So it's hard to believe that it's already June 1st. Sorry for not posting sooner...
Moving along, I want to teach a little vocabulary lesson. I have three words that I want to define; Hardware, Software, and Operating System.
First we'll look at "Hardware". Wikipedia defines it as: "Hardware is a general term for the physical artifacts of a technology. It may also mean the physical components of a computer system, in the form of computer hardware." That's a good definition. Let me see if I can expound on it a bit for you. Hardware is the stuff you can touch physically, your computer case, motherboard, memory stick, disc drive, hard drive, and yes, your keyboard and mouse would be considered "hardware". When something goes wrong with hardware, it can usually be "seen", i.e. a button is missing, a transistor is fried, etc. Sometimes the easiest (and cheapest) way to fix a hardware issue is to simply replace it. And hardware has to be "upgraded", not simply "updated" as software can be.
Software, again according to Wikipedia means: "Computer software, or just software, is a general term primarily used for digitally stored data such as computer programs and other kinds of information read and written by computers." Again, I will add a little to this definition.
Software is the programs and applications that we use on a daily basis on our computers, smartphones, etc. When you have a problem with your software, it will most likely be in the "code" that the program is written in. "Code" is the language of the software. Other problems can be "bugs" or "viruses". A software bug may be a programming error that can be fixed most usually by a "software update". A virus will most likely come from the internet, but can also get into your system via a disc, or file transfer of some sort.
That leaves us with the last definition, what is an Operating System . I will again refer to the Wikipedia definition. "An operating system is the software on a computer that manages the way different programs use its hardware, and regulates the ways that a user controls the computer." An operating system is the environment that all other software runs in, and that tells your hardware devices what to do. An operating system will be doing many different functions at once. No matter if you're simply writing a letter in a word processor program, or surfing the internet, know that a LOT is going on behind the scenes, so to speak.
For example, your computer's hard drive's temperature must be regulated so that it will not get too hot, which can ruin the drive itself. You have probably heard your internal fan running before. That is keeping your drives and motherboard/processor cool. The brightness of your screen is set by controls in your operating system. These are just 2 examples of the MANY processes running in your operating system while you compute.
Now as for the title of this blog, unless you live under a rock or are Amish, (no offense to the Amish, just trying to make a little joke!), you know that there are 2 MAIN operating systems in today's world of computers: Apple Computers use "MAC OS X" as their operating system, and PC's mainly use "WINDOWS". There is another, Skywalker....sorry, just quoting Yoda...! :) But seriously, there is another operating system that is gaining quite a bit of popularity. It's called Linux, and like Windows has "XP", "Vista", and now "Windows 7", it comes in various "flavors", a popular one is "Ubuntu". I will say this; personally I prefer Apples and Mac computers, and as long as I am able I will not ever use a PC again. If I do HAVE to use a PC, then I will put Ubuntu(Linux) on it, as opposed to using Windows, in ANY form ever again. I think you know where I stand. I will continue to fix friends' PC's, because they will continue to have problems, and in a later post I will explain the differences between the operating systems and why some are more prone to viruses and some are not.
So I bid you all a fond farewell for now. Keep clicking on the ads you see posted, it's how I'm going to get to Bible College!! :) And check out my "ad-free" theological blog, "Reformation Reality" at http://reformationreality.blogspot.com/.
I welcome all comments and corrections and suggestions for future blogs...
BONUS: Who can the first to tell me how many times I used "quotation marks" in today's blog?....
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless all who read this.
In
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
What's this thing I'm staring at called??
Greetings all, and welcome to post #2 of "A Mouse In Every Hand"! Thank you to those who are supporting this site by visiting the advertisers posted around this blog!! I really appreciate it, and it's helping the Bible College fund!! Amen!
So we now know what a computer is, and we can begin to examine the other components attached to your computer. Starting with the monitor....
We measure monitors diagonally, i.e. the size of an approximately rectangular display is usually given as the distance between two opposite screen corners, that is, the diagonal of the rectangle. One problem with this method is that it does take into account the fact that when a rectangle with a given length to its diagonal, becomes more rectangular, and less square (its aspect ratio increases), and at the same time its diagonal remains the same, then the area of the rectangle decreases. Most DVD movies today will say the aspect ratio on the back of the box. We also call different aspect ratios "widescreen", or "letterbox", because it displays a picture similar to an envelope you send mail in.
I don't know what kind of system you're using, and more specifically, what type of monitor you're staring at as you read this, but computer monitors have changed drastically over the years. The used to be HUGE, CRT monitors. CRT stands for "Cathode Ray Tube".
The cathode ray tube (CRT) is a vacuum tube containing an electron gun (a source of electrons) and a fluorescent screen, with internal or external means to accelerate and deflect the electron beam, used to create images in the form of light emitted from the fluorescent screen. The image may represent electrical waveforms (oscilloscope), pictures (television, computer monitor), radar targets and others. The CRT uses an evacuated glass envelope which is large, deep, heavy, and relatively fragile. Thankfully, we don't see many of these anymore.
Most of you are probably using a much thinner display, called a "flat-screen".
These newer, flat-screen monitors are usually either LCD, Plasma, (or they now even come in LED, which are very bright and vivid, although because they are so new, they are still quite expensive.) LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and Plasma are much lighter, thinner, and are capable of hi-def (high definition) viewing, which, for those of you who have a hi-def tv know, is pretty awesome when watching movies. I have included the link for LCD monitors here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LCD_monitor
...and the one for plasma here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_display
There are some great definitions for those type of monitors there, and not wanting to bore some people I decided to post the links so if you are interested in learning more about them you may.
So we can see that monitors have evolved over the years, and I expect even more changes as time passes, resulting in greater viewing pleasure and ease of use and functionality as well.
I thank God, that I was born in a time of such great technology as this. I don't think that the next generation will be as appreciative as us because they will have grown up with this type of technology from birth. I remember when TV shows were strictly in black and white. It was a little before my time, but only about 10 or 15 years before I was born.
So I am grateful to my Lord Jesus Christ, because I am very appreciative that I was born to see all this. I very much enjoy computers, gadgets, technology as a whole. Like anything else in creation, it can be used for good or for evil. I choose to use it for good.
And speaking of choosing, I am eternally grateful that God chose me to be His child. No where in Scripture do we see man exercising his "free will" towards God in salvation. I do not see where people that believe that they "made a decision to follow Christ", can back up that claim scripturally. I welcome all comments on this topic.
May the Lord bless all who read this, and thank you for your support.
So we now know what a computer is, and we can begin to examine the other components attached to your computer. Starting with the monitor....
We measure monitors diagonally, i.e. the size of an approximately rectangular display is usually given as the distance between two opposite screen corners, that is, the diagonal of the rectangle. One problem with this method is that it does take into account the fact that when a rectangle with a given length to its diagonal, becomes more rectangular, and less square (its aspect ratio increases), and at the same time its diagonal remains the same, then the area of the rectangle decreases. Most DVD movies today will say the aspect ratio on the back of the box. We also call different aspect ratios "widescreen", or "letterbox", because it displays a picture similar to an envelope you send mail in.
I don't know what kind of system you're using, and more specifically, what type of monitor you're staring at as you read this, but computer monitors have changed drastically over the years. The used to be HUGE, CRT monitors. CRT stands for "Cathode Ray Tube".
The cathode ray tube (CRT) is a vacuum tube containing an electron gun (a source of electrons) and a fluorescent screen, with internal or external means to accelerate and deflect the electron beam, used to create images in the form of light emitted from the fluorescent screen. The image may represent electrical waveforms (oscilloscope), pictures (television, computer monitor), radar targets and others. The CRT uses an evacuated glass envelope which is large, deep, heavy, and relatively fragile. Thankfully, we don't see many of these anymore.
Most of you are probably using a much thinner display, called a "flat-screen".
These newer, flat-screen monitors are usually either LCD, Plasma, (or they now even come in LED, which are very bright and vivid, although because they are so new, they are still quite expensive.) LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and Plasma are much lighter, thinner, and are capable of hi-def (high definition) viewing, which, for those of you who have a hi-def tv know, is pretty awesome when watching movies. I have included the link for LCD monitors here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LCD_monitor
...and the one for plasma here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_display
There are some great definitions for those type of monitors there, and not wanting to bore some people I decided to post the links so if you are interested in learning more about them you may.
So we can see that monitors have evolved over the years, and I expect even more changes as time passes, resulting in greater viewing pleasure and ease of use and functionality as well.
I thank God, that I was born in a time of such great technology as this. I don't think that the next generation will be as appreciative as us because they will have grown up with this type of technology from birth. I remember when TV shows were strictly in black and white. It was a little before my time, but only about 10 or 15 years before I was born.
So I am grateful to my Lord Jesus Christ, because I am very appreciative that I was born to see all this. I very much enjoy computers, gadgets, technology as a whole. Like anything else in creation, it can be used for good or for evil. I choose to use it for good.
And speaking of choosing, I am eternally grateful that God chose me to be His child. No where in Scripture do we see man exercising his "free will" towards God in salvation. I do not see where people that believe that they "made a decision to follow Christ", can back up that claim scripturally. I welcome all comments on this topic.
May the Lord bless all who read this, and thank you for your support.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
A Mouse In Every Hand
Hello and welcome to "A Mouse In Every Hand". Why this title you say? Because I believe that computers and technology are tools that God has blessed us with in our generation, and I would love to see everyone be "computer literate", and use these tools to allow them to have a better quality of life, and further Gods' Kingdom. If you are not yet a believer in Christ, I pray that as you continue to read this blog and go through the lessons I post, that God will open your eyes to the Gospel of His Son Jesus Christ, and bring you to salvation. For there is salvation in no other name than in the blessed Name of Jesus Christ. Amen?
Thus begins lesson one: "What is a computer?"
A computer is a machine that manipulates data according to a set of instructions. YOU tell a computer what to do. It is a box, filled with electronic components, that will do what YOU tell it to. There is no need to be afraid of computers, or think that you are computer "illiterate", for I believe that if you can flick a switch to turn on a lightbulb, then you can learn your way around a computer, and even do some very cool things with them too.
Computers have not been with us for very long. I remember when I was around 11, I had a Texas Instruments (TI) computer, and the storage units for backing up data and saving your work was done on an external CASSETTE PLAYER! It is amazing to see how things have progressed. Now, in my hand, the computing power of my iPhone far surpasses the capabilities of computers from when I was growing up. I remember when VCR's were the latest in entertainment technology, and they were top=loading machines. I can almost remember 8-Tracks too, (I was a toddler and my dad would play "Abbey Road" by The Beatles on his 8-Track in his car......) But I digress....
So throughout my posts, I will try to pass on to my readers computing basics, and start you on the path to discovering the wonders of computers and how beneficial they can be to our lives. I will also give advanced computing tips and show you many shortcuts to doing things that you may already be doing now, just faster.
And of course I will top it all off with bits of Scripture and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for everything I do I do for His glory.
You may be wondering why I have ads on this blog. Well, having an internet connection costs money. And I am trying to pay my own way though Bible College and Seminary, and it costs you nothing to learn what I am teaching. You don't have to click on a single ad and I will still continue to post my tech blogs in order to help you and answer any questions you may have. I enjoy helping others, and I do this to pass onto others what God has blessed me with, knowledge of technology.
May the Lord bless all who read this.
Thus begins lesson one: "What is a computer?"
A computer is a machine that manipulates data according to a set of instructions. YOU tell a computer what to do. It is a box, filled with electronic components, that will do what YOU tell it to. There is no need to be afraid of computers, or think that you are computer "illiterate", for I believe that if you can flick a switch to turn on a lightbulb, then you can learn your way around a computer, and even do some very cool things with them too.
Computers have not been with us for very long. I remember when I was around 11, I had a Texas Instruments (TI) computer, and the storage units for backing up data and saving your work was done on an external CASSETTE PLAYER! It is amazing to see how things have progressed. Now, in my hand, the computing power of my iPhone far surpasses the capabilities of computers from when I was growing up. I remember when VCR's were the latest in entertainment technology, and they were top=loading machines. I can almost remember 8-Tracks too, (I was a toddler and my dad would play "Abbey Road" by The Beatles on his 8-Track in his car......) But I digress....
So throughout my posts, I will try to pass on to my readers computing basics, and start you on the path to discovering the wonders of computers and how beneficial they can be to our lives. I will also give advanced computing tips and show you many shortcuts to doing things that you may already be doing now, just faster.
And of course I will top it all off with bits of Scripture and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for everything I do I do for His glory.
You may be wondering why I have ads on this blog. Well, having an internet connection costs money. And I am trying to pay my own way though Bible College and Seminary, and it costs you nothing to learn what I am teaching. You don't have to click on a single ad and I will still continue to post my tech blogs in order to help you and answer any questions you may have. I enjoy helping others, and I do this to pass onto others what God has blessed me with, knowledge of technology.
May the Lord bless all who read this.
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