - When you feel the computer isn't as fast as it was, check the temp directory. Your computer stores tempory files there, but doesn't delete them. After a while, it can be really full. Delete these files occasionally.
ALT-TAB - This is a combination key. Hold the Alt key (on either side of your space bar) down and tap the Tab key. It will allow you to scroll through any open applications you have and let you move to them without the mouse. (Very helpful if the mouse quits working.)
CTRL-ESC - Another combination key. Press the Control key (by the Alt key) and then the Escape key. This will allow you to close an application that has quit responding.
MORE COMPUTER BASICS
Are you ready to tackle some more? Let's talk about general pc maintenance. You wouldn't think of driving your car without checking the gas, the oil and the tire pressure. And occasionally you give that marvelous machine a tune up. Well your computer needs a little maintenance if you want to keep it running smoothly. It isn't difficult, and you'll decrease your frustration level.
The first thing you need is a comfort level with your file system. This may be a little elementary for some of you, but I think it's necessary for a good starting point, so bear with me. Let's take a look at your personal files (or the ones you would have if you organized that pile of stuff on your desk.) You could stick it all in one file folder, but if you did, how difficult would it be to put your hands on that insurance renewal form? Not too easy, is it? You would have to thumb through each piece of paper till you got to the right one. It would be much easier to set up a file folder just for the insurance papers. Now, if you have these papers all organized in folders, you would put them in a logical order in a file cabinet (or a box, depending on your committment.) And you would probably group them by year, so you can find them even easier.
So how does all of this relate to your computer? Think of your computer as a file cabinet. In the file cabinet we have several drawers. Take a look at your File Manager or Explorer. Consider the C: drive as the file cabinet. Below that you will see a listing of directories (file drawers.) Think of these like you would if you had a drawer for 1997, 1996, and 1995. In each of these directories could be sub-directories (like your file folders for your insurance papers.) There may even be sub-directories of sub-directories. You will also see files that aren't in a directory. Think of these as those odds and ends that don't fit a particular category or there aren't enough of them to need a folder. Practice moving up and down in a directory by double clicking on the file folder (in Win95) or the name in Win 3.x.
Now let's take a look at what's in these file folders. It depends on what view you have set up as to what you are seeing, but one thing that you do see no matter what view is the file name. Notice that the file name has what is called an extension - which consists of a period and 3 letters (i.e. .exe, .txt, .dll.) These extension are very important, they tell the computer how to handle the file. It may be a file that the computer uses to function (.ini or .sys), run an application (.exe or .dll) or a file that you may have created or could use (.doc, .txt, .wav.) Whatever it is, this is a code to the computer. To keep things operating smoothly, please don't change an extension. Depending on your operating system, the actual name of the file may be from 8 to 255 characters. In Windows 3.x, you were limited to a total of 11 characters, 8 for the name and 3 for the extension (with no spaces, commas, or periods except for the one before the extension.) In Win95, you don't have those limitations so you may name your files something that makes sense.
Don't worry that you don't know what all of these files are for, we're only going to concentrate on the files you need to work with. To prepare yourself for disaster (and they do happen), you need to back up your data files regularly. Data files are the files you have created such as letters, spreadsheets, sound files (or anything that didn't come as part of a program.) There are several methods to back up your files but if you only have a few files, I would just copy them to a floppy disk. You may also use a backup utility or zip your files. How often you back up is a judgement call. I don't back mine up very often because I don't add files very often, so every month is fine. Also what I have isn't critical data (like my checking account register.) If your life would come to a halt if you lost your data, consider weekly back ups at least.
One other thing that you need to back up is your registry file if you are using Win95 or WindowsNT. This file should be backed up each time that you make a change to your system, such as adding a new program or new hardware. These files tell Windows what you have and how it's set up. VERY important. While we're talking important, let's talk about boot disks. A boot disk is a floppy that you can use to start your pc when things have gone from worse to "should I just bury it?" To create a boot disk in Win95, click on Start, Settings, and Add/Remove Programs and follow the instructions. This will also back up the registry.
I'm sure that by now you've noticed I've told you to do some things (like back up) but I haven't told you exactly how to do it. There are too many different configurations for me to give you specific instructions, but the information is available to you on your own PC. There is a wonderful tool called HELP. When you aren't sure what you should do, use help to guide you. My intention is to give you general knowledge and enough information so that you know where you're headed.
Now on to some performance issues. Sometimes your computer will get lost and give you an error message. If you get one, don't be too concerned. But if they seem to be happening too often, you may need to do some maintenance. Remember to back up your files first and have a boot disk just in case. If you have deleted and added files quite a bit your hard disk may have become what is called fragmented. What this means is that part of a file is here, the rest of it is there. So to rearrange things and get all the pointers straightened out, do what is called a defrag. You may want to do a scan disk first (check to make certain there are no bad spots on the drive.) Depending on the size of your drive and how bad of shape it's in, these two processes could take quite a while. I ususally do mine after I've gone to bed. Again, check your help to see how to do it.
One more issue for this section - the temp directory. Windows uses the temp directory to write information when you crash and burn (have to shut down ungracefully.) You can sometimes pull your coals out of the fire when this happens (you hadn't saved) by checking the temp directory for files written that day. Try to open them and if the computer fairies have been kind, you can retrieve your file. Windows also uses this directory to write files temporarily while you are using them. Occasionally, clean this directory of all the files. It can help speed up your performance (it can't hurt anyway.) This is also important if you are running out of disk space.
SOME INTERNET BASICS
Okay, the lecture is over. Now on to some more fun stuff. You have evidently learned how to turn on the computer and navigate a little bit (after all, you did get here.) But sometimes we aren't certain how we got where we did or if we could ever find our way back. If you find a sight that is truly helpful (like mine I hope) you can put a bookmark to it. It depends on your browser, but in Netscape, click on the word Bookmark on the Menu Bar (the top row) and click on Add Bookmark or in Internet Explorer it is called Favorites. The next time you want to get back, all you have to do is go back to Bookmarks or Favorites and choose goto Bookmarks or open Favorites. It will be nice to have some friends you can count on.
One of the best ways to learn about the internet, is to explore. Sometimes you'll get lucky, sometimes you won't (sounds like life doesn't it?) But a few hints here could be helpful to you. There are really two methods to explore the internet. Which you prefer will depend on your personality and your goals.
The first is the methodical approach. You decide upon a subject you'd like to learn about and use some tools to find it. The tools could be a search engine, a reference book, or a site you know that has similar links. The usual way in this approach is to use a search engine such as Yahoo, Lycos, Webcrawler, Infoseek, or one of the many others (to find a good search engine check the links below for EXIT1.) As you get more experience, you will choose one that you feel is the easiest. Try doing the same search on each of these and see how the results differ (and they will) to give yourself an idea of which you prefer. You can usually find the search engines from your home page from your service provider.
A little bit about search criteria (what you're looking for) is appropriate here. Suppose you wanted a recipe for chocolate cake. If you enter "chocolate" to search on, you will get results all the way from chocolate candies to how chocolate is made (and a few things in between that you didn't even know existed.) Same for "cake". When you have a criteria that is two words, if you enter both of them (chocolate cake), you would get both lists. So, to narrow down the results, try using the "+" sign (chocolate + cake). This will give you only web sites that have both words. Of course, you could always try to search on "recipe".
The second method is for all of you adventurers. Start out with a simple search, choose a sight that looks interesting, and use the links from it to explore the universe. You might start out looking for chocolate cake recipes, and end up in Brooklyn. This is truly what "surfing the internet" is all about.
This method has a few drawbacks, but there are some tricks that can help you. The "BACK" button on your browser will do just what it says, take you back to the last page you were on. In Netscape there is also on the menu the word "GO", which if you click on it, it will show the last several sites you've visited, so you can just click on one of those to jump back several sites. Internet Explorere has the same feature as History.
Another helpful feature is the box above the window that shows where you are (right now it should say "http://geocities.datacellar.net/Heartland/Prairie/1563/nethelp"). This is your location. To the right of it is a box with a down pointing arrow. If you click the arrow, a list will drop down. Take a look at it, it will have the last several things that you've used. If the one that you want is listed there, all you have to do is click on it, and away you go. I can always find my site that way, and I don't have to type a thing.
I've mentioned links several times, but I haven't explained them, so here goes. A link is displayed (usually in underlined blue) for you to click on and to jump to that spot (either on the current page or a new web site.) This is called a Hyper-Link. I've included Hyperlinks on this page to help you move around easily. If you hold your mouse on top of the link and look at the bottom of your screen (the status bar) it will tell you what the link is. Once you have used that link, it will be a different color (that way you know you've been there.) Remember, if you use a link that you really like, save it as a Bookmark so you can find it again.
PICS AND SCANNERS
You've seen all the neat pictures and graphics on the internet, and you're wondering how you too can be a graphics wizard. I can't make you a wizard, but I can give you some guidance. Basicly there are two type of graphics on the internet, pictures and graphics (drawings and art work.) Let's say you want to send Great Aunt Martha a picture of the kids. She's on the internet, so let's figure this out together.
First, is the picture scanned already? If yes, you've got it made, if not, let's talk. A scanner is basicly like a copy machine, except that it sends the copy to the computer instead of a piece of paper. How it does this is with software loaded on the pc. Just like you have drivers for your printers and plotters, you have drivers for the scanner. You also need an application that can work with the images. There are lots of them out there, graphics packages like Corel Draw, etc. and photo editors. I have Office 97 loaded on my PC and it came with Microsoft Photo Editor. I really like using it. My scanner came with a package called Microgrhafix Picture Editor. So you see, there is a variety. As long as the application supports your driver, you've got it made (there are only a couple of standards, so that's not a problem.)
We've got our scanner set up and an application to work with. One of the commands is "acquire" which starts the scanning process. It will open up a window to make some selections and choose what to scan. Most people make the mistake of scanning the whole photo when all they really want is the main subject. You first do a prescan which gets the image to work with. You can then make selections on the DPI or resolution to use. With photos, you can actually use a 72 dpi and get great resolution. The advantage of using a lower dpi is the size of the resulting file. You also choose what type of image it is such as black & white, 24 bit color, etc. You select the area to scan by using the sizing box. Now you are ready to scan. Once you click on scan, it closes the acquire window and put the image into the main application.
We now have our image and need to decide how to save it (what format.) A few bits of information is very helpful here. Images that show up in your windows(like the groups, etc.) are bitmaps. Bitmaps are usually graphics and anything can read a bitmap. The disadvantage is that the file size is huge. A bitmap file extension is .bmp. The next choice is the .gif format. It uses a compression to save the file and so the file size is much smaller. The graphics you see on the internet are in the .gif format. The next two choices are for photos, .tif and .jpg. The .tif format is older and was the standard forever. The .jpg format was developed by Compuserve especially for the internet. It use a compression that dramatically reduces the size of a file and is ideal for pictures for the internet. (I use .jpg.)
Another thing to check before saving the image is the display ratio. All applications will show you if you are viewing the image 1:1 or 100% or at a much reduced rate. Adjust the ratio until you like the way the image looks and the size. This will tell you how to resize it. (Lucky you if it looks great at 100%). Find the option resize and set it to resize the photo according to the ratio you decided upon. If you have the option to preserve ratio, choose it. If you are shrinking it quite a bit, also the smooth option will help the final result.
Now you are ready to save it. Just choose File, Save and choose the type of file type (format) you want, where to put it and a name. If you want to do any further enhancing, you are now ready. Always keep this as the original, and save the changed images with a new name. At this point you can now do some tweaking or magic with the photo.
Now, what to do with the image. Say you want to send it to me. The absolutely easiest way to do it (without additional software) is a method you already know how to use. Email!. You set up an email just as you would normally, and then choose attach. I believe all email packages allow you to do this. Once you choose attach, all you have to do is tell it where to find the file and the name. It will also ask you if you want to send it as a flat text or as is. Make certain that you have the as is selected. Now send it and you are done.
Other methods of transferring files are through applications such as ICQ which is a type of pager, FTP, or sneaker net (put it on a floppy and hand it to someone.)
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