Basic Skills

Foundation Computing

The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

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OverviewParts of your computerOn and offAdviceEmail clientsFile managementWeb browser vs website

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A brief introductionWe assume most students will have used a

computer beforeThis material is for those who have notWe will only skim over this topicAbsolute novices should study Module 0 of

the Study Book very carefullyConsider coming to one of the special

classes if you are struggling with this

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Parts of your computerMonitorKeyboardMouse or touchpadCase, containing

Hard disk (costs <$1 per GB - Gigabyte) CD reader/writer and/or DVD reader/writer CPU (Central Processing Unit) Memory Floppy disk

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On and offEvery time a computer is turned on, virus

protection software, a firewall and operating system update software should also start

Normally, after turning a computer on, you will need to “log on”. It might be advisable to set a password to prevent inappropriate access

It is NOT acceptable to turn a computer off just by using the power button Use operating system “Shutdown” function Use of shutdown avoids loss of data

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AdviceIf you have your own computer, please

make sure that the OS is up-to-date virus protection software is installed and up-

to-date you have a firewall protecting your computer

from the internet

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Email clientsThere are different kindsWeb Mail

Hotmail, Gmail, University webmail Very easy to set up Slower Must be on-line even to compose and read

email Mail which has not been sent can easily be lost Great for mobility – mail stays on server

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Email clients (2)Traditional Email

Must install a program, such as Eudora, Outlook Express, Mozilla Thunderbird, …

Must set upSMTP agent (which sends your email), might need

login and passwordPOP agent (which receives your email), will need

login and passwordReturn address (your main email address)

Faster, safer, has offline access

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File managementHard disk storage is cheap – don’t need to

delete files to free up spaceLeads to large amount of filesVery important to be organized to locate

filesThe “My Documents” folder is a good

place to store your personal files

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File management (2)

Create subdirectories and sub-subdirectories, give them sensible names

Not folder1, folder2, … But maybe assignments, csc1402, study,

work, private,…Windows Explorer is started by pressing

Win+E

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Web browser vs WebsiteA web browser is

the program you use to access the world wide web, eg Internet Explorer, Firefox, Netscape

allows you to navigate to sites and access resources

contains a text entry line for the URL (web address).

A website is A location on a remote computer you access,

eg Google, Yahoo, news.com.au, course website

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Read the study bookPlease read module 0 of the Study BookAlso, it is now time to read Module 1 of the

Study Book and Topic 1 from the text “Foundation Computing” (if you have purchased a copy)