Computing 101
for the faint-of-heart & un-initiated..

Wherein I try to explain complex concepts, simply, and for the simple-minded...
Introduction:

Here is the text-treatment (few pictures, if any) that is what you want to read BEFORE you buy, the "Computers for Dummies" book...

so - here-goes - let me attempt to explain some very very complex concepts on very simple terms - using a lot of analogies...

Computing 101 - first item is Vocabulary:

The basic building-block of any discipline - be it making bread or sending a man to the moon begins with a set of jargon, words, phrases, concepts & most importantly a "mind-set" so that person a (the expert) can communicate withe "Joe Average"  - on the same level playing field - so lets defne just a 'few' terms up-front, here in this document - then I'll put in-a-link to a more lengthy list...

However - in order for you and me to communicate efficiently - even - for you to communicate efficiently with ANY computer-geek-type, you'll need a vocabulary (and some examples) that help you understand the correct words & phrases to use in certain situations - this is a lengthy-list - so - take your time...


Computer: a device which computes (adds / subtracts / multilies / divides) - in reality almost all mathematical (computation) on an 'electronic computer' takes place as a variation on add-subtract.   We don't need to go into the (terribly involved, gorey and complex) details here - but suffice it to say if you can add and/or subtract you (a human) can do anything a computer can do - you're just a bit slower than most computers, and - computers rarely get sick, have to take care of their sick-kid, need to eat, sleep, drink coffee, talk about football or go to the bathroom...

Most  computers that the ordinary citizen is familiar with are composed of at least these components

Hardware items are 'typically':

Software items are 'typically':

    Operating System(s) - this the software component that is the 'middle-man' between you (the human) and the hardware-components.  It is also the 'middle-man' between your application(s) (software) and the hardware-components.  Some examples of Operating Systems are:

    Application  Software - this  is / are the software that  you load & run on the computer to accomplish your goals & objectives; some examples are:

That's it - you're done - those three components:


that's all there is - everything fits-into one of those three 'slots'...    Now - isn't that easy?

rough picture

here's a simple graphic that should allow you to 'visualize' how the pieces fit together

AND - for those who are really into 'detail' here's a link to a graphic that explains the 'Network Connection' in a bit more detail.

YEAH _ RIGHT! - there is - unfortuntely - a great deal of complexity that falls behind each of these areas.  

so  - lets go back, now, and add that complexity - click on any of these links to get to the 'detail' of that particular section:

Now that we've gone-through some more vocabulary(with examples), lets move-onto some concepts and see if you can grasp how all the parts 'fit together' -

some key concepts we'll attempt to outline:

More to come here, also...

here's a brief section on Computer E-mail: - some terms & some concepts:

here's another key-concept - that of "Common Denominators':

Some 'Web-Site-Links' to some interesting & useful 'training resources':

last updated:Tuesday_19Aug03; revID: 1g