Computer & Technology Basics Course for Absolute Beginners

this is a computer basics course for people who are brand new to using computers it's also for people who know a little bit about computers but just want to brush up on some areas there are a variety of topics and you can use the time codes in the description to jump to the topic you want to learn about this course was developed by the goodwill community foundation hey guys i'm bill an instructional designer here at gcflearnfree.org and we're really excited to tell you about our new tutorial called basic computer skills we've put together a group of lessons that are short sweet and designed to make you more comfortable with everyday tasks you know with a little extra time and effort anyone can learn how to be more comfortable with a computer it just takes practice so let's get started with basic computer skills computers are all around us from laptop computers to smartphones to smart watches they're changing the way that we live our lives but have you ever asked yourself what exactly is a computer a computer is an electronic device that manipulates information or data the computer sees data as ones and zeros but it knows how to combine them into much more complex things such as a photo movie website game and much more computers use a combination of hardware and software hardware is any physical part of the computer which includes the internal components and the external parts like the monitor and keyboard software is any set of instructions that tells the hardware what to do such as a web browser media player or word processor when most people say computer they're talking about a personal computer this can be a desktop computer or a laptop which has basically the same capabilities but in a more portable package personal computers come in a few different styles the most common type uses the windows operating system max or macintosh computers feature the mac os operating system while chromebooks run on chrome os smartphones and other mobile devices mostly use the ios or android operating systems we'll talk more about operating systems in a later video computers come in many other shapes and sizes tvs game consoles and even appliances like refrigerators can have built-in computers although they may not do everything a desktop or laptop can there is another type of computer that plays an important role in our lives servers a server sends information to other computers on a network in fact every time you use the internet web servers deliver the web pages that you want to see to your computer servers are also used in many offices to store and share files as you can see there are many types of computers out there and each one plays a part in our modern world every computer has its own set of buttons and ports in this video we're going to talk about some of the most common ones including what they're for and how to recognize them some buttons are universal like the power button depending on the type of computer you have it may be on the front on the back behind the screen or even on the inside when you open the lid the power socket is where you'll connect the power cord if you have a laptop you'll have a charging port instead [Music] most computers provide more than one usb port so you can plug in any device you might need keyboards printers and usb drives are all common examples some computers even have usb-c ports which can be used for many different things not just plugging in devices laptops for instance often use the format for the charging port if you have a desktop you'll use the monitor port to connect the monitor there are quite a few types of monitor connections ranging from hdmi to the usbc style we just mentioned if you have a laptop you can connect a separate monitor as long as you have the right equipment just look for the display port and plug in the appropriate cable the ethernet port lets you connect to the internet if you're not using wi-fi all you need is an ethernet cable which you can then connect to your modem or router if your computer has an audio jack you can use it to plug in wired headphones or speakers you may or may not have a disk drive depending on how old your computer is and who makes it the disk drive can be used to insert a cd a dvd or a blu-ray disc if you have ports that look like this they're for older peripherals like mice keyboards and printers newer versions of these devices usually connect via usb or wirelessly that covers the basics of buttons and ports of course every computer is different and technology is always changing to find out what options you have take a closer look at your computer [Music] there are many different types of computers but they all use similar parts to operate in this video we're going to show you what these parts are and what they're used for starting with a standard desktop model the computer case holds the main components of the computer this is where the actual processing happens today most cases are what we call tower cases which means they stand up vertically but they can also come in other shapes and sizes to view things on your computer you'll need a monitor the monitor uses the video processor inside your computer case to display images text and other content most monitors have an lcd or led display both of which are very thin so they don't take up much space all-in-one models are even more compact since they combine the monitor and the computer case into a single unit to interact with your computer you'll need a keyboard and a mouse keyboards come in many different styles including wireless and ergonomic the mouse is used to control the mouse pointer on this screen so you can click and interact with your computer most mice detect movement using an optical sensor on the bottom underneath you'll find a small electronic eye laptops combine all of these things into one that includes the components that are normally inside the computer case plus a built-in screen keyboard and touchpad the touchpad is a small touch sensitive area that takes the place of a traditional mouse it lets you control the mouse pointer using a drawing motion with your finger laptops offer the best of both worlds when it comes to portability you can use them on the go thanks to the built-in battery or you can connect a separate monitor keyboard and mouse effectively turning your laptop into a desktop so those are the basic parts of any computer setup as you can see each part plays an important role which you'll come to understand as you spend more and more time with your computer you may already know that there are many important parts inside a computer but what exactly do they do let's take a look inside and learn about the various components that make a computer work whether it's a desktop computer or a laptop every computer has a large circuit board called a motherboard this contains some of the most important parts of the computer such as the cpu also known as the central processing unit or processor the cpu can be considered the brain of the computer because it processes information and carries out commands since it tends to get hot it's covered by a piece of metal called a heat sink which draws heat away from the processor the motherboard also contains the computer's ram or random access memory this is the short term memory that the computer uses whenever it's performing calculations however you cannot store your files there because the ram is cleared when you shut off the computer the hard drive provides long-term storage keeping all of the computers data even when it's turned off many hard drives use a magnetic platter to store data but many newer computers have solid state drives which are faster and more durable but also more expensive on many desktop computers the motherboard has expansion slots that allow you to upgrade by adding expansion cards you can add a video card to get better graphics performance or you can add a wireless card to connect to your wireless home network most laptops however don't have expansion slots of course the computer's components need electricity to run the power supply unit is designed to take power from the wall outlet and send it to all of the different components that need power laptops also contain a built-in battery that lets you use them anywhere a computer is a pretty complex machine but now that you've seen what goes on inside it should be a little less mysterious if you're thinking of buying a computer you may have wondered is a laptop right for me depending on how you plan to use it the answer may be yes in this video we'll look at some of the ways that a laptop is different from a desktop to help you decide the biggest difference is portability laptops have to be small and light so that you can pick them up and take them with you since all of the basic parts are built in setting up a laptop is as easy as opening it the downside is that the monitor is usually smaller than a desktop monitor so you'll have less screen space another important difference is that laptops use a battery the battery can provide power to the laptop when you're on the go and it will recharge whenever it's plugged in an added benefit of having a battery is if the power goes out the battery can work as a backup power source instead of a mouse laptops usually have a built-in touchpad also known as a trackpad you can control the pointer on the screen by using a drawing motion with your finger if you haven't used a touchpad before the experience is a little bit different from using a mouse and it may take a while to get used to if you're buying a desktop computer you can mix and match almost any monitor keyboard and mouse that you want with a laptop you won't have quite as much freedom since everything is built in however if you want to have the best of both worlds you can use your laptop's ports to connect a separate monitor keyboard and mouse basically turning your laptop into a desktop and of course whenever you want to you can simply disconnect everything and take your laptop with you as you can see there are some important differences between laptops and desktops so depending on your preferences you can decide which one best suits your needs did you know that you and your computer speak different languages it doesn't speak spanish or swedish or chinese it speaks in ones and zeros you can't communicate directly with your computer but that's where your operating system comes in the operating system or os is the program that lets you interact with your computer together the operating system and computer hardware form a complete system that determines what your computer can do there are many different operating systems two of the most common ones are microsoft windows and mac os windows comes pre-loaded on most personal computers while mac os runs on all new macs operating systems aren't just for desktop and laptop computers mobile devices run mobile operating systems like apple ios or google android which are designed for interactions with smaller touch screens before downloading a new program or application be aware that it may not be available for your operating system some applications work on all devices while others only work on certain ones so get to know your operating system to see how it works and what it can do if you woke up this morning thanks to the alarm on your smartphone or if you like watching videos or playing games on your tablet you're using applications also known as apps an app is a software program that lets you do things for lack of a better word you'll find apps on all of your devices including smartphones tablets and computers some apps help you complete tasks while others are just for fun here are some examples of ways you can use apps mobile apps are apps that run on your smartphone or tablet they can make many things in life more convenient for instance if you're looking for a place to buy coffee an app like google maps can determine your current location and then recommend nearby coffee shops apps aren't just for mobile devices though the programs and applications on your computer can also be considered apps if you've ever used microsoft word to create a document or a web browser to visit a website or check your email guess what you've used an app some apps come already installed but you can easily download or buy more online apps are about communication productivity entertainment and more with so many possibilities you're sure to find several apps that are perfect for the things you do are you having trouble putting your computer together are you feeling overwhelmed don't worry take a deep breath we're going to show you step-by-step how to set up a desktop computer first unpack everything from the box and remove any plastic covering or protective tape think about where you want your workspace to go and how you want to arrange the different components before you start plugging things in next let's connect the monitor if you have an all-in-one computer where everything is built in for example an imac you can skip this step otherwise locate your monitor cable newer monitors often use hdmi or usbc connections while older monitors may use vga dvi or another type of connection it just depends now find the monitor port on the back of your computer case and plug the cable in most cables are designed to fit a certain way so if it's not working don't force it when you're done connect the other end to your monitor now it's time to plug in your keyboard and mouse if they're wired they most likely have a usb connector so you can use any of the ports you see here you could also plug your mouse into the usb port on your keyboard if it has one if you have a wireless mouse or keyboard it's going to work a little differently some wireless devices connect using technology that's built into your computer while others need an adapter you'll also need to pair the device with your computer before you can use it you may want to read the instructions that came with your wireless device to learn more about pairing at this point you can plug in your speakers or headphones if it uses a typical audio plug look for the green audio port on the front or back of your computer case however some speakers headphones and microphones use usb connectors finally it's time to connect the power supply cables and plug the computer in you should have two cables one goes with your monitor and the other plugs into the back of your computer case now plug both cables into a power outlet we recommend using a surge protector to keep your equipment safe in the event of a power surge when you're ready plug the surge protector into a regular outlet if it has a power switch you may need to switch it on that's all there is to it now take a minute to make sure you're happy with your workspace then turn your computer on there are lots of reasons to set up a home internet connection for example you'll have access to email news shopping tv shows and much more and once you have a working internet connection you can create a wireless home network which will let your whole family connect their computers smartphones and other internet ready devices let's look at a few different types of internet connections that you can have dial-up connects to your phone line it's usually much slower than other types of internet connections but in some areas it may be the only option available generally dsl and cable are better options dsl plugs into your phone line and cable uses your cable tv connection these are both known as broadband internet connections because they offer much faster speeds than dial-up this makes it easier to watch videos play games or browse the web [Music] fiber is the fastest type of broadband currently available using fiber optic cables it can provide speeds that exceed even dsl or cable however it may not be available where you live and it tends to be more expensive cellular is sold under a few different names including 4g lte and 5g they're types of wireless internet connections often used by smartphones but you can also get these types of connections for your home depending on where you live a cellular connection may be a good broadband alternative [Music] no matter what kind of internet service you choose you'll need to purchase it from an internet service provider or isp chances are you can buy internet service from your phone or cable company or you may want to shop around for a better price your isp will guide you through the entire process of connecting to the internet they will usually need to send a technician to your home to turn on your connection your isp may also give you a modem and set it up for you but if you prefer you can buy a modem from a computer store and use the included instructions to set it up yourself these instructions will vary but the basic idea is that you'll connect the modem to your phone jack or cable tv connection and then connect your computer to the modem using an ethernet cable once you have everything set up you can open your web browser and begin using the internet if you want to connect several devices to the internet you can create a wireless home network also known as a wi-fi network to do this you'll need a wireless router which takes the internet connection from your modem and broadcasts it throughout your home your modem may already have a wireless router built in so you may not need to buy one to set up your wireless connection follow the instructions included with your router you'll need to choose a network name also known as an ssid also for security you should turn on wpa2 or wpa3 encryption depending on what your router supports then make sure you choose a strong password after you've set up your wireless network go into each device's wi-fi or network settings select your network name and type your password if any of your devices are not wireless ready you can simply plug them into your router with an ethernet cable or you can purchase a wireless card setting up an internet connection and wi-fi network takes a little bit of work but once you get it set up your family will be able to use the internet without being limited to one computer so you're at your computer working on some important files suddenly a meteorite burst through the window and flattens the computer but as you stare into the crater you smile and think at least my photos music and important documents are stored online in the cloud when something is stored in the cloud that means it's saved on internet servers instead of on your computer it's like having an extra hard drive you can access anytime you're connected to the internet you can access your files anywhere by using cloud-based apps some run inside your computer's web browser these are called web apps and some of them can also be installed on your mobile device for instance google docs is a cloud-based app that you may already use it's free and it allows you to view create and edit many types of projects you can access google docs from almost any device with an internet connection since you only need a connected device to access the cloud you can take your files wherever you like you can take a photo on your smartphone and upload it to a cloud-based photo storage service like google photos or dropbox then you can access that photo on any of your other devices like your computer or tv you can even work on a document when you're far away from your desk and share it with anyone you want instantly storing files in the cloud is a great way to protect them from accidents viruses and more you can use cloud-based storage services like i drive or backblaze to backup the contents of your computer these services run continually and back up automatically this way you will always have the most recent versions of your files stored in secure online servers if something bad happens to your device you can easily transfer your backup files from the cloud to another device whether you're backing up photos and music that you love or using a file on the go the cloud has a lot to offer plus when your files are stored in the cloud you won't need to worry about losing them to a computer malfunction or a rogue meteorite [Music] it's important to keep your computer clean not only because it looks nice but also because things like dust and dirt can affect your computer's performance but there's a right way and a wrong way to do it here's the right way to clean your computer case monitor mouse and keyboard first always turn off or unplug the item before you clean it just to be safe if it has a ps2 connector like this make sure the computer is shut down both when you unplug the cable and when you plug it back in to clean your keyboard turn it upside down and gently shake it to remove any dust dirt or crumbs it's not uncommon for stuff to get stuck inside which can affect the way your keyboard works you can also use a can of compressed air to really get between the keys to clean the surface use a cotton cloth or paper towel that's moistened with rubbing alcohol never actually pour alcohol or any other liquid on your keyboard if you spill something by accident don't panic shut your computer down immediately then disconnect the keyboard and turn it upside down so the liquid can drain if the liquid is sticky you can rinse your keyboard under running water just like this turn to the side then let it drain upside down for two days before reconnecting it it may not be repairable at this point but it's worth a try the best way to avoid this is to keep drinks away from the computer area altogether next take a look at your mouse if you have an optical mouse good news these don't require much cleaning at all because they don't have any moving parts just keep an eye on the light emitter underneath if something gets stuck here even a piece of dust it can keep your mouse from working smoothly to clean a mechanical mouse again make sure it's unplugged then remove the tracking ball by turning the ring counterclockwise it should pop right out use a cotton cloth or paper towel to wipe it with a little rubbing alcohol you can wipe the inside of the mouse too make sure all the parts are dry before you put them back together here's an easy tip you can give your mouse a quick cleaning by rubbing it back and forth on a clean white sheet of paper sometimes this is enough to remove the dust and dirt that can get stuck underneath your monitor is going to be even easier to clean but there are a few things to keep in mind never spray the screen directly with water cleaner or any other kind of liquid it can leak into the monitor and damage the components inside never use glass cleaner like windex this can damage your screen if it has an anti-glare coating the safest method is to unplug the monitor then wipe it with a soft cloth moistened with water [Music] you should also give some thought to cleaning other parts of your workspace like the back of your monitor and your computer case these areas can get pretty dusty if you're not careful a lint-free cloth sometimes called a microfiber cloth is great for wiping the casings if you see a lot of buildup in the ventilation pans you can use a can of compressed air to clean them out never use furniture cleaner or strong solvents on any of these surfaces instead take your cloth or even a paper towel and spray it with glass cleaner now wipe the case in monitor housing but not the monitor screen in a downward motion you can make your own solution using ammonia diluted with water the milder the better one more thing you can do to make sure your computer stays physically healthy is to watch the airflow around the case that means no books no stacks of paper nothing that might block the fans in the back which are designed to keep your computer from overheating in fact if you have a desk with a compartment for the case you may want to position the case a little towards the front or leave the compartment open if it has a door both of these steps will help your computer stay cool [Music] looks good to me just remember to clean your equipment regularly the right way and your computer is sure to stay healthy for years to come [Music] we rely on our computers for many different things we trust them to keep our information safe including our files and personal data that's why it's important to protect your computer and do your best to keep it running smoothly here are some tips that can help one of the biggest threats to computer safety is malware malware is any type of software that's designed to damage your computer or gain unauthorized access to your personal info this can include viruses spyware trojan horses and other malicious software windows computers macs and even chromebooks can get malware to protect your computer you should use an antivirus program like kaspersky norton or the built-in windows defender this helps prevent viruses from being installed and also lets you scan your computer and remove any viruses that are found keep in mind no anti-virus program is perfect to stay safe you should still avoid suspicious looking ads or downloads run regular updates to your antivirus program and also run updates to your operating system to keep your computer running smoothly the latest version of windows offers a couple useful features including storage sense and defragment and optimized drives you can access both of these in settings or you can find them using the search bar when you turn it on storage sense helps you free up space on your hard drive by scanning for temporary files and other files that can be deleted once on it will run automatically in the background older versions of windows offer a similar feature called disk cleanup [Music] defragment and optimize drives rearranges the data on your hard drive to help your computer run faster and more efficiently it should be running automatically on a weekly basis but you can easily check or change the schedule anytime if something bad does happen to your computer you could lose all of your important files to prevent this you should back up your computer regularly one option is to buy an external hard drive and copy your files to it to make this process even easier you can use software like windows backup or time machine if you're using a mac of course if something happens to your computer and your backup drive you'll still lose all of your files for more security you can use an online backup service like idrive or carbonite you may have to pay a monthly fee to use these services but the advantage is that your files will stay safe in the cloud no matter what happens to your computer following these tips can help you protect your computer and keep your information safe you can rest easy knowing that all of your files will be there when you need them does staring at the computer for hours make you feel tired do you suffer from frequent aches and pains looks like you could use some help with ergonomics ergonomics is a big subject but basically it's about you and the things that you can do to make your workspace more comfortable as strange as it sounds sitting at a desk all day is actually very hard on your body but if you arrange your workspace with ergonomics in mind you can avoid things like eye strain and neck and back pain here are some tips to help you stay safe comfortable and productive all day long keyboard position is important when you're typing your wrist should be straight and relaxed to avoid any string if you do start to feel any wrist pain you might want to look into certain products that can give you extra support for example an ergonomic keyboard next raise and lower your chair so that your wrists are in the correct position if your feet no longer reach the floor you can find a foot rest when you're in your chair you should be sitting in a natural comfortable position try to avoid hunching or sitting too straight many office chairs are adjustable and designed to give you extra support in places where you need it like the lower back take the time to learn how your chair works your monitor should be a comfortable distance away from your eyes somewhere between 20 to 40 inches or about an arm's length the top of the screen should be about eye level but this may vary depending on the size of the monitor if you are working from a laptop consider purchasing an external mouse and keyboard that way you can still place your screen at the proper distance and height while still being able to type comfortably adjust the screen brightness on your monitor so that it matches your surroundings if you're looking at your screen and it feels like you're looking into a bright light it's too bright if it looks dark and murky it's too dim some monitors also allow you to change the color so that the screen emits less blue light this feature might be called night mode or night shift and some people find that it greatly reduces eye strain another way to avoid strain and fatigue is to take frequent breaks for example look away from your monitor every once in a while 20 20 20 is a good rule to follow every 20 minutes focus your eyes on an object 20 feet away for 20 seconds you can even download apps that'll remind you when it's time to take a break it's also important to get up and move every hour or so walk around have a snack whatever it takes to avoid sitting in the same position for too long even if you work at a standing desk it's still important to move every now and then clutter is another common problem and it can lead to strainer injury if you're not careful in some cases like loose power cords it can even be a tripping hazard if you have paperwork or supplies that can be put away it's best to store them somewhere else instead of leaving them on your desk let's review sitting at a desk all day is surprisingly hard work but a little attention to ergonomics will help you stay safe comfortable and productive all day long while you're using the internet you may be picking up spyware downloading malware or using fraudulent sites without even knowing it but don't worry your browser does a number of things to help make sure you avoid running into malicious websites and there are also some precautions you can take to stay safe something as simple as double checking domain names can save you from accidentally visiting a site with unsaved content malicious sites often use deceptive web addresses to trick users into believing they are on a legitimate site many web browsers will highlight the domain when you're typing in a site's web address in this case it's just a darker font than the rest of the web address being able to clearly read the domain name makes it easier to double check and make sure it's correct this will help make sure you're going to the real trusted site and not a phony site with a similar web address and if you are about to access a site that contains malware or other malicious content many web browsers will show you a warning some websites will display this padlock image or a similar image when you see this you know that that site has added additional layers of protection by making sure your connection to the site is secure so third parties can't see your personal information this is most commonly seen on certain types of sites like banking sites you won't see this on all websites and that's okay not all sites need the extra security finally another easy way to make sure your browser is providing as much protection for you as possible is by making sure you have the most recent version of your browser your browser will usually notify you when it has a new version or if there's an update available but if you think you've missed or ignored updates you can manually check for updates in chrome click the menu button then select about google chrome by practicing just a few simple safety measures you can browse the internet more safely the internet has become an essential tool for communicating which is partly why it has also become a popular target among scammers and cyber criminals in order to safeguard yourself from email scams harmful software or identity theft it's essential that you understand the ways you might be at risk in this video we'll go over the basics of identifying and avoiding potentially harmful content on the internet the first line of defense begins with your email inbox you've probably heard the term spam before in reference to junk email spammers can send an email to thousands of people at the same time and they can do so anonymously making anti-spam laws hard to enforce so it's important to be cautious when it comes to opening emails fortunately though many email services now provide customizable features to help you protect your inbox for example the ability to turn off email images spam contains images that senders can track when you open the email the images load and the spammer will be able to tell if your email works possibly resulting in more spam if you're using gmail like i am you can turn off email images by clicking the gear icon and then selecting settings from the drop down menu choose ask before displaying external images then click save now if i get an email with images gmail will ask if i want the images to be displayed most email services also check to see if incoming messages are spam if it finds spam it will store the mail in a spam folder so you don't accidentally open it when you're checking your email spam blocking systems aren't perfect though and there may be times when legitimate emails end up in your spam folder so it's a good idea to regularly check and make sure you aren't missing important emails to check your spam folder in gmail click more in the left pane then select spam and here you can see all the emails that have ended up in your spam folder many email services have a feature you can use to mark emails as spam in gmail i can just select the email and then click this button to mark it as spam this helps your email provider to filter out these types of messages in the future some spam emails are simply annoying advertisements others will claim to be contacting you about something important when what they're really trying to do is steal your personal information this is known as phishing it's a type of scam in which an email pretends to be from a bank or another trusted source in order to trick you into handing over your personal information by asking you to complete some sort of action they may want you to re-enter a password verify or update sensitive information like phone numbers addresses or credit card numbers and they almost always tell you to do so by following links they provide it's a good idea to avoid clicking links and emails instead of clicking the link retype the url into your browser's address bar to ensure that you go to the correct website for example here's an email that looks like it's from bank of america saying that some personal information has been changed and asking me to verify the changes by following a few links it looks real enough at first glance but it's surprisingly easy for scammers to create deceiving details such as these remember phishing emails won't always look like they're fishing the whole purpose is to look like they're from your bank credit card or another trusted company think of it this way if someone came to your house saying they worked for your bank and they needed your social security number to verify that you're the account holder would you give it to them chances are you wouldn't give out that information look at emails the same way just because an email says it's from a familiar company doesn't mean it really is spam scams and phishing schemes will keep evolving just as the technology to stop them does but if you know what to look for and what to avoid you can keep your inbox that much safer suppose you're shopping online for shoes then you decide to check a health site and you see an ad for shoes you switch over to youtube to watch a hilarious kitten video but first you have to watch a shoe ad later you open the facebook app on your phone and guess what sponsored post about a shoe sale how do all of these sites know that you're shopping for shoes well websites use various methods to track your browsing habits each site may only gather a little bit of information but together it forms a sort of digital profile that advertisers can use to learn all kinds of things about you an advertiser can plant a small file on your computer called a tracking cookie which they can use to identify you the next time you visit one of the sites they advertise on they can also get a pretty good idea of which devices you use based on your social media and email accounts or by using a technique called probabilistic matching which makes educated guesses about which devices belong to the same person so one way or another all of your devices are connected to you and that means companies can send you targeted ads no matter which device you're using this does raise some privacy concerns since the information is collected without your knowledge and there is a fear of how this information could possibly be used for instance could an insurance company deny coverage based on a person's browsing history you can take steps to limit the amount of data collected such as blocking tracking cookies in your browser settings but with the current sophistication of tracking they're pretty easy to get around however there are potential upsides to all this data being collected it allows sites to recommend articles and videos based on your interests and help search engines more quickly find the results you're looking for as the technology continues to advance sites will find new ways to tailor their content to better meet your needs it's hard to say exactly where this will lead but for better or worse digital tracking is part of the modern online reality if you're just getting started with windows learning how to navigate the interface is a great place to start let's take a look at the desktop which is the screen you see here it includes a desktop background also known as your wallpaper and the taskbar at the bottom of the screen the taskbar is where you'll find shortcuts to some of the applications on your computer as well as the start button in most versions of windows you can click the start button to see a list of applications files and settings but if you're using windows 8 you can click the start button to return to the start screen the taskbar is also where you'll find file explorer which allows you to view and open files and folders for now i'm going to close the window by clicking the x let's check out more features on the desktop instead the desktop is the main workspace for your computer to open a program file or folder just double-click the icon each time you want to open something it will appear in a new window you have the ability to move windows by clicking and dragging the top of the window when you're done just release the mouse if you have more than one window open at a time you can quickly switch between them by clicking the icon for that window on the taskbar almost all windows allow you to maximize the window so that it fills the entire screen just click the button here click the button again to return the window to its original size when you're finished closing the window is easy just click the x that covers the basics now that you know your way around windows you can start taking advantage of everything it has to offer if you are just getting started with os 10 learning how to navigate the interface is a great place to start first we're going to take a look around at the desktop which is the screen you see here it includes a desktop background also known as your wallpaper the menu bar at the top and the dock at the bottom the dock is where you'll find shortcuts to some of the folders and applications on your computer for example itunes safari and finder to open any of the items on your dock just click the icon there are actually several different ways that you can navigate to files folders and apps in os 10. the finder feature is one of them we'll talk more about how to use the finder later though for now i'm going to close the window by clicking the red button in the upper left corner let's check out launchpad instead which you can also find on your dock as you can see launchpad gives you access to all of your applications at once making it easier to find and access the programs on your computer to open a program click the one you want exiting applications is just as easy let's zoom in on the menu bar so you can see how it works to exit an application click the name of the app in the upper left corner then choose quit from the menu also on the menu bar is the apple icon this gives you access to your system preferences recent files folders apps and much more you'll also use the apple icon whenever you want to restart or shut down your computer on the right side of the menu bar you'll find an icon that looks like a magnifying glass this opens a feature called spotlight which you can use to search the contents of your computer if you're having trouble finding something just type what you're looking for for example a file or an app and you'll get a list of search results the last icon on the menu bar opens the notification center which has been included in each version of os 10 since mountain lion here you can keep track of the alerts you receive for different applications including events on your calendar reminders and more the notification center can be customized to show as few or as many alerts as you want the desktop itself is one more place where you can store files folders and even shortcuts for easy access this time however to open an item you'll need to double-click your mouse some apps have a full screen mode that you can activate by clicking the double arrow in the upper right corner this causes the window to expand so you can focus on the application without any other distractions to return to normal view press control command f on your keyboard not all apps support this feature but it's available in several of the apps that come pre-installed on your computer the last thing i'd like to talk about is using your mouse in os 10 specifically a feature called natural scrolling you can learn more about how it works by going to system preferences then choosing mouse or trackpad depending on what you have in this case we'll choose mouse as you can see from the demo natural scrolling is basically the reverse of traditional scrolling it's almost like you're pushing the content up and down on the page this may seem awkward at first but it's actually how many touch screen devices work natural scrolling is the default setting but you can always disable it by checking the box here i recommend trying it both ways to see which one you prefer while you're in this window you can also take a look at multi-touch gestures for example here's one that lets you go back and forth between pages using a simple swipe os 10 supports many different types of gestures including pinches taps and double taps depending on what your mouse or trackpad is capable of each gesture performs a specific task to learn more i recommend visiting this resource again once you become more familiar with os10 that covers the basics now that you know your way around you can start using os 10 and taking advantage of everything it has to offer a web browser is a tool you use to access the internet in order to make the most out of the internet it's important to understand the basics of using a web browser there are many different web browsers including chrome safari firefox and internet explorer all of them allow you to view websites but they each have a different look and feel so picking one will depend mostly on your personal preference right now i'm using chrome when you open your browser at the top of the window you'll see the address bar this is where you'll type the web address of the page that you want to visit if you've been to a website before your browser may suggest it or even automatically complete the address for you if you see the address you're looking for in the suggestions you can just click it or press enter when you're done typing most of the time you're going to go from one page to another by clicking on links to go back to the page you were just on you can click the back button to return to the first page click the forward button if you see a link that you want to click but you don't want to navigate away from the page that you're on you can open the link in a new tab just right-click the link and select open in new tab this opens the page behind the current page so it doesn't take you away from the original site you can also create a new tab by clicking here and then typing in the address or name of any site you want to visit to close a tab just click the x if you're on a website that you know you'll want to visit again later or a website that you go to frequently you can bookmark it most browsers have a button right next to the address bar that lets you easily bookmark any site once you've bookmarked a page you'll be able to go to it again in chrome you'll click the settings button select bookmarks and then select the website you're looking for from the list even if you don't bookmark a site there's still a way to find it again later your browser keeps track of all the websites you visit in a feature called history all browsers allow you to access your history in chrome you can access this by clicking the settings button you can then click on a site to go to it and as you may remember from before you can begin typing in the address bar and your browser will make suggestions these suggestions come from your history and bookmarks the locations of these buttons and other options may vary a little depending on which browser you're using but you should be able to perform all of the same actions no matter which browser you decide to use

Channel: freeCodeCamp.org

Views: 23,283

Rating: 4.9496856 out of 5

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Id: i084Z2ImqNI

Length: 55min 40sec (3340 seconds)

Published: Wed Oct 06 2021