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Computer Gurus: Computer Basics


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I have never taken a computer course, and I have never read a computer-related instructional book.

I expect that the textbooks they start youngsters out with are pretty easy to understand.

Can you recommend a very basic book for using a PC?  I currently use Windows 10, if that matters.

(I have found "X for Dummies" books to be too wordy for me; and I would prefer something a little more professional, even if it might be a school textbook for kids.)

Thanks!

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Community college should have something for you. That's  how I  started learning. Knew absolutely nothing. Still don't know very much, but knowing the most basic things makes it easier to then figure things out further on.

Not everybody learns the same way, so it may be that a classroom setting, where you can ask questions about things in a book that don't really make sense, will be a better way for you personally to learn than tackling a book solo.

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I truly miss books.  I used to read manuals cover to cover - that's how I learned to use word processing and spreadsheet programs.  In fact, just today I downloaded a virtual book from the Apple iBook store, that covers iPads and the new iPadOS operating system.  Yes, I plan to read it cover to cover.  I also read some books in the '90's that explained how a PC works.  I still have them, published by ZD Press (Ziff-Davis): How Software Works, How Computer Programming Works, How Microprocessors Work, How Computers Work.  While the specs may have changed since then, I'll bet most of the basic processes are the same or similar.  

Unfortunately, the book industry is contracting; people just aren't buying books like they used to.  For example, I used to love buying the latest edition of Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide.  In the foreword of the latest edition, he announced it would be the last, since the market has dried up.  So, in looking at Amazon, it doesn't surprise me that I don't see too much choice in computer books.  I'm a Mac guy, so I don't keep up with the PC world, but you may want to consider one of these:

https://www.amazon.com/Computer-Absolute-Beginners-Windows-Content/dp/0789754517/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=computer+basics+book&qid=1571455026&sr=8-3

https://www.amazon.com/Windows-10-Missing-Manual-should/dp/1491981911/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

Another interesting recent development are the Raspberry Pi computers.  You build it yourself for very little money, runs variants of Linux, come with all the starter software you might need, and there are lots of tutorials and user groups to extend your knowledge.  Again, just do a web search for Raspberry Pi; the latest version is 4.

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1 hour ago, Chuck Nessa said:

Find a kid and ask for help.

LOL!  Two years ago I did find two kids from my nearby high school, and they taught me how to use Twitter.  But I still feel that I need a reference book to go back to (which I never had).

(By the way, that high school was Pistol Pete's alma mater.)

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7 minutes ago, mjzee said:

https://www.amazon.com/Computer-Absolute-Beginners-Windows-Content/dp/0789754517/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=computer+basics+book&qid=1571455026&sr=8-3

https://www.amazon.com/Windows-10-Missing-Manual-should/dp/1491981911/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

Another interesting recent development are the Raspberry Pi computers.  You build it yourself for very little money, runs variants of Linux, come with all the starter software you might need, and there are lots of tutorials and user groups to extend your knowledge.  Again, just do a web search for Raspberry Pi; the latest version is 4.

Thanks for those two suggestions, Michael!

In fact I have seen Raspberry Pi before.  They now say that you can do your own pong-era video games.  Maybe that's the way I'll go if I get any money for Christmas.

53 minutes ago, JSngry said:

Community college should have something for you. That's  how I  started learning. Knew absolutely nothing. Still don't know very much, but knowing the most basic things makes it easier to then figure things out further on.

 

Jim, what you say has the ring of truth.  I would like to start with a book first, but maybe our community college is the way to go.

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I'm less dismissive of the book idea than some of you. 18 months ago I found myself jobsearching for the first time in 30 years and it soon became very apparent I needed to master Twitter quickly.

I went to my local library (we still have a few that haven't been closed) and browsed the computer, jobsearch and business shelves. Found three books that looked at Twitter from different perspectives. All helpful. 

Yes, it's designed to be easily accessible but some of us like to learn in a reflective rather than active, trial and error, style.

So, my advice for what it's worth is your local library if accessible. Otherwise the local adult ed classes as already suggested. Look for the half day, taster style classes.

I work for a charity for older people and we run such tasters so depending on your age this too is an option.

Good luck. I will say I find Twitter increasingly addictive, so beware too!

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I have found that with computers, it's fairly easy to learn by simply clicking around everywhere. If you have Windows 10, click the start menu and run every single entry listed there. Just see what everything does. After you do this, go back to things that sounded interesting and click around in them. For Windows settings areas, like wireless settings and things like that, there are layers and layers of settings so go as deep as you can.

When you get to applications like Word, Excel & Powerpoint, there are libraries of books on how to use these apps' tools. You may never learn all their tricks, but you should click around in there enough to do what yo have to do. Excel is a very powerful data handler app. You can pretty much look at numbers up, down & sideways and display it anyway you want. People make long careers being proficient in Excel, so don't be worried if you're not an expert there.

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I usually go to youtube to pick up new computer skills.   You would be surprised at the amount of info available.  The key is to find a channel that is made by someone who does this often and is able to communicate ideas clearly. 

I recommend Excel Is Fun if you want to learn about spreadsheets.   Mike Garvin is a professor at a community college in Seattle and is also a Microsoft MVP. 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkndrGoNpUDV-uia6a9jwVg

Microsoft has really beefed up their portal to learn new skills.   You may want to browse this link for topics that may be of interest to you:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/browse/

There is a drop down to select your level of understanding and other filters to find products and roles.

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Hardcopy computer reference books are notorious for becoming outdated quickly, and I say that as someone who's sitting next to a bookcase full of them as I type this. Probably better to find online resources/references for basic stuff - perhaps something even more streamlined like this quick reference card for Windows 10 might be useful:

https://www.customguide.com/cheat_sheets/windows-10-quick-reference.pdf

For specific questions, I've rarely failed to find the answer to a technical question by simply Googling the question or several targeted keywords. You'd be surprised how often even IT professionals turn to Google to figure something out. You don't need to memorize everything when you've mastered the ability to locate relevant information quickly. 

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7 hours ago, GA Russell said:

Guys, my OP was not about Twitter.  My concern is about computers.

It is a fact that I don't know what I don't know.

I also don't know the lingo.

I like the idea of buying the textbook the community college uses.  I'll investigate that.

Thanks!

Are you asking about using a computer or the stuff inside the computer. You mentioned Windows 10 above, which is why I recommended what I did. It's how I learned my way around a computer. The best thing clicking around the menus is that there are almost always pop up info boxes when you hover over any button and there is almost always a cancel button, so you don't have to worry about doing anything bad.

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If you really know "nothing" except how to press buttons and push keys, I really recommend taking a class. The learning is very structured, very linear, they start you at the beginning and introduce things in a logical, progressive manner. By the time it's over, you should know not just how to do something, but why you do it that way, and why it works that way. Once you get that basic, foundational knowledge, THEN you can start clicking around and exploring. It will make more sense then, the things you do.

I don't recommend just buying a textbook and doing it solo. Textbooks are designed to support lesson plans, which means presenting information in the socialized setting of a class, and that's very important. The interactivity of a class, a good class, anyway, is one of the best ways to learn. A knowledgeable leader and a group of inquisitive learners is a time-tested method of meaningful learning.

And don't sweat the class. The one I took was full of adults on either side of my age, and we were all there for the same reason - this computer "thing" was something we knew we needed to know, and we wanted to find out, as you said, what we didn't know, and then learn it. The classroom setting was great, because there were a lot of people who didn't know the same things I didn't know, and a lot of times, some of us had a knowledge gap that other people had the answer to, and vice-versa, like we all had pieces of a puzzle then put them together in class. And with a good instructor, when you think you have something figured out but really don't...that won't be allowed to take root. Very important, that!

And remember - anybody who takes THAT type of class is not going to be full of some young whiz-bangs who's going to throw shade on all you weaklings . It's all going to be people like you, people who know that there's more to be had from these things than just knowing a few basic things and nothing more. As we get older, the thought of going back into a classroom is no doubt a little creepy. But remember - this is not something that you're doing for a report card or a transcript or anything like that. This is learning something you want to learn, for the sake of learning. Enjoy it!

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17 minutes ago, JSngry said:

If you really know "nothing" except how to press buttons and push keys.

Give me a break. He has been a member since 2003 and probably the Blue Note Bulletin Board before that. He just lacks initiative to find things out on his own and use the internet as a resource. Courses in quote "the very basics" are for dumbasses.

Edited by erwbol
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Uh, no they're not. I learned music starting with the very basics. I've learned history by looking deeper than last week's headlines. It's a good thing to do, getting a solid grasp of the basics. A failure to do so leaves you in the position of always being a reactive consumer.

As far as computers, I know plenty of people who can type, copy/paste, do a little bit of this and a little bit of that, but don't know shit about computing of software. Tell them to go to a command prompt and they'd not know what the hell you're talking about. Tell the to look at their cookies and they'll go to the pantry. Etc. etc. etc.

When somebody says they don't know the lingo, hey.And he's frequently on here asking for advice on how to solve some seemingly "basic" problems. And he's been working on older, basic equipment. This screams to me of a guy who has a computer and only knows how to do a few basic tasks with it and want to know more. Well, ok, learn the basics, learn how this shit is put together, learn the basics, and then be confident with your machine instead of being bound by it.

If there's a dumbass to be had, it's the person who doesn't take the steps to gain the knowledge. And if you don't know the basics, you'll never be able to get there except in bits and pieces, which is not really knowledge as much as it is knowing how to be better at being lucky.

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Also...we got people around here talking about "do we REALLY need libraries today, since everything's on the Internet now?" Seriously, people are starting to think that.

Independent study is always groovy, but if you don't know what you don't know, you can end up still not knowing what you don't know, only more of it.

My biggest worry though, is the ongoing stigmatization of learning in a social context, private schools vs public, internet vs classroom or library, the whole idea of going it alone as much as possible on everything. I think learning is both a private and a communal activity. It worries me a bit when people default to "I'll look it up". Well, yes, if you know what you're looking for and what to do with it once you find it. But if you don't know a lot of general things, odds are good, there's plenty of other people who also don't know it, so get together and learn together. Meet people, ya' know? THEN be alone! :g

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I am a dumbass. I would have thought that would have been apparent long before now.

Having said that, although the machines are now exponentially easier to use, that has not corresponded to there being less to know to understand them. PCs are becoming very Mac-like, you know, "it just works, that's all I know".

Well good. If it just works, there should be no questions. And yet there are!

Besides, people occasionally need to get their ass out of the house for doing something besides being alone in a crowd.

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