Computer Basics Manual

University of the Western Cape

Digital Academic Literacy

Contact: Office: 021 959 2966, E-mail: dal@uwc.ac.za

1
Introduction to Computers

Contents

Glossary .................................................................................................................................................... 3
Introduction............................................................................................................................................... 4
Different types of storage: .................................................................................................................. 5
Hard Drives, Floppy disks and CDs ................................................................................................. 6
Input and Output Devices: ................................................................................................................. 7
Basic computer concepts: .................................................................................................................. 8
Switching on your computer ................................................................................................................ 10
Using a mouse ....................................................................................................................................... 10
Computer mouse functionality ............................................................................................................. 12
Desktop and icons................................................................................................................................. 14
Making use of a keyboard .................................................................................................................... 17
What a keyboard looks like .............................................................................................................. 17
Spaces, moving your cursor and deleting text .............................................................................. 18

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Glossary
The following words will be used throughout this manual.

1. Computer Mouse: A computer mouse is an input device that is most often used
with a personal computer. Moving a mouse along a flat surface can move the on-
screen cursor to different items on the screen. Items can be moved or selected by
pressing the mouse buttons (called clicking).
2. Icon: In computing, an icon is a pictogram displayed on a computer screen in order
to help the user navigate a computer system or mobile device.
3. Desktop: A desktop is the primary screen you see when the computer is turned
on. When you open a program or file it will display on the desktop
4. Keyboard: A panel of keys that operate a computer

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Introduction

Computers and the internet have become a part of everyday life, from researching,
submitting assignments to checking social media and even doing online shopping.
Computers are really useful if you know how to use them properly. This is why we
created this guide to help individuals who have never used a computer to understand
and enjoy the benefits it has to offer. This manual takes you on a step-by-step guide
through the very basics.

A computer can be defined as an electronic device that operates under a memory

control unit and accepts and processes data, produces output and stores the results
thereof. In this definition we need to understand four keywords:

Input
This is a component which you insert into a computer system, i.e. feeding information
to the computer. Some examples of the kinds of input a computer can process are
words and symbols in a document or numbers for calculation, etc. An example of input
devices would be your keyboard and computer mouse.

Output
These are the results produced by a computer. Some examples of computer output
include documents, music and pictures. You also have devices which produce output.
The following is some examples of Output devices would be monitors and printers.

Data
Data can be described as the information that is put into a computer via an input
device. After data has been put into the computer it needs to be processed. A
computer uses a device known as a Central Processing Unit or CPU to manipulate
the data. This device is found in the casing.

Memory
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A computer stores data so it is available for processing. The place where a computer
saves data is referred to as storage. Memory is an area that holds data that is waiting
to be processed, for example, RAM (Random Access Memory).
Storage is the area where data can be left on a permanent basis and an example of
storage would be a Hard Drive, Floppy Disk or a Recordable CD.

Different types of storage:

Random Access Memory (RAM) is an area in the computer

system unit that temporarily holds data before and after it is

processed. Unlike hard disk or floppy disk storage, most RAM

is volatile. What this means is that when the computer is

turned off or the power goes out, all data stored in RAM

instantly and permanently disappears. RAM holds raw data waiting to be processed; it

holds the instructions that will process the raw data and it also holds processed data

before it is stored more permanently on disk or tape. In addition to data and software

instructions, RAM holds operating system instructions that control the basic functions

of the computer system. These instructions are loaded into RAM every time you start

your computer and remain there until you turn it off.

The storage capacity of RAM is measured in megabytes. Today’s microcomputers

typically have between 128 and 256 megabytes of RAM, which means they can hold

between 128 and 256 million characters of data or instructions. The amount of RAM

your computer uses depends on the software you are using.

You can also purchase more RAM to expand the memory capacity of your computer

up to their limit set by the computer manufacturer

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Hard Drives, Floppy disks and CDs

A Hard drive is an electronic storage device containing a no

removable disk platter, which is mounted inside the system
unit and can store billions of characters. It is the preferred
main type of storage for most computers computer systems
because it provides faster access to files than floppy disk
drives. The storage capacity of the hard disk far exceeds that of the floppy disk.

A Floppy disk is a storage device that writes data on floppy disks. A

typical microcomputer system has a 3½ -inch floppy disk drive those
stores up to 1.44 million characters of data on a single floppy disk.

CD-ROMs, i.e. Compact Disks, provide great storage capacity. A

CD-ROM drive supplements rather than replaces a hard disk drive
because a CD-ROM is a read-only storage medium. This means that
the computer can retrieve information from a CD-ROM but cannot
save any new data on it. Therefore in some ways the CD-ROM technology differs from
hard disk storage on which you can write, erase and read data.

However with technological development, you can also write data on the CD by using

a recordable CD, but you need a CD-writer to allow you to make this recording.

DVDs, i.e. Digital Video Disks, looks like a CD but has greater capacities of between

4 and 8 gigabytes. Initially, like CD-ROMs, they were read only. These days, however,

with the use of DVD writers, you could record data on DVD writable disks in one of the

formats available. This technology is relatively new in the computer storage arena in

South Africa and thus not widely used.

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 Flash memory (USB) is most probably the best development

since floppy drives in terms of delivering a portable storage

medium. Many types of flash memory exist but we will only

mention the more popular USB Flash Drive.

The USB flash drive comes in various shapes and sizes as a complete unit that plugs
directly into a USB port. Their storage capacities vary from 64 Megs through to about
32 Gig.

Input and Output Devices: The primary input devices you will be using are:

Keyboard – which you will use to enter text into a

document. You use the keyboard to input commands,
respond to prompts, and type the text of documents.
The keyboard also consists of a numeric keypad, which
provides the user with a calculator-style input device for
numbers.
And there are the Function keys (F1, F5, F8, etc) that are
located at the top of the keyboard. These keys exist to
initiate commands.

Mouse – which you will use to navigate and execute commands in the
Windows environment. The output devices that you’ll be using are:

Monitor – which displays your data. This is what just about every
computer user needs. The monitor is what the computer manipulates
to communicate with you by displaying the input results.

Printer – which prints your documents, assignments, etc. the

information you have saved electronically (to disk or the hard drive)
can be available on hard copy through this means.

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Basic computer concepts:

A computer system includes a computer, peripheral devices, and software. The

electric, electronic and mechanical devices used for processing data are referred to as
hardware. The computer hardware is the peripheral devices, which is not particularly
of any use if there’s no software to match. To be more useful the computer needs a
set of instructions, called software, which enables the computer to perform a
particular task.

The two distinct concepts that make up this environment are Hardware and Software.

Hardware: can be best described as the electric, electronic and mechanical devices
used for processing data. Examples of hardware are monitors, keyboards, CPUs,
motherboards, sound cards, etc.

Software: is defined as instructions and associated data, stored in electronic format

that direct the computer to accomplish a task. There are 2 categories to software,
operating systems and Applications.

It is essential to note the difference between these 2 categories:

An Operating System (OS) is the software that manages the computers software and
hardware resources, such as memory and disk storage space. A computer cannot
function without an operating system.
There are many different types of operating systems such as Microsoft Windows,
Apple Mac OSX and Linux Ubuntu.

Application Software is a computer program that helps the user carry out specific
tasks, e.g. word processing, surfing the Internet, etc.
As we have concluded from the definition regarding application software, each
package is designed to perform a certain task. The area of application software is very
vast, it ranges from word processing to database administration, to graphical design,
to web page design, and the list goes on and on…The main types of applications that

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you will come into contact with will be Microsoft Word (word processing) and Internet
Explorer 5 (internet browser).
There are different kinds of computers for different purposes. They are just as varied
in size, expense, and ability.

Desktop: this is the computer that is designed to fit on your desk. It runs on power
from an electrical wall outlet. The monitor is usually placed on top of the horizontal
desktop case.

Laptop / Notebook: this is a portable computer, small and light in weight. A notebook
computer can run on power from an electrical outlet or batteries.

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Switching on your computer

This is a basic introduction to different types of computers and how to switch them on.

Figure 1 A computer power button

To switch your computer on, press the power button as illustrated Figure 1A).
The main difference between a desktop (Figure2) and a laptop (Figure 3) is that a
laptop is smaller and portable. Laptops also have a touchpad which can be used
instead of a mouse but you may also choose to connect a portable mouse to your
laptop if you prefer.

Figure 2 Example of a Desktop

Figure 3 Example of a Laptop

Using a mouse

The following section will explore the computer mouse and how you use it to control
your computer. A mouse is one of the main ways to control your computer. There are
various different computer mouse designs, the basic mouse should have both a left
and right button with a scroll button in the sentence. (Figure 4).

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 Figure 4 a standard mouse

A mouse needs to be flat on a surface with the buttons pointing towards the computer.
Most people find it easier to position the mouse to the side of the keyboard.
To hold the mouse you rest your hand over it and put your index finger on the left
button and rest your thumb on the side (Figure 5).

Figure 5 The proper way to handle a mouse

If you are left-handed you may find it easier to put the mouse on the left-hand side of
your keyboard and use your middle finger for the left button.

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Computer mouse functionality

You are required to use the left click button for certain functions (Figure 6). You can
use your mouse to do a variety of tasks – select things, open things and move things.
To open things double click on the left button, this is called double clicking.

Figure 6 Left mouse button

When you move the mouse it moves a pointer or ‘cursor ‘on the screen. An arrow
allows you select things and move them around (Figure 7).

Figure 7 Mouse cursor

The cursor will change shape depending on what you are doing. A hand lets you open
a link on the internet (Figure 8).

Figure 8 Hand cursor when online

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 Figure 9 Awaiting response

A revolving circle is asking you to wait while the computer performs a task.

Figure 10 selecting and opening

To select an icon or file, move your cursor over the item, click once with the left button
and let go. Double clicking on the icon or file while launch an application or open a
folder. (Figure 10).

Figure 11 drag and drop action

To move files or folders, you need to ‘drag and drop’. Hold down the left button as you
‘drag’ the mouse along. Release the left button once you have positioned the file or
folder where you want it.

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 Desktop and icons

The following section explores what happens when you turn on your computer.
A desktop is what you see when the computer is turned on. When you open programs
or files they appear on your desktop (Figure 12).

From your desktop, you can use shortcuts to find files and programs on your computer

A
Figure 12 Windows 8 desktop
B

The start button allows you open programs (Figure 13) and files on your computer
(Figure 12A).
The taskbar displays which programs, folder or documents you have opened
(Figure12B).

Figure 13 Programs

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An icon represents a file, folder or program. Icons look may differ depending on file
type of file or program (Figure 14 & 15).

Figure 14 MS Word file icon Figure 15 Windows 8 Folder icon

A folder stores various different file types. (Figure 15).

When you open a file or folder by double clicking on it with your cursor, its contents will
appear in a window.

C B

Figure 16 Folder contents

You can use the scroll bars to move around the window (Figure 16A). A scroll bar is a
thin bar on the edge of your screen that you can move up or down to display content
that is out of your view.
The title bar displays the name of the folder, document or program (Figure 16B).
The menu bar has commands where you choose what to do with your folder,
document or program (Figure 16C).
The tool bar has shortcuts to the commands in the menu bar (Figure 16D).
You can have more than one window open at a time.

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 C
A B
D

Figure 17 Stacked Windows

The active window has a highlighted title bar and is in front of the inactive windows
(Figure 17 A).
The open windows are displayed as buttons on the taskbar. The active window button
will be a different colour (Figure 18A).

Figure 18 Active window lighter blue

To move between windows click on a window or on the button on the taskbar (Figure 18A
or B).
To hide a window, click on the minimise button in the top right hand corner (Figure 17 B).
To bring back the window, click on its button on the taskbar (Figure 18B).
To make a window larger and fill the screen, click on the maximise button (Figure 17 C).
To close a window click on the close button (Figure 17D).

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Making use of a keyboard

What a keyboard looks like

Keyboards input or enter information such as letters, words and numbers into your
computer. The keys are the individual buttons you press when you type.

D
E E
C
A

Figure 19 A standard keyboard

When you open a document in MS word, proceed to typing, a vertical flashing line will
appear. This is the vertical line cursor. It guides you when you are typing on the
screen.

You will notice the keys are laid out in a non-alphabetical order. This is called a
QWERTY layout (Figure 19 A).
Press the number keys for numbers and press the symbol keys for symbols.
Pressing the Shift key lets you type capital letters and the symbols at the top of the
keys (Figure 19 B).
The Shift keys are on the left and right of the keyboard, with the arrow pointing
upwards (Figure 19 C).
For capital letters, press down the shift key and hold and then type the letter.
For symbols at the top of a number key, press down the shift key and then type the
symbol (Figure 19 D).

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 A

Figure 20 Caps & Shift keys

Use the Shift key to type any symbol at the top of a key. When you let go of the Shift
key you will begin to type lower case letters and numbers again (Figure 21B).
The Caps Lock key allows you to type in capital letters (Figure 21 A).
To turn it on, press it once and then type. (Mention that the caps lock light will go on)
To turn it off, press it again.

Spaces, moving your cursor and deleting text

D
A

Figure 21 Keyboard

The space bar allows the user to allocate a space between words. Tap it press once to
put in a space (Figure 22 A).
The Tab key puts a bigger space between words. You press it once to put in a space
(Figure 22 B).

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The Enter key moves your cursor down a line (Figure 22 C).
The arrow keys allow you to move your cursor where text has been typed. (Figure 22
D).
To delete text put your cursor to the right of a word. Press the Backspace button to
delete your word. The cursor will move to the left and delete as it goes (Figure 22 E).

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