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)