Throughout my week, I need to remember to define the terms I’m using with regards to technology. Too often, a message or lesson can be lost because I assumed that the learner knew some terminology they didn’t Today, I want to define some basics for you. Learn them and share them with all your computer buddies:
Browser – I tell folks to imagine that a browser is like a television set. Any brand of television (Sony, Panasonic, Magnavox, etc) does the same thing…displays a television program. Like a television set, a browser (no matter the brand) does the same thing…displays web pages. The most common web browsers are Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Apple Safari, and Opera. They all do the exact same thing…display web pages.
Word Processor – A program that allows you to create a document that can be printed…like a letter, grocery list, contract, etc. Microsoft Word, Microsoft Works, and WordPerfect make up the most common word processors. However, I use Zoho.com’s online word processor and Google Docs word online word processor more and more today.
Computer – The box sitting on your desk or under your desk that houses your CDROM and provides the holes (ports) that you connect your printer, scanner, camera, and other devices to so you can use them.
Monitor – The device that allows you to read and interact with your computer and its programs (applications).
Modem – In the days of dial-up Internet, we referred to the device inside our computers as a modem. It connected to a telephone line and provided that Internet connection. Most computers still have that modem in them, but often it isn’t used because we now connect to cable and DSL high speed Internet via a high speed modem.
Router – Routers provide a method for us to share a high speed Internet connection with multiple computers wirelessly or via an Ethernet cable (looks like a fat telephone cable). They are about the size of a book.
Bookmarks – Bookmarks or Favorites are a method of saving web pages that you want to re-visit frequently. Once at a site that you want to return to, click Bookmarks or Favorites from the menus, then click Add Bookmark or Favorite. To return to these saved web pages in the future, click the Bookmarks or Favorites menu again, and find and click the site you want to see.
I know there are hundreds more basic terms I could define. Leave a comment below to tell me which ones you would like me to expand on in future articles. And also keep in mind that you can look up technical terms at the Webopedia online tech dictionary.
I will confess that I have not used your web page in quite a while. (It’s the CRS thing of aging! 🙂
I must congradulate you and your staff with all the features you now have! At age 80, I find keeping up with all this tech infdormation is difficult. Your web page will sure help with that! Keep up the excellent work!
I get a kick out of the feature of clicking on the add on to delicious site! Regards, Ernie
Thanks for the feedback and I hope you keep coming back more often now!
I tutor computer users and appreciate your reviews of basic computer knowledge for me to forward to them.
It helps in the explanations.
Thank you for the continous flow of information.
Great to hear from you Jay…in addition to helping computer users directly, I REALLY want folks like you to utilize the information for your pupils. If you have any requests for information or video tips that you would like me to post, let me know.
Hi Rick:
Several weeks ago i emailed you to let you know that your weekly bulletin had stopped arriving in my inbox. you replied that most likely it was being filtered out before reaching my inbox. I figured the culprit was my ISP Comcast because i had heard it through the grapevine and i have read newspaper stories about comcast filtering their customers email without the customers knowing. I called comcast customer service and i explained to the customer rep. that i knew that comcast was filtering my email from feedblitz@helpmerick.com and from heath@listserve.tempe.gov. I told the comcast rep that if the filtering did not stop and allowed those emails through to my inbox i would cancel my high speed internet service with them. I told him that i can go to my local tel. co. and get DSL at 3MB speed for $15.00/month cheaper. I also told him that i would cancel my cable tv service with comcast i am sick and tired with them eliminating analog channels off the cable and moving them up on their digital tier and forcing customers to subscribe to digital service requiring the customer to rent a digital box increasing the customer cost to $20.00 to $30.00 per month. My wife and i are retired and on a fixed income. within 4 days to a week lo and behold i am now getting helpmerick.com and heath.com email have miraculously appeared in my inbox for the past 2 weeks. Thank you for all that you do. you provide a great service to the computing community. I just wanted to let you know what some of these ISP are doing you may want to let the rest of your weekly bulletin readers know about my story.
Thank you so much Leo for your comments and standing up for little guys like me who just want to disseminate helpful information to as many people as I can. Your efforts are much appreciated.
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