This page provides Computer Basics Definitions and links to Definitions. We recommend that you first read the following definitions by clicking on them and click on Back to Top of Page to come back to these links: Desktop Computer, Laptop Computer, Hardware, Software, Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, Screen, Window, Internet, Cursor, Icon.
The next step is to learn more about how to use your Mouse, you hover over Tutorials in the Navigation Bar and click on Getting Started page. To learn more about Internet, hover over the Tutorials in the Navigation Bar again and click on the Internet page. To find further definitions in this page you can click on the other definitions below:
CPU
Hard Drives
Motherboard
RAM
CPU
- CPU is
Central
Processing Unit. It is basically runs your computer.
It processes all functions.
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Cursor
- The cursor
is displayed your screen
and can indicate three different things: 1) where your mouse pointer
is 2)
if the mouse point hovers over a link 3)where
the next character typed will be entered in a line of text .
The mouse cursor/pointer default is number one above that you can use to point to different objects on your screen. An object is typically an icon or a folder. When the cursor is over an object, you can click or double-click the mouse button to perform an action on that object (such as opening a program or folder).
When you click on a form or program to type, the cursor changes to an | shape that continues to flash.
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Desktop Computer
- A Desktop
Computer is a
personal computer
(PC) that is typically installed on a desk and refers to the computer
itself that does not include the Monitor,
Keyboard
and Mouse.
Here is a sample.
However, it you can refer to all of the items as the computer. The computer runs programs that are Software. The computer is mainly Hardware, which contains the Hard drive, Motherboard, CPU, memory (RAM), and video card.
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Hard Drives
- The hard
drive is the hard
disk drive that
is inside the computer. The hard drive stores all your data,
where all your files and folders are physically located. A typical hard
drive is only slightly larger than your hand, yet you can typically
hold over 100 GB
of data. You can also add an external hard drive that is mainly used
for backup.
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Hardware
- Hardware
refers to the
physical parts of a
computer and other devices. Internal hardware devices include Motherboard,
CPU
and RAM.
External hardware devices include
items like Monitors,
Keyboards,
Mouse,
and printers.
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Icon
- An icon on
your computer screen
represents an object or a program on
your hard
drive. For example, the folders
you see on your desktop or in
open windows are icons. The files that you see in those folders are
also icons.
Icons are a visual representation of something on your computer. For example, this icon repersents the Internet Explorer program. When you double click on an icon a new Window opens.
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Internet
- The
Internet was created in 1969 by the
United States military. Now the Internet spreads across the globe
connected to millions of computers and servers. The information
available on the Internet is like a Library. In addition to a Library,
it allows shopping, e-mail, etc.
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Keyboard
- A keyboard
is a
board of keys. The
keyboard is an input device used with a computer that
is similar to the original typewriter. The other device used is the
mouse.
Although the keyboards are like typewriters, the keyboards have many other keys like Control, Alt/Option, functions, etc. The Keyboard Tutorial will walk you through the details.
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Laptop Computer
- A Laptop
Computer has most
of the features
of the Desktop Computer, but is has a built it Keyboard, Monitor
(referred to as a Screen),
and a touchpad that can be used like a
Mouse. Laptops can also have separate Keyboard,
Monitor,
and Mouse.
Here is a Laptop sample:
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Motherboard
- The
motherboard is a circuit
board inside your computer. It can also be called a mainboard or logic
board.
Attached to the motherboard, are other items, such as CPU,
ROM,
memory RAM, PCI
slots, and USB
ports. It also includes devices like the hard
drive, DVD drive, keyboard, and
mouse. The motherboard makes everything in your
computer work together.
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Mouse
- A mouse and keyboard
are the main input
devices used by the computers. A mouse tracks the user's motion and is
used for
moving the cursor
on the screen. It also has buttons that are used for clicking and
right-clicking
objects. A mouse can be connected with a wire or wireless.
See Mouse Tutorial for more details.
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Monitor
- A Monitor is
also called a screen
that is used to display
items from your computer or internet. The Monitor also
displays
how the user interacts with the computer monitor with the keyboard
and mouse.
Typically, monitors also refer to speakers used for monitoring sound.
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RAM
- RAM is
Random Access
Memory. RAM is made up of small
memory chips that form a memory
module installed in the motherboard
of your
computer.
When you open a program, it gets loaded from the hard drive into the RAM, because it is faster than reading data from the hard drive. That is why computers with more RAM are faster.
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Screen
- A screen is the same definition as a monitor. Here is a sample below of a screen display.
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Software
- Computer
software is in effect computer programs or applications. The main
difference between software and hardware is that hardware is physical
and software is more virtual. Software consists of lines of
codes
written by computer programmers.
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Window
- A window is displayed when a program opens. The window can cover the entire screen or a portion of the screen. The window size can be adjusted, minimized, reopened, or closed. The image below is a sample of openning a window by douple clicking on the Internet Explorer Icon and resizing the window. See Monitor/Screen Tutorial for more details.
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