Glossary of Computer Terms for Beginners
The best way for the neophyte to make his way through all the jargon and hardware surrounding the laptop in front sitting in front of him is by acquiring a good glossary of computer terms for beginners.
Such a list will be invaluable for poking his way through the forest of dizzying computer terms and concepts. For beginners, just turning the thing on can seem insurmountable!
So to make life easier for computer beginners, let’s begin with some basic definitions.
The first thing you have to do with a computer, if you’ve never been near one before, is to notice that what you’re typing on is hardware. So is the screen (or monitor, as it’s called if you’re typing on a desktop computer, rather than a laptop.) The mouse, that little oval shaped device that may be physically tethered to the computer, or it could be blue-tooth (wireless) remove device.
Your printer, your scanner, even your digital camera, they’re all hardware.
Now for the software. That’s what makes your computer do more than be a 10 lb. laptop paperweight with a blue screen.
The software tells your computer what to do. Of course, it’s not that simple (whatever is with computers?) That’s why you need the glossary of computer terms for beginners.
The software are the various programs, word processing, accounting, email, drawing programs, that give your computer something to do.
They all work with the framework of the “operating system.” That’s the software shell, if you will, that enables the computer to process the commands you give it (or rather, the commands you give to the software that functions within the framework of the operating system.)
Driving on the Internet
It’s really not that complicated, although it can be overwhelming for a “noobie” (meaning a “newbie,” computerese for a new recruit to the world of computers.)
You can turn on your computer, click on a program you want to launch (that is, open up and use), and be on your way. But if you’re like 99 percent of people with a computer, eventually you’re going to carefully nudge your computer onto the Information Superhighway…. Otherwise known as the Internet.
This is an area where a glossary of computer terms for beginners comes in handy.
If you’re going to be on the Internet, you’ll first need a means of connecting to it. Your computer probably has some kind of a modem, or a modern connection, installed on it already. You can connect that to telephone line, the old fashioned way, but these days, most people use a cable modem because of the lightning fast speeds over versus a telephone line (you also free up your telephone line, too!)
Glossary of Computer Terms for Beginners
To get online, you need more than just to physically hook up to the Internet. You need browser software to make use of “surfing” (that is as simple as why you’re browser is called a browser. You’re “browsing” from one web page to another.)
There are tons of varieties of browsers: Microsoft Explorer, Netscape, Google Chrome, Safari. They all have their advantages and disadvantages. You can find that out by first picking one to open and get online.
See that open bar at the top? That’s where the URL goes (the URL is the acronym for the Uniform Resource Locator), the “address” you plug in to go where you want to go on the Internet.
Understanding URL
The first part of the URL is the protocol. That’s the part that looks like this: http://
Http stands for hypertext transfer protocol. It tells the browser where to go. The next part of that URL “address” is www. That stands for worldwide web.
That’s followed by a period, followed by the name of the site you want to visit (no spaces between words), following by another period, and the word “com,” “net,” “org,” or other domain name.
Let’s say the domain you want to go to is Smith. Your URL address (after the http://) might look like this: www.smith.com. It could also be smith.org, or smith. net, or even other URL suffixes.
Remember, all of the .com, .net, and .orgs may be different sites not related to one another (or they may be related, since companies and individuals tend to try to buy up all the obvious variations of the domain name they want to use. In this case, the domain name is “smith.”)