Analogy: A Personal Computer (PC) is analogy to a Car. Just like the car is your transportation mean, the PC will take you to destination on the Internet.
Main PC components:
The Motherboard (PCB) including the CPU is equivalent to the Engine. The Hard Drive is what the car can carry (car body and trunk).
Since computer manufacturers produce many brands and configurations. And they usually make available upgrade versions of computers within few months or weeks (faster CPU speed, bigger Hard Drive, larger RAM size, etc.) . For most people, a computer with these following basic configuration will work fine fro most applications, as the time of this article (November 2008).
CPU: 1.5-2.5 Mhz (working speed)
Hard Drive: 150-300 GB (permanent data storage)
RAM: 1-3 GB (temporary working space)
There are 4 ways to connect your PC to the Internet from your home:
1. Dial-up via phone line
2. DSL via phone line
3. Via Cable
4. Via Satellite
A service from Best Buy or similar vendors would cost customer between $80 and $100 to setup wireless Internet connection.
For wireless connection to the Internet service, vendors would charge around $100, which represents 20% the computer cost, for a computer valued $500.
If you are planning to upgrade your computer in the future, you should consider these factors preferably at the time of purchasing. Planning ahead will save you money and avoiding headaches. Inspect the front and back of the computer and take notes. Ask the sale person if necessary.
Spyware are unwanted software that are intruded or interacted with your PC without your awareness or knowledge.
Computer virus is a program that can copy itself and harmfully infect a computer without your awareness or knowledge.
Majority of people go online to do one of these task:
1. Web Surfing: Go to media sites such as Yahoo, CNN.com, CBSNews, ABCnews, NYTimes, etc… to read news or Go shopping or interact with friends at Social Networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Bebo, Linkedin, etc…
2. Sending emails
3. Chatting with friends
4. Talking with friends (Internet phone)