Arthur R. Press - Computer Support Consultant
WEST CHESTER, PA
(610) 431-3572
COMPUTER SUPPORT IN YOUR HOME OR OFFICE
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Arthur R. Press - Computer Support Consultant
WEST CHESTER, PA (610) 431-3572
COMPUTER SUPPORT IN YOUR HOME OR OFFICE
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Volume 1 - Issue 1
DEALING WITH TODAY’S COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY
Personal computer systems are a typical part of most households today. They are almost as common at television sets and stereo systems. Computer systems have now reached the status of household commodities. When you purchase a typical television set, you generally are interested in picture and sound quality, screen size and brand name. You bring it home, unpack it, plug it in and, from that point on, turn the television on, tune in to whatever channel that you wish to watch and, when you are finished you turn it off. Nothing to it! You do not need to know anything further about your television set. If there is a problem, which will be evident, you take it into a television repair shop and get it fixed. Unfortunately, computer systems are much more complicated than television sets. Computer systems consist of a number of independent parts that can be interchanged or upgraded as your needs demand. Consider the following description of a computer system that you will typically find in ad print:
Microsoft Windows XP Professional 512MB DDR SDRAM PC2700 40GB HD 40X DVD-ROM 40X12X48 CD-RW 10/100 Ethernet-integrated 19” SyncMaster SVGA Monitor, .28 dot pitch Int 56K V92 Fax/Modem 3.5 FDD Radeon 9800 PRO XT Video with 128MB DDR SDRAM If I am not mistaken, most people have absolutely no idea what any of this means. All too often, I have heard people refer to hard disk space as memory. Connect one of these systems to the Internet and you will hear terms like TCP/IP, firewall, router, broadband, dial-up, virus protection, spam, ad ware and spy ware. If all of this sounds a bit confusing and overwhelming, the reason is that it is confusing and overwhelming. Most people want to turn their systems on, use it and then turn them off. For that matter, you cannot just turn it off; you have to “shut it down”. How is a consumer to know what type of system that they need to meet their particular needs? If you are going to use a system for word processing and accessing the Internet, you do not need a state-of-the-art system. If you plan to run high-graphic programs like games, you need to make sure that your system has the muscle to handle these programs. In other words, you do not want buy more than you need. On the other hand, you do not want to buy a system that will not run the programs that you need it to run. Computer systems also need to be maintained. Over time, your system will become clogged with useless, leftover files that were temporarily installed and never removed. Operating systems need to be kept up to date. Antivirus programs need to have their definitions updated on a regular basis (this is to protect your system from viruses or, in other words, programs that are put on your system over the Internet with the express purpose of causing damage to your system). Your system also needs to be scanned for viruses on a regular basis. You must protect your system from hackers (unscrupulous people who attempt to gain access to your system, over the Internet, and steal your personal information and wreak all sorts of other havoc). In order to keep these people out, you need to install what is known as a firewall. This is quite a bit of information to digest. It is my intention to cover all of these topics in future articles rather than to give it to you all at once and send you into a condition known as information overload. The next in this series of articles will deal with the components of a typical computer system. Check back monthly for updates or sign up to receive E-mail notification of future releases. Together, we will get through this ball of tangled wires to gain a comfortable level of knowledge that will help you to understand all that you need to know about your computer system.
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