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It is likely that you will become a computer user, knowing or unknowingly, when you begin your career from accounting to zoology; computers have touched nearly every profession. In business, computers play vital roles from the factory floor to the boardroom. Unless you intend to be a hermit, computer will affect you.
What is computer literacy and why you want or need it? Well, computer literacy is learning how to use computer to benefit your life or work. This include a general knowledge about computers include who use them, what functions they perform, how they are used by you and others, and how they are affecting society. This text provides valuable knowledge to help you move into a corporate environment that makes use of computers.
Some experts think “Eventually all the person who does not know how to use computer will be as handicapped in performing his or her job as the person who cannot read.”
A computer is simply is a problems solving tool for people to use; it is machine that accepts data, store data, performs certain operations on that data and presents the results of those operations.
The physical computer which you can touch and feel is named as hardware while the software are those parts of computer which you cannot touch and feel, they are run inside the computer. Basically software is the stored data and computer programs in computer.
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Software |
Hardware |
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There is another difference between hardware and software; hardware is the art of maintaining, assembling and fixing problems of computer physical parts. Software includes the skill to understand the functionality and operation of the computer to operate its programs like documentation, making reports, calculations, making presentations, using internet, sending/receiving email, etc. In our Foundation and Intermediate Program, you will learn the Software skills.
Data is what we entered into the computer or computer stored when we use computer to manage that data and get useful output is called information. As the flight timing entered by the computer operator is just data, but when you got that data, it is information for you.
Computer programs are applications that are used for different purposes e.g. documentation, making reports, making presentations, drawing etc. which executes on computer with the help of the operating system, while operating system is the main startup program and is responsible for running those application and also managing other tasks like allocation of hardware of memory location for an application which is running and also manage more than one application running at same time this is called multitasking operating system. Remember, you cannot do anything on a computer without running an operating system first.
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Computer Program |
Operating System |
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COMPUTER ORGANIZATION:
1. Input Unit: This is the “receiving” section of the computer. It obtains information (data and computer program) from various input devices and places this information at the disposal of the other unit so that the information may be processed. Most of the information is entered into computers today through keyboards, mouse devices, scanners and now by speaking using microphone.
2. Output Unit: This is the “Shipping” section of the computer. It takes information that has been processed by the computer and places it on various output devices to make the information available for use outside the computer. Most information output from computers today is displayed on screens, printed on papers and also can be used to control a device which is attached to computer.
3. Memory Unit: This is the rapid access relatively low capacity. It is basically provide a bridge between the secondary memory (hard disk) and the processor, as processor is very fast and secondary memory as compare to that is very slow. It retains information that has been entered through the input unit so that the information may be made immediately available to processing when it is needed. The memory unit is also retains processed information until that information can be placed on output devices by the output unit. Remember, memory unit is not the permanent place to store information.
4. Arithmetic and logic unit (ALU): This is the manufacturing section of the computer. It is responsible for performing calculations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and also compare two items (i.e. equal or not).
5. Central Processing Unit (CPU): This is the administrative section of the computer. It is the computer’s coordinator and is responsible for supervising the operation of the other sections. The CPU tells input unit when information should be read into the memory unit, tell the ALU when the information from the memory unit should be utilize in calculation and tell output unit when to send information from memory to output devices. This is also called the heart of the computer.
6. Secondary Storage Unit: This is the long term, high capacity and can be called warehouse section of the computer. Programs or data not actively being used by the other units are normally placed on secondary storage devices (such disks) until they are again needed, possibly hours, days, months, or even years later. It is cheaper than primary memory.
Disks are permanent storage place for information. You can record any data on a disk and retrieve them when required. There are different disk types e.g. floppy disks, hard disk, compact disk etc.
Hard disks work faster and have more capacity than floppy disks. Compact disks (CDs) have more disk space but you cannot record anything on it without using a CD-Writer. CDs are Read-only and data (that is available on it) is stored by the companies who made and published it.
Everything is measured by its height, width, or weight. There are different units for measurements like grams, liter, meter, inches etc. Data stored in computer’s disk or memory is measured in Bytes.
Byte is the smallest unit of data measurement. You can assume that one character or letter e.g. A gets one byte in memory or disk when stored. Suppose, you are AHMED, your name will be stored in 5 bytes.
This table tells you about the measurement of data:
1 Character makes 1 Byte
1024 Bytes make 1 Kilo Byte (KB)
1024 KBs make 1 Mega Byte (MB)
1024 MBs make 1 Giga Byte (GB)
1024 GBs make 1 Terabyte (TB)
1024 TBs make 1 Exabyte (EB)
3.5” Floppy normally has the capacity to store 1.44 MB of data.
Hard disks come in different sizes e.g. 2GB, 10GB, 20GB, and 40GB etc.
CDs normally have the capacity of 400-700 MB.
Microsoft Windows is an operating system that starts your computer, make it able for you to work on it and controls all the activities your computer performs. It starts automatically every time you turn your computer on. When Windows 98 starts, it prepares your computer for use, a process called booting the computer.
Next
you will see a logon dialog box (if there is a Network). This dialog box
contains either two or three text boxes. The User Name box should already
contain your name or the name under which your computer is presently registered.
The box, marked password could be blank or it can contain your password. There
are also two buttons OK and Cancel. Press OK to accept user
name and password or press Cancel to sign in as an anonymous user.
When your typed password Windows insert (*) asterisks in place of your letters in the password box as a security measures so no body can view your password.
In
a few moments you will see Windows 98 Desktop, which should appear
similar to this picture.
The term Desktop is used to metaphorically here. It symbolize how the objects you work in Windows are arranged and managed, like the papers and other objects on your desk in the real world.
A mouse is a device that you use to manipulate objects in Windows. As you move the mouse on its pad the mouse pointer moves in tandem. The mouse pointer, which is often referred to simply pointer, is the small symbol such as arrow that moves on the screen when you move the mouse.
NOTE: object is using as reference to icon.
On
your desktop there is a Start button, when you press that button a menu
appears called start menu. Start Menu contains the main commands
to shut down the system, run a program, finding files or folder, setting
options, help topics, recently used documents list and programs that are
installed on your computer.
When you point to Programs, it displays a categorized listing of the applications (programs) that are available on your system. As you click on a program, it is started or if it is category it is expanded and displays another list within it. You can then point to that program and start it.
When it is time for your computer to turn off – just don’t press the power button on your computer to shutdown follow these steps
Desktop contains different icons (e.g. My Computer, Network Neighborhood, Recycle Bin etc.), Start button, Taskbar (that enables you to switch between open windows), Clock etc.
The
Taskbar
The taskbar
appears at the bottom of your screen. The taskbar contains the Start
button, which you can use to quickly start a program, find a file, or access
Help. When you open a program, document, or window, a button appears on the
taskbar for each item. Use the buttons to quickly switch from one open window to
another.
My Computer
Use this folder to quickly see the contents of your floppy disk, hard disk, CD-ROM drive, and mapped network drives. From within My Computer, you can also open Control Panel, where you can configure many settings on your computer.
Network Neighborhood
Use this folder to locate shared resources (e.g. shard files/folder, printers, CD-ROM etc.) on the entire network to which your computer is connected.
Recycle Bin
The Recycle Bin stores deleted files, folders, graphics, and Web pages until you empty the bin. If you want to retrieve an item that you have deleted, look in the Recycle Bin.
To start a program:
Click Start,
point to Programs, locate the program you want to start, and then click
it. If the shortcut of any program is available on the desktop, you can start it
by double-clicking it.
To switch between
running programs:
After you start
a program, a button representing the program appears on the taskbar. To switch
from one running program to another, click its taskbar button.
To close a program:
To close a
program, you can click 
button
(close button) at the upper right corner of the window. You can also close a
program, by clicking File and then Exit. As a shortcut you can use
Alt + F4.
Maximizing,
Minimizing and Restoring a Window
To minimize or maximize a
window or restore it to its previous size,
click the appropriate button in the upper right corner of the window:
to minimize the window
to a taskbar button. To restore the minimized window to its previous size,
click its taskbar button. 
to display the window
in a full screen. 
to restore the window to its
previous size.
Window and its parts
Title Bar displays the File Name with the Program you are working in. It also displays Minimize, Maximize/Restore and Close buttons.
Menu Bar displays command lists, when you click on a particular Menu item, its detailed list is displayed.
Toolbars display shortcuts for the commands in a graphical way.
Vertical
Scroll bar is
used to scroll up and down. Horizontal scroll bar is used to scroll left
and right. These bars appear only when the all contents of a window cannot be
displayed within a window.
Ruler displays the width and height of the working area.
Status bar
displays the current status of that program.
Drives, Folders, Subfolders and Files
Drives are like cabinets where you place your important letters, notes, documents and papers (Files). If you have many documents, you organize and arrange them using file folders (Folders & Subfolders). You may have different folders in a drive to store computer programs, games, personal work, office work etc.
Drives are assigned letters. Typically, the hard disk is drive C: and the floppy drive is A:. If you have more drives or CD-ROM drive they are assigned D: or E:.
Path
Path is used to specify the location of a file or folder. For example, this is the path of file name ‘letter.doc’ that is stored in Personal folder that is the subfolder of My Document folder in drive C.
C:\My Documents\Personal\letter.doc
Filenames and Extensions
Every file or folder you create is given a name to be identified later. Filename can contain up to 255 characters, with a three-character extension (that is given by the computer automatically). Although you can’t use these characters:
/ \ ; * ? > < | :
My
Computer
By opening My Computer, you can see the contents of the Floppy drive, hard drive, CD-ROM drive (if available), Control Panel (to set computer options), Printers (to add or configure printers) and Dialup Networking (to setup internet accounts etc.).
My Documents
My
Documents is a
desktop folder that provides you with a convenient place to store documents,
graphics, or other files you want to access quickly. On your desktop, it is
represented by a folder with a sheet of paper in it. When you save a file in a
program such as WordPad or Paint, the file is automatically saved in My
Documents unless you choose a different location.
Network Neighborhood
It is used to see what is available on the network. It displays the drives, folders and printers that are shared.
Recycle Bin
When you delete a file from your computer, it is not directly deleted, instead it is placed in Recycle Bin. You can restore it if you need that file again.
Run
You can a program by using the Run command. Click Start, and then click Run.
In Open, type the location and name of the program you want to start. If you don’t know the location of file, click Browse. Here you can select the file from drives or folder.
Help
Microsoft Windows can also provide you help on any related topic.
To find a Help topic, click Start, and then click Help, in Help, click one of the following tabs:
- To browse through topics by category, click the Contents tab.
- To see a list of index entries, click the Index tab, and then either type a word or scroll through the list.
- To search for words or phrases that may be contained in a Help topic, click the Search tab.
Find
Microsoft Windows helps you to find files or folder in your computer:
- Click Start, point to Find, and then click Files or Folders.
- In Named, type all or part of the file name.
- Enter a word or phrase in Containing text if you do not know the name of a file but know a distinctive word or phrase it contains.
- If you want to specify the location to start the search, click Browse.
- Click Find Now.
Documents
Documents in start menu display the list of recently used files.
Programs
You will find most of your programs on the Start menu. Click Start, point to Programs, point to the folder you want, and then click the program name.
Arranging Icons
To change the appearance of items in a folder: In My Computer or Windows Explorer, on the View menu, click Large Icons, Small Icons, List, or Details.
You can point to Arrange Icons on the View menu to sort the items by name, size, date, and type, depending on the view. When you point to a menu command, the status bar at the bottom of the window displays a description of what that command does.
Changing Desktop’s Wallpaper
To change the background of the desktop; right-click on desktop and in the shortcut menu select
Creating a Folder
To create a folder:
- Click the drive in Windows Explorer where you want to create the new folder.
- On the File menu, point to New, and then click Folder.
- The new folder appears with a temporary name.
- Type a name for the new folder, and then press ENTER.
Deleting Files or Folder
To delete a file or folder:
- In My Computer or Windows Explorer, click the file or folder you want to delete.
- On the File menu, click Delete.
You may accidentally delete a file or folder. For this reason, Microsoft Windows places deleted documents and files to Recycle Bin. You can retrieve your deleted files, if you need again. Or you can empty Recycle Bin to remove them permanently.
Restoring Deleted Files
To retrieve deleted files:
- On the desktop, double-click the Recycle Bin.
- Click the file you want to retrieve.
- On the File menu, click Restore.
Emptying Recycle Bin
To empty the Recycle Bin:
- On the desktop, double-click the Recycle bin.
- On the File menu, click Empty Recycle Bin.
Renaming a File or Folder
To change the name of a file or folder:
- In My Computer or Windows Explorer, click the file or folder you want to rename.
- On the File menu, click Rename.
- Type the new name, and then press ENTER.
Copying Files or Folder
To copy a file or folder:
- In My Computer or Windows Explorer, click the file or folder you want to copy.
- In the Edit menu, click Copy.
- Open the folder or disk where you want to put the copy.
- On the Edit menu, click Paste.
To select more than one file or folder to copy, hold down the CTRL key, and then click the items you want.
Moving Files or Folder
To move a file or folder:
- In My Computer or Windows Explorer, click the file or folder you want to move.
- In the Edit menu, click Cut.
- Open the folder or disk where you want to move it.
- On the Edit menu, click Paste.
To select more than one file or folder to move, hold down the CTRL key, and then click the items you want.
Creating Shortcuts on Desktop
A shortcut is a quick way to start a program or open a file or folder without having to go to its permanent location in Windows Explorer. Shortcuts are especially useful for programs, files, and folders you use frequently. To create a shortcut on desktop:
- Right-click on the desktop.
- Click New and then Shortcut.
- In Command line box, type the program or filename you want to make shortcut to. You can also click Browse to locate the file and click OK.
Close the current window or quit a program ALT+F4
Copy CTRL+C
Cut CTRL+X
Paste CTRL+V
Delete DELETE
Display Help F1
Display the shortcut menu for the selected item SHIFT+F10
Display the Start menu CTRL+ESC
Switch between running programs ALT+TAB
Undo CTRL+Z
Refresh the contents of a window F5
Rename an item F2
Select all items CTRL+A
View an item’s properties ALT+ENTER
