Computers for Beginners

Computers for Beginners is a book for people with little or no prior computer knowledge. It will teach basics moving slowly toward more advanced topics. The primary learning technique will be tutorial examples since they facilitate learning more effectively. There will be adequate theory prior to and explaining the examples so the user learns what the computer is doing instead of just memorizing keystrokes and mouse clicks.

The initial writing of this book will use mostly examples from Windows XP. However, the theories in the book are applicable to any modern operating system (ex: Linux, MacOS, etc); these operating systems will not be explained separately right now unless there are fundamental differences.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Buying A Computer
   1. Where to Buy
   2. Processor
   3. Etc.
3. Flat Out Basics
   1. Setting Up and Turning on the Computer
   2. Free Software
   3. Proprietary Software
   4. Choosing my system - Priority "freedom"
   5. Moving the Mouse
   6. Familiarizing yourself with the keyboard
   7. Launching and Working with Programs and Windows
   8. Gooey GUI
4. More Basics
   1. Files
   2. Installing Programs
   3. Uninstalling Programs
   4. Customizing
5. Security
   1. Malware
   2. Firewall
6. Office Programs
7. Internet
   1. The Basics
      1. What is the Internet?
      2. The Internet and the World Wide Web
   2. Web Browsing
   3. Choosing a Password
      1. Bad Passwords
      2. Good Passwords
   4. Searching: Getting Here from There
   5. E-mail
      1. Choosing a username and password
      2. Utilizing the options
   6. Web-based E-mail Programs
   7. E-mail through a specialist program
8. Multimedia
   1. Games
      1. Playing Games
      2. Modding/Making Games
   2. Images
      1. File Types
      2. Viewing
      3. Editing
   3. Music
      1. File Types
      2. Listening
      3. Editing
   4. Video
      1. Media Types
      2. File Types
      3. Watching
      4. Editing
9. Networking
   1. Setting Up a Home Network
   2. Different Uses of Networks
      1. Sharing Internet Connections
      2. Sharing Files and Printer
      3. Playing Multi-Player Games
10. Tips&Tricks
    1. Truly Removing Log Off User
    2. Kill the Passport Balloon
    3. Kill the Animated Search Character
11. Keeping your PC running Smoothly
12. Programming
13. Glossary
14. Author(s)