There are two kinds of computers in the world: PC (Personal Computer) and Mac (Apple Macintosh). This course will focus on the use of a desktop PC.

Mac vs PC commercials

The difference between the two are: All Mac components are exclusively made by the Apple corporation. You cannot build your own Mac computer, but anyone can build their own desktop PC.

If you have problems with your PC, you can take it to any computer repair center. If you have a problem with a Mac, it must be serviced by an Apple center. There are many companies that make and sell PCs like: HP, Dell and Gateway.

The Operating System

All computers come with an Operating System (OS). The OS allows the user to operate the computer system by providing an interface to manage and perform different tasks. The most popular OS is Microsoft Windows. Linux Ubuntu is slowing rising to popularity as a free alternative.

• 
  Linux Ubuntu (FREE)
• 
  Microsoft Windows

2.1 Upgrading your Operating System

It’s important that your OS is current, this means upgrading every few years. But it isn’t wise to upgrade immediately upon release of the latest OS until the kinks and bugs have been fixed.

New technology often has bugs that get fixed as users and the company discover them. Until the new OS is perfected, wait a while.

Another reason to wait is: your current programs may not be compatible with it yet – so if you were to upgrade, your old programs wouldn’t work until your program’s manufacturer releases a fix. Always check online to see if your current programs are compatible with the new OS.

Currently, as of February 16th, 2010, the Microsoft Windows has a new OS called Windows 7. Before this version, users either used Windows Vista or, an even earlier version, Windows XP. If you’re still using Windows 98 or 95, you should upgrade.

• 
  Windows 95-98
• 
  Windows XP
• 
  Windows Vista
• 
  Windows 7

Parts

Hardware is the physical parts of a computer. Let’s take a look at the various computer parts and their purpose:

• 
  Monitor -
  for visual display
• 
  Mouse –
  for interactivity
• 
  Pen Display – draw directly on the screen
• 
  Keyboard – used to input data
• 
  Speakers – hear sound and music
• 
  External Modem – For Internet connection
• 
  Printer – used to print documents
• 
  Scanner – allows you to digitize images and text
• 
  Flash drive – external data holder

3.1 The Computer Tower

The tower is the main part of the desktop PC. Inside the tower (also called: case) includes:

• Motherboard – distributes commands
• Hard Drive – stores data and the OS
• Floppy Drive – accepts data on floppy disks
• DVD Drive – accepts data on CD/DVD’s disks
• Modem Card – connects you to the Internet
• Sound & Video Cards – Allows sound & display
• Processor – Determines how fast to perform tasks
• RAM – manages the amount of tasks you can perform at once.
• USB slots – connects various devices to your computer like: cameras, phones, headset, Internet, mouse, keyboard, flash drives and more

3.2 Software

Software is the computer programs you use to perform certain tasks. Software comes either on CD/DVD disks or can be downloaded from the Internet.

The following is a list of common tasks a computer can perform and the name of the software in parentheses:

• Word Processing (Microsoft Word)
• Photo management, music and video player (Windows Media Player)
• Photo touch-up & graphic design (Adobe Photoshop)
• Internet Browser (Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome)
• Virus and spam protection (Trend Micro)
• Calculator, files search and organization

When you add new programs to your computer, this is called: installation. When you remove a program, this is called: uninstalling. New computers often come with software pre-installed.

The Internet

The Internet is a collection of continuously running computers that display a collection of linked data files called websites. The Internet is also referred to as “The Web” because it is a larger connection of linked computers – like a spider’s web.

Computers that are configured to show websites are called servers because they serve data for public display. A server usually has several websites stored on it. When a person purchases space on a computer server, this is called hosting. The company is charging the buyer to host their website on their server. Hosting is purchased and renewed monthly or yearly.

Anyone can turn their computer into a server, but they’d have to leave it on forever. If the computer is shut down, the website will not display to the public. This is why people choose to buy hosting services.

The browser is the software used to view websites. A browser comes pre-installed with most computers. All browsers are not the same; and some are faster and have better features. The following are the latest and most popular browsers:

If you see this paragraph, this means you need to update your browser. You are using Internet Explorer version 6 – which is outdated. You’re missing out on many new security and visual features. Choose a browser below and upgrade today.

• 
  Mozilla Firefox
• 
  Internet Explorer 8 (IE8)
• 
  Google Chrome

The Internet Service Provider (ISP) is the company a user pays monthly to get access to the Internet. Popular ISP’s include:

• AOL (America Online)
• Netzero (FREE)
• Verizon
• Sprint
• AT&T
• Comcast

4.1 Domain Names

A domain name is the website’s address. For instance, google.com is a domain name .com is the domain’s extension. To access Google’s website, you would type http://google.com into your browser’s address bar. http:// is the command that tells the computer to search the Internet for Google and not your local PC files. http stands for: HyperText Transfer Protocol.

You no longer have to type http:// or www (word wide web) before the domain name, newer browsers automatically add it. However, you must always include an extension (.com), or the website will not appear. Domain names should be entered in lowercase letters.

The person who has a website must purchase a domain name from a domain register. Domain names are renewable annually, or every two to five years.

4.2 Downloading and Bandwidth

Every time you visit a website, you are accessing someone’s server. The time that transpires while waiting for the website to appear on your screen is called “downloading”. Your browser is automatically copying and loading down the data files (website) from the server to your local PC. If you were to send files from your PC to that website, it would be called “uploading“. Download and upload speeds vary due to the amount of data someone is downloading and their Internet connection type.

Bandwidth refers to the amount of data that is transferred monthly by website visitors. The more visitors, the more data transfer, the more strain on the server. Hosting services provide monthly bandwidth limits. If too many people visit a site that doesn’t have enough bandwidth – the website will crash. The site won’t be available until the bandwidth is increased to handle the amount of visitors. Website owners can increase their bandwidth limit at additional cost.

4.3 Internet Connection Types and Speeds

Internet Service can only work if a modem is connected to the computer. Some ISP’s provide a special modem. ISP’s use a variety of ways to connect to the Internet:

At a local soup kitchen, here in Detroit, I was asked to help teach a Computer Literacy Course. Some of our visitors have very little skill with computers.

The course focuses on the use and the understanding of the desktop PC. The confidence and skills this course will bring will prove very valuable to our visitors. I will post links to each part as I complete them.

• Part 1: Understanding Computers
• Part 2: Using the hardware and Software
• Part 3: Using the Internet

OpenOffice

OpenOffice is the leading open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. Pretty much, it’s Microsoft Office with all the features and programs, but for free. The interface is even the same. Why pay 150 bucks to Microsoft when you can get the same programs for free. The great thing about OpenOffice is, all your MS Office file formats are compatible and will work with Open Office, so don’t feel like you need MS Office. www.openoffice.org

CamStudio

CamStudio is a screen and audio recorder that will allow you to do screen-cast and tutorials – some of which you may have seen on this site. You can then save the file as a AVI or SWF. I usually convert the AVI video file (using the next free program) to FLV which is the preferred file format for streaming flash video. www.camstudio.org

Any Video Converter

Any Video Converter is simply what it’s called – it converts one video file format  to another. If you have a DVD, you can convert it to FLV for streaming on the web. You can change the frame-rate, the video size and more. The paid version is $45. The free version is limited, but it gets the job done for me. Check out their site for all the file formats it can handle. www.any-video-converter.com

Audacity

Audacity® is free, open source software for recording and editing sounds. I use Audacity and I like it because it’s very simple to use. It comes with some array of special effects, while it’s no Pro-tools, it gets the job done for novices like myself who just want to make a few recordings and edit them. Be sure to download the MP3 Encoder so that you can export files in this format as well. www.audacity.sourceforge.net

CCleaner

CCleaner (aka Crap or Computer Cleaner) is a free system optimization, privacy and cleaning tool. It removes unused files from your system – allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. Additionally, it contains a fully featured registry cleaner. www.ccleaner.com

Firefox is a free and open source web browser from the Mozilla Corporation. A Net Applications statistic put Firefox at 24.43% of the recorded usage share of web browsers as of January 2010, making it the second most popular browser worldwide (next to Internet Explorer).

As a web developer, I love Firefox because it’s a standard compliant browser which means: it obeys the commands I enter when coding a webpage – some browsers don’t. Firefox supports many design features that won’t display in Internet Explorer.

I also love the many add-ons I use with Firefox that help me be a better web developer. I’ve been using Firefox since version 2 and I’ve had a great browsing experience so far. Here are ten reasons why you should use Firefox over Internet Explorer or Safari.

Learn more about Mozilla Firefox

• Get Firefox
• Top 5 reasons to switch from Internet Explorer to Firefox
• Video Overview of Firefox

OnGuardOnline.gov gives practical advice, from the federal government and the tech industry, on how to guard against Internet fraud, secure your computer, and protect your personal information.

OnGuardOnline.gov has created these really fun games that actually test your knowledge of Internet security and help educate you at the same time. A few I’ve played and list below:

• How to Identify Phishing Scams
• Laptop Security
• Protecting your computer from Wireless Hackers
• How to protect against Spy Ware
• and many more

I encourage you to check these out and test your knowledge of Internet security, you may learn something new.

This is everyone’s favorite question.

This question is best answered by a SEO expert, but from what I know of my own SEO research – taken from many expert’s articles and websites – is to make your web pages attractive to search engines. Search engines will judge your website by these 3 things: Title, Description and Content.

Title

Title is the page’s given title and it is displayed at the very top part of the browser and on search engine lists. This is why it is unwise to name all of your pages something generic like “Welcome” or “MyWebsite’sName”. Each HTML page should have a unique name.

Description

Description is a description of the content on the particular page – kind of like a summary. If you have one, this is usually displayed in the search results list. Your site is all about and matches it to the search terms people use to find websites. These words are added to meta-data included into your website by your developer.

Content

Content is the written copy for your website. There are many websites that teach you how to write good copy and you can always hire a Copywriter. The main objective is to write rich content. Mark Jackson, CEO of Vizion Interactive, a search engine optimization company said this:

The number of pages and the quality of the content available on the domain is one of the major factors that search engines use to determine authority.

These 3 pieces of data are placed in the code of your website. You can view the code by clicking “View Source” in your browser’s control panel. The following is an example of a website with the specific data points highlighted:

<html>
<head>
<title>Title of The Page</title>
<meta name="description" content="description is placed here"/>
</head>
<body>
<h1>The is a Content heading</h1>
<p>This is a paragraph - where the main content would go…</p>
</body>
</html>

What about Keywords?

Keywords are all the words or phrases associated with the content on the web page. Search engines used to match the  keywords on a webpage and the keywords the user would type in, but people abused this system and now, search engines don’t regard keywords as they uses to. But many designers still use them and SEO experts still include them. From my research, they won’t hurt to add them. I personally add a generic list for the entire site instead of unique words for each page. Overall, please contact a SEO expert for their help.

One more thing.

It takes time (months or more) to get a high listing, so be patient and I would highly recommend a SEO expert if it’s very important that you be on the first page of Google. Hope this helps.

For more on this subject, check out:

• Submit Your Site to Google – www.googleguide.com
• Keyword Basics – www.wordtracker.com.
• And do a Google search for “keywords, SEO, optimizing” etc.

About Domains

A domain name is the address to your website. You can register a name for as little as $7/year. Some hosting services will register the domain name for free, when you purchase a hosting package.

FYI: ‘Hosting’ is the place where your website’s files are stored and hosted; the domain name is the address to them. A Server is a computer that “serves” the files to the Internet for view. Hosting and Server are sometimes used interchangeably but this isn’t exactly correct. Hosting is the service of providing, running and maintaining the computer Server.

Keep in mind that a domain name is just the registration of an address – don’t spend too much money on it. $19/year is ridiculous to register a new name. A high-priced name is only justifiable if it’s already been registered and owned by a reseller.

It’s always best to purchase a pre-owned domain name through an After Market Service; most Domain Registers offer this service to buyers looking to acquire valuable domains for their companies in exchange for big bucks from resellers.

Keyword Domains

If possible, choose a name with the keywords someone may type in when doing a search. For instance, the name of this company is ikreator.com, but the main domain name is ikwebdesigner.com.

Why? Because the keywords: web and designer are what people type in when doing a search for services like ours. We own ikreator.com but it forwards to: ikwebdesigner.com. The search engine will likely list our website higher because it matches popular keywords.

Buy Another Name

Along side a keyword rich name, a second name may be needed to represent your company. You may need a name that you can post on your stationery, brochures and other marketing materials. Choose a short, understandable and memorable name; a name without hyphens and a name that is easy to type and not misspell. This name will act as your display name; when typed into a browser, it will forward to your keyword rich domain.

If you need help in choosing the domain name that best represents your company and looks good to search engines we are happy to help.

Buy a domain name with the extension .com

Why dot com? Because this is the most recognized extension. Visitors often assume a website will end with .com, so go with the flow – don’t confuse them if you don’t have to. For some reasons you may want to use another extension. Other extensions include:

• .gov – Government Entities
• .org – Organizations
• .edu – Educational Entities
• .net – Network, Internet Entities
• .tv – Television, Multimedia & Entertainment
• .info – Information
• .biz – Small Businesses
• .us – All American
• .com – Commercial

I would suggest that, if it’s available, get the .com extension as well. Then you can have all the other extensions forward to the main extension. Forwarding options come with any professional domain register service.

For more on this subject, check out:

• Getting to the top of Google

What Is Great Content?

In the context of service industry websites (which is our focus), great content gives the visitor exactly what they want from your website: information. A website with great content will also become more attractive to search engines like Google; boosting you higher to the first page.

People Don’t Read.

According to usability studies by Dr. Jakob Nielsen, the “guru of webpage usability” said The New York Times, few people read everything on a web page. Why? Because people’s attention spans are lower these days and so is their patience. Users want to find what they’re looking for as quickly as possible. So instead of reading an entire webpage they scan the page looking for whatever stands out. If what they’re looking for isn’t found quickly, the visitor will move to the next site.

Here’s what to do about it:

Structure Your Content

The main goal is to find information, so it’s important to place important information first, at the top of the page; make it stand out; use larger headings. Summarize your information in a short paragraph at the very top. A summary helps users determine if the page, is indeed, what they are looking for.

Instead of writing a big paragraph, break up the paragraphs into smaller ones, perhaps no more than four lines per block. Use bold sub-headings to start off the new paragraphs. Use bullets and numbered lists when stating facts. This sets up your content to be scanned by users first, and then read in its entirely, when ready.

Paragraph Structure

Start the paragraph with the most important point and then expand on this for the rest of the paragraph. If the first line doesn’t interest the reader, they may skip the rest of the paragraph.

Give answers before explanations, give summaries before details and give conclusions before discussions. Always keep your information short and to the point.

Note: Spacing the lines within large amounts of content makes it more reader-friendly; this is called line-height and it’s a CSS styling technique we employ in many of our websites.