Intro to Computers

Introduction to Computers

History

How we communicate to computers and tell them what we want done

DOS

In the old days, in order to tell a computer what to do, people would have to enter in commands in a language called DOS.

1984- Apple developed something revolutionary called GUI – Graphic User Interface.

Now, instead of punching in and memorizing code, we just point our mouse and click.

Mouse Tutorial

Let’s Practice!

http://www.seniornet.org/howto/mouseexercises/mousepractice.html

http://tech.tln.lib.mi.us/tutor/welcome.htm

Key Board

Key boards were not always so weird! The first keyboard actually had keys in alphabetical order!

The most prevalent keyboard in use today is called the QWERTY Keyboard.

Designed in 1868 by Christopher Scholes, the letters were arranged in such an odd fashion so that the typewriter’s typebars wouldn’t get jumbled up when people typed quickly.

QWERTY

Puts a space between your words

Push this button in combination with any other letter to

make it capitalized.

Goes back one space and deletes

what you just typed.

When typing, this brings you to the

next line, or “Enters” what you

just typed.

When typing a word

processing document,

this indents.

Desktop

Desktop is the term that defines what you see on your screen when

Windows first starts up.

This is a task bar. It shows you what windows you have open.

These are icons which are pictures that represent programs or storage devices that you click on twice to open.

The Start button lets you shut the computer down, as well as gives access to programs and the control panel.

Windows

A reserved section of your computer’s screen which is used to display special information that can be selected and looked at or changed.

Area of memory or access to a storage device.

This is a window

Here, I have two windows open from two

different programs.

This window is in front because I

clicked on it and am working on it. If I wanted to work on

the other one, I simply click on it and it pops to the

front.

Closes window

Scroll bar

Makes window bigger/smaller

Closes window and puts it in

taskbar

Tool bar

Menu bar