Absolute Beginner's Guide to Computers and the Internet

Absolute Beginner's Guide to Computers and the INTERNET......Page 1
Contents at a Glance
......Page 4
Table of Contents
......Page 6
About the Author
......Page 19
Tell Us What you Think!
......Page 20
Introduction
......Page 22
How this Book is Organized
......Page 23
Menu Commands
......Page 25
Special Elements
......Page 26
Let me Know What You Think
......Page 27
I ABSOLUTE BASICS......Page 28
1. PERSONAL COMPUTER BASICS......Page 30
Good for Keeping in Touch......Page 31
Making Everything Work
......Page 33
Things to Remember
......Page 35
2. COMPUTER HARDWARE BASICS......Page 37
Your PC’s System Unit
......Page 38
Microprocessors
......Page 40
Computer Memory
......Page 41
Disk Drives
......Page 42
CD-ROM Drives
......Page 43
Keyboards
......Page 44
Mice
......Page 45
Sound Cards and Speakers
......Page 46
Video Cards and Monitors
......Page 47
Printers
......Page 48
Portable PCs
......Page 49
Things to Remember
......Page 50
3. WINDOWS AND SOFTWARE BASICS......Page 53
Working Your Way Around the Desktop
......Page 54
Dragging and Dropping......Page 56
Moving and Resizing Windows......Page 57
Scrolling Through a Window......Page 58
Using Toolbars......Page 59
Using Dialog Boxes, Tabs, and Buttons......Page 60
Sutting Down Windows-and Your Computer......Page 61
Understanding Files and Folders
......Page 62
Working with Software Programs
......Page 63
Managing PC Resources with My Computer......Page 64
Managing Files with My Documents......Page 65
Managing Windows with the Control Panel......Page 66
Accessories......Page 67
Things to Remember......Page 68
4. INTERNET AND HOME NETWORKING BASICS......Page 71
Understanding Home Networks......Page 72
Wireless Networks......Page 73
Phone Line Networks......Page 74
How an Internet Connection Works......Page 75
The Most Important Parts of the Internet......Page 76
The World Wide Web-Colorful, Graphic, and Interactive......Page 77
Other Parts of the Internet......Page 78
Things to Remember......Page 79
II GETTING STARTED......Page 81
5. SET UP YOUR NEW COMPUTER SYSTEM......Page 83
Connecting the Cables......Page 84
Powering On for the First Time......Page 86
Powering On Normally......Page 87
Setting Up Additional Users......Page 88
Things to Remember......Page 90
6. TAKE YOUR SYSTEM FOR A SPIN......Page 91
Playing a Game......Page 92
Launching a Program-and Printing and Saving a Document......Page 94
Printing Your Note......Page 95
Saving Your File......Page 96
Viewing Your Documents......Page 97
Examining Your Hard Disk......Page 98
Things to Remember......Page 99
7. ADD NEW HARDWARE......Page 101
Understanding Ports......Page 102
Adding New Internal Hardware......Page 103
Using the Add Hardware Wizard......Page 104
Most Popular Peripherals......Page 105
Things to Remember......Page 106
8. ADD NEW SOFTWARE......Page 107
Automatic Installation......Page 108
Installing Programs from the Internet......Page 109
Removing Old Programs......Page 110
Things to Remember......Page 112
9. GET CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET......Page 113
Choosing an ISP......Page 114
Setting Up a Completely New Account......Page 115
Sharing an Internet Connection......Page 117
Configuring the Host PC......Page 118
Configuring Non-Windows XP PCs......Page 119
Things to Remember......Page 120
10. SURF THE WEB......Page 121
Using Internet Explorer......Page 122
Basic Web Surfing......Page 123
Saving Your Favourite Pages......Page 124
Revisiting History......Page 125
Let’s Go Surfin’!......Page 126
Things to Remember......Page 128
IV COMMUNICATING ONLINE......Page 129
1. WRITE A LETTER......Page 131
Entering Text......Page 132
Formatting Text......Page 133
Saving the Document......Page 134
2. PRINT A LETTER......Page 135
Basic Printing......Page 136
Changing Print Options......Page 137
3. WRITE AND PRINT A FANCY REPORT......Page 138
Assigning Headings......Page 139
Working with an Outline......Page 140
Printing Your Document......Page 141
4. INSERT A PICTURE......Page 142
Inserting a Picture from the Clip Art Gallery......Page 143
Formatting the Picture......Page 144
5. CREATE A TABLE......Page 145
Adding and Deleting Rows and Columns......Page 146
Sorting the Table......Page 147
Merging Cells......Page 148
6. SEND AND RECEIVE E-MAIL......Page 151
Composing and Sending a New Message......Page 152
Reading New Messages......Page 153
Replying to a Message......Page 154
7. LIST YOUR FRIENDS IN AN ADDRESS BOOK......Page 155
Adding New Contacts......Page 156
Sorting and Searching......Page 157
8. READ AND POST TO USENET NEWSGROUPS......Page 158
Reading Newsgroup Articles......Page 159
Searching for Newsgroup Articles......Page 160
9. SEND AN INSTANT MESSAGE......Page 161
Add New Contacts......Page 162
Sending a Message......Page 163
Receiving a Message......Page 164
10. CHAT WITH FRIENDS ONLINE......Page 165
Chatting at Yahoo!......Page 166
Other Chat Sites......Page 167
V WORKING WITH NUMBERS......Page 169
11. CREATE AND FORMAT A SPREADSHEET......Page 171
Understanding Spreadsheets......Page 172
Applying Number Formats......Page 173
Inserting and Deleting Rows and Columns......Page 174
12. USE SIMPLE FORMULAS......Page 175
Working with Other Cells......Page 176
Using Functions......Page 177
13. SORT AND ANALYZE YOUR NUMBERS......Page 178
Creating a Task Based Spreadsheet......Page 179
14. CREATE A CHART......Page 181
Creating a Chart......Page 182
Formatting the Chart......Page 183
VI MANAGING YOUR FINANCES......Page 185
15. SET UP A HOUSEHOLD BUDGET......Page 187
Expenses......Page 188
Budget Reports......Page 189
Updating Your Budget......Page 190
16. MANAGE YOUR BANK ACCOUNT......Page 191
Entering Transactions......Page 192
Online Banking......Page 193
17. PAY YOUR BILLS......Page 195
Paying the Bill......Page 196
Paying Bills Online......Page 197
18. GET THE LATEST STOCK QUOTES......Page 198
Finding In-Depth Financial Information on the Web......Page 199
Using Microsoft Money to Track Your Investments......Page 201
19. BUY AND SELL STOCKS ONLINE......Page 202
Choosing an Online Broker......Page 203
Online Trading with Microsoft Money......Page 204
20. APPLY FOR A LOAN ONLINE......Page 205
The Best Online Mortgage Sites......Page 206
Auto Loans......Page 207
VII FILING AND REPORTING......Page 209
21. STORE IMPORTANT ITEMS IN A DATABASE......Page 211
Creating a Blank Database......Page 212
Adding Data......Page 213
Adding New Fields......Page 214
22. SORT AND FILTER SELECTED ITEMS......Page 215
Filtering Data......Page 216
23. CREATE A REPORT......Page 218
Using ReportCreator to Create a Report......Page 219
VII READING THE LATEST NEWS......Page 221
24. READ THE LATEST NEWS HEADLINES......Page 223
Newspapers......Page 224
News Archives......Page 225
Entertainment News......Page 226
25. GET TODAY'S SPORTS SCORES......Page 227
Major League Sports......Page 228
Participatory Sports......Page 229
26. FIND OUT TODAY'S WEATHER FORECAST......Page 231
Weather Sites......Page 232
Climate Data......Page 233
IX SEARCHING AND RESEARCHING......Page 235
27. SEARCH FOR WEB SITES......Page 237
Using Wildcards......Page 238
Directory Searching with Yahoo!......Page 239
Other Good Search Sites......Page 240
28. SEARCH FOR NAMES AND ADDRESSES......Page 241
Searching for E-mail Addresses......Page 242
Searching for Personal Home Pages......Page 243
Searching for Genealogical Information......Page 244
29. SEARCH FOR HOMEWORK HELP......Page 245
Online Libraries......Page 246
Kid-Safe Searching......Page 247
Homework Help with Encarta......Page 248
30. SEARCH FOR HEALTH AND WELLNESS INFORMATION......Page 249
General Health Information......Page 250
Physician Directories......Page 251
Senior Health......Page 252
X BUYING AND SELLING ONLINE......Page 253
31. SHOP ONLINE......Page 255
Shopping Directories and Comparison Services......Page 256
The Biggest-and the Best-Online Retailers......Page 258
32. RESEARCH MAJOR PURCHASES......Page 259
Buying a Home......Page 260
Buying a Car......Page 261
33. MAKE TRAVEL RESERVATIONS......Page 263
Where to Make a Reservation......Page 264
Making Maps and Getting Directions......Page 265
Research Before You Go......Page 266
34. BID ON AN ONLINE AUCTION......Page 267
Finding What You Want......Page 268
Winning-and Paying......Page 269
Receiving the Item-and Leaving Feedback......Page 270
35. SELL AT AN ONLINE AUCTION......Page 271
Placing Your Ad......Page 272
Ending the Auction......Page 273
Shipping the Item-and Leaving Feedback......Page 274
XI WORKING WITH PICTURES......Page 275
36. MANAGE PHOTOS FROM A DIGITAL CAMERA......Page 277
Uploading Pictures to Your PC......Page 278
Working with Pictures in Your Camera......Page 279
37. SCAN YOUR PHOTOS......Page 281
Choosing a Picture Editing Program......Page 282
Making a Scan......Page 283
38. TOUCH UP YOUR PICTURES......Page 284
Using Microsoft Picture It! Publishing......Page 285
Touching Up a Picture......Page 286
Adding Special Effects......Page 287
39. PRINT YOUR PHOTOS......Page 288
Using the Photo Printing Wizard......Page 289
E-mailing a Picture......Page 290
40. MAKE A FAMILY PHOTO ALBUM......Page 292
Picking a Project......Page 293
Adding Pictures and Text......Page 294
Saving and Printing......Page 295
41. DISPLAY AND PRINT PHOTOS ONLINE......Page 296
Ordering from a Photo-Processing Site......Page 297
Ordering from Within Windows XP......Page 298
Displaying Pictures at a Photo Service Site......Page 299
XII CREATING FUN PROJECTS......Page 301
42. FIND AND DOWLOAD CLIP ART......Page 303
Searching for Images......Page 304
Photo Libraries......Page 305
Images from Web Pages......Page 306
43. CREATE A BANNER......Page 307
Editing the Background and Text......Page 308
Changing the Size......Page 309
Printing the Banner......Page 310
44. CREATE A PERSONALIZED HOLIDAY CARD......Page 311
Adding Your Photo......Page 312
Printing and Folding the Card......Page 313
Creating a Matching Envelope......Page 314
45. SEND AN ONLINE GREETING CARD......Page 315
Choosing a Greeting Card Site......Page 316
Sending a Greeting with Yahoo! Greeting......Page 317
Picking Up a Yahoo! Greeting......Page 318
46. CREATE A PERSONAL WEB PAGE......Page 319
Using Page Wizards......Page 320
Creating Your Pages......Page 321
Uploading Your Pages......Page 322
XII PLAYING GAMES......Page 323
47. PLAY A PC GAME......Page 325
Adding a Joystick......Page 326
Saving Your Game-and Resuming Play......Page 327
48. PLAY A SIMPLE ONLINE GAME......Page 328
The Best Game Sites on the Web......Page 329
Playing at the Gaming Zone......Page 330
49. PLAY A MULTIPLAYER ONLINE GAME......Page 332
Popular Multiplayer Games......Page 333
Multiplayer Game Sites......Page 334
Multiplayer Game Networks......Page 335
XIV PLAYING AND RECORDING MUSIC......Page 337
50. PLAY A CD ON YOUR PC......Page 339
Using Windows Media Player......Page 340
Adjusting the Volume and Sound......Page 342
51. LISTEN TO INTERNET RADIO......Page 343
Listening with Windows Media Player......Page 344
Finding an Internet Radio Station......Page 345
52. FIND AND DOWNLOAD MUSIC FILES......Page 347
Windows Media Audio......Page 348
Swapping Files with Other Users......Page 349
53. PLAY DIGITAL MUSIC ON YOUR PC......Page 351
Playing Digital Audio Files......Page 352
Using Windows Media Player......Page 353
54. MAKE COPIES OF YOUR FAVOURITE SONGS......Page 355
Ripping with Windows Media Player......Page 356
Ripping with MusicMatch Jukebox......Page 357
55. MAKE YOUR OWN CD......Page 359
Burning CDs with Windows Media Player......Page 360
Creating CD Labels......Page 361
56. DOWNLOAD SONGS TO A PORTABLE PLAYER......Page 362
Using Windows Media Player to Copy Files......Page 363
Copying Licensed Files......Page 364
XV WATCHING TV AND MOVIES......Page 365
57. PLAY A DVD ON YOUR PC......Page 367
Using Windows Media Player to Play DVDs......Page 368
Playing in Slow Motion-or Fast Motion......Page 369
Displaying Subtitles and Closed Captions......Page 370
58. WATCH A WEBCAST......Page 371
Watching Webcasts......Page 372
Using QuickTime Player......Page 373
59. SET UP YOUR OWN WEBCAM......Page 374
Finding a Webcam to Watch......Page 375
Selecting Webcam Software......Page 376
Putting It All Together......Page 377
60. EDIT A HOME MOVIE......Page 378
Understanding Windows Movie Maker......Page 379
Importing Your Source Material......Page 380
Saving-and Watching-Your Movie......Page 381
XVI WORKING WITH FILES......Page 383
61. MANAGE FOLDERS......Page 385
Changing the Way Files are Displayed......Page 386
Navigating Folders......Page 387
Creating New Folders......Page 388
62. COPY AND MOVE FILES......Page 389
Moving Files......Page 390
Compressing a File......Page 391
Extracting Files......Page 392
63. RENAME AND DELETE FILES......Page 393
Restoring Deleted Files......Page 394
Managing the Recycle Bin......Page 395
64. SEND A FILE VIA E-MAIL......Page 396
Opening an E-mail Attachment......Page 397
Watching Out for E-mail Viruses......Page 398
65. DOWNLOAD A FILE FROM THE INTERNET......Page 400
Downloading from a File Archive......Page 401
CNET's Download.com......Page 402
Downloading Files from Any Web Page......Page 403
XVII TAKING CARE OF YOUR PC......Page 405
66. CHANGE YOUR DESKTOP BACKGROUND......Page 407
Enabling ClearType......Page 408
Changing the Color Scheme......Page 409
Activating Special Effects......Page 410
67. PERSONALIZE THE WAY WINDOWS WORKS......Page 411
Displaying More-or Fewer-Programs on the Start Menu......Page 412
Adding a Program to the Start Menu-Permanently......Page 413
Resetting the Time and Date......Page 414
68. PERFORM ROUTINE PC MAINTENANCE......Page 415
Defragging Your Disk......Page 416
Performing a Hard Disk Checkup with ScanDisk......Page 417
Scheduling Your Maintenance......Page 418
69. BACKUP IMPORTANT FILES......Page 419
Backing Up Your Files......Page 420
Restoring Files from a Backup......Page 422
70. SET UP A HOME NETWORK......Page 423
Choosing the Right Equipment......Page 424
Configuring the Host PC......Page 425
Sharing Files and Folders......Page 426
XVIII DEALING WITH PROBLEMS......Page 427
71. HANDLE SOFTWARE AND SYSTEM FREEZES......Page 429
What Causes Windows to Freeze?......Page 430
Freezes Without Error Messages......Page 431
Dealing with Application Freezes......Page 432
72. RECOVER FROM SYSTEM CRASHES......Page 433
Undoing the Damage with System Restore......Page 434
Restoring Your System......Page 435
Restoring Your Documents from a Backup File......Page 436
73. TROUBLESHOOT COMMON PROBLEMS......Page 437
How to Troubleshoot......Page 438
Using Other Windows Tools......Page 439
74. PROTECT YOUR FAMILY ONLINE......Page 441
Making the Web Safe for Kids......Page 442
Using Content Filtering Software......Page 443
Content Filtering with Internet Explorer......Page 444
75. PROTECT YOUR SYSTEM FROM VIRUSES AND ATTACKS......Page 445
Signs of Infection......Page 446
Protecting Against Other Forms of Computer Attack......Page 447
A......Page 449
B......Page 450
C......Page 451
D......Page 453
E......Page 455
F......Page 456
G......Page 457
H......Page 458
I......Page 460
J-K......Page 461
M......Page 462
N......Page 464
O......Page 466
P......Page 467
Q-R......Page 469
S......Page 470
T......Page 473
U-V......Page 474
W......Page 475
X-Y-Z......Page 480