Managing “Windows”
Microsoft Windows is called “Windows” for a reason. Programs appear on your screen as “Windows” (rectangular shapes) and are laid 3 dimensionally on top of one another (see image at right), just like on a real desktop. The desktop is your work surface, and all of your open windows appear on top of it. If you can see a window, that means the program is open and running. It is possible to make the window bigger, smaller, or close it using the buttons in the top right corner of
any window.
Minimize: Left-click this button to shrink the window down to a small button that will appear in the task bar (see below).
Maximize: Left-click this button to make the window as large as it can be—it should take up your entire screen.
Close: Left-click this button to close the window. The program will close and stop running. Make sure you save your work first!
Restore Down: Left-click this button to make the window smaller without minimizing it.
Microsoft Windows is capable of running more than one program at once. In other words, you can write a letter in Microsoft Word, while surfing the Internet while using Microsoft Excel while checking your email and so on! This is called “multi-tasking” and is a feature of all computers. However, with all of these things going on at once, how do you keep track of them all? The Taskbar, which is the bar that spans across the bottom of your screen next to the Start Menu, is designed to help you keep track of all of your programs. It looks like this: In the illustration above, there are several programs running. Each program that is open is represented by a “button” on the Taskbar. To use one of the programs that is “open”simply left-click on it once to bring it up to the top of the screen. The taskbar is modeled after what might happen in real life: You are reading the newspaper, and you put it down to pick up your favorite book. You didn’t throw it out or destroy it, you simply set it aside. This way, you can pick up right where you left off once you are done reading your book. The taskbar works the same way, but with software programs, not books.
Buying a Computer
When considering the merits of a computer, it’s important to consider the following questions:
- How fast can the computer perform tasks?
- How much information (or data) can it store?
- How many programs (i.e. software) can it run simultaneously?
Buying a computer is a big decision, and can be quite expensive. It is a good idea to do some research before buying a computer to find out what would work best for your needs, what computers have performed well for others, and what models are within your price range. Asking for help finding this information at the reference desk of your local library is a good place to start. In addition, here are some websites you might want to check out:
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