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Getting ready

When you contact me, it would be very helpful if you have ready some information about the computer you are currently using.

  • Is it a laptop, a desktop computer or a tablet?
  • Do you know what operating system your computer uses?
  • Are you on the Internet?
  • Do you know who your Internet provider is?
  • Does your computer have any antivirus software installed?

Operating Systems

The operating system is the software that controls your computer. I will be able to identify your operating system when I first visit you, but it does help to know in advance so that I can prepare material for you if need be.

By far the most commonly-used operating systems are versions of Microsoft Windows. A new computer bought from a high street retailer now will be using the Windows 10 operating system. Microsoft will be updating this automatically for you every 6 months.

(Read more...)

Microsoft have brought out several versions of Windows over the last 20 years or so. Windows XP was reckoned to be a significant improvement in 2003 and is still being used, although Microsoft officially withdrew support for it in 2014. Windows Vista was produced in 2007. The 'home' version proved rather frustrating.

Fairly soon afterwards Microsoft released the Windows 7 operating system. This was a faster version of Vista with the annoying bits taken out.

In October 2012 Microsoft released Windows 8 which was radically different from anything they had issued before. In July 2013 Microsoft hastily issued a revised version called Windows 8.1.

In 2015 Microsoft introduced Windows 10, and throughout 2016 offered it as a free upgrade to users who already had Windows 7 or 8. It re-instated the much-loved ‘Start Menu’ but kept the Windows 8 ‘tiles’, so it looks a bit of a hotch-potch.

The rival to Microsoft is AppleMac, who have a minority but significantly loyal following. The desktop iMac and the laptop MacBook have used operating systems named after big cats - Panther, Tiger etc. but the latest ones have been named after geological rock formations - Yosemite, El Capitan, High Sierra etc. The hand-held iPad and other ‘tablet’ computers are now very popular.

The Internet

The great majority of my clients want to use the computer for communication by email and finding information on the Web. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are numerous and very competitive: BT, Sky, TalkTalk (now including Tiscali and AOL), EE, VirginMedia...

Antivirus software

I strongly recommend that you install antivirus software on your computer if you intend to use the Internet. There are people 'out there' who seem to delight in wrecking computers by sending out programs that literally infect your information, making your computer go very slowly and eventually grind to a halt. Others will try to get into your computer and retrieve information from it - like your bank account details.
(Read more...)There are several proprietary antivirus packages available: Norton/Symantec, McAfee, Kaspersky, BitDefender, Bullguard...to name a few. Typically they cost between £30 and £60 from the high-street retailers. If you buy a new computer the retailer might include an antivirus package as part of the deal.

It's important to realise that the protection these packages provide only lasts one year. After that, you will have to renew the licence - at much the same price!

Some antivirus software is available free from the Internet. Ask me for more details.


Glossary

A desktop computer is a box or "tower", which contains the computer itself, with a separate screen and keyboard. It requires a desk to hold it.

A laptop is portable. The screen is in the folding lid.

A tablet computer is a thin hand-held device, about the size of an A5 hand-bill. They are easily portable and good for email and messaging, using the Web and as a camera! Apple's iPad and Samsung's Galaxy Tab are examples of tablets.

The Internet is the system of telephone lines and satellite links that connect computers around the world.

The Web is the network of server computers or hosts that hold pages of information - websites. These are open to access by other computers, like yours and mine. This network is the "World-Wide Web".

A broadband connection enables you to use the telephone while you are connected to the Internet. The connection is broad enough for both.