Navigating Your Computer: Part 2

In order for the computer (or you) to know where a file or folder is on your computer, you need to know (or be able to find) its file path.  The file path describes how to get to the location you're looking at or referring to by listing which folders you need to open to get to it.  The first location on a file path is the drive that the file is stored on.  From there, each item is the next folder you need to open up to get one step closer to the file.  In most cases, though, the file path doesn't list a few folders at the beginning of the actual path.  Instead, the path starts with the "user" folder, which contains all of the files that you (the user) normally have access to.  If you spend some time "wandering" through your computer's file structure, you will eventually figure out where certain files are and how the file hierarchy on your computer is structured. The following examples are from my computer, but your computer probably is almost the same as mine.

Examples
The complete file path of my desktop:

Macintosh HD/Users/Sam/Desktop

Normally, though, it is listed as

/Users/Sam/Desktop

If I wanted to really shorten the path, the tilde ~ stands for everything up to and including my user folder:

~/Desktop

All three of those paths point to the same location.

A file on my desktop might look like

/Users/Sam/Desktop/plaintext.txt

Try to find the file path to your desktop and to your Documents (or My Documents) folder.

Up Next: Navigating Your Computer: Part 3 (final part)

Navigating Your Computer: Part 1

When you consider that computers can hold thousands or millions of files, it seems necessary for there to be some sort of organization to help you (and the computer) find what you (and the computer) are looking for.  The organizational structure used on modern computers is sometimes referred to as a file hierarchy.  There are 3 main parts to the structure: files, folders, and drives.

You already are pretty well-acquainted with the concept of a file—it holds the information for a particular task, whether it's a song file, a word processing file, or an application (or executable) file.

If the entire organization were just files in a big virtual bucket, though, it would be almost impossible to find a particular file.  Consider trying to scan a list of one million file names for that particular song (whose name you might not even correctly remember) you are looking for.  Impossible! (or at least really really time-consuming.)  Also, you would not be able to call two files the same name, which is a huge problem.  What if I am working on two papers, and want to have a file for each called "Draft.doc," "Bibliography.doc," and "Final.doc?"  The computer (and I) would not be able to tell the two sets of files apart, and bad stuff would happen.  To avoid this problem, we use the concept of folders, or directories.

The analogy between computer folders and real folders is extremely direct: just as a file is like a piece of paper (or a few pieces stapled together), so too is a folder like the manila folder you use to keep a bunch of related papers together.  Folders make organization on a computer so much easier because inside a folder, you can create another folder, and inside that one another, and so on almost indefinitely.  Consequently, to continue my earlier example, if I have two papers to write, I can create a folder called "First Paper" and a folder called "Second Paper."  I can then put the files for the respective papers inside their respective folders.  Specifically, I can have a file called "Draft.doc" that's inside the folder "First Paper," and a different file called "Draft.doc" inside "Second Paper."  Both the computer and I can now tell the two files apart because the "Draft.doc" inside "First Paper" is in a different folder than the one in "Second Paper."  (Note: directory and folder are completely synonymous.)

For most intents and purposes, files and folders are sufficient to keep a computer organized.  However, there are some times when things get a little bit more complicated.  For example, if you have a digital camera, you probably will at some point want to connect it to your computer so you can save the pictures you took and email them to friends and family.  To do that, you need to be able to tell your computer to copy the files from the camera onto the computer's hard drive (remember, that's where the computer's files and folders are stored).  However, the pictures are on the camera, not on the computer, so you won't be able to find it just looking through the folders and files on your computer.  To resolve this problem, we use the concept of drives or disks (again, synonymous).

Most computers today have one hard drive that stores all of the computer's files, folders, and applications.  Other devices have hard drives as well: cameras, mp3 players and iPods, cell phones, and other similar devices.  When you connect one of these to your computer, the computer recognizes it as a new hard drive.  To continue the files/folders analogy, your computer's hard drive is like your desk, with all of the papers and folders that you normally use on it.  Every so often, though, the office mail gets delivered in a box that the mailman leaves on your desk.  Inside the box are more files and folders, similar to the ones that are on your desk.  Even the box itself is on your desk.  But it's clear that the stuff in the box is separate from the stuff on your desk.  In the same way, your computer presents all of the files and folders on its own hard drive separately from the stuff in a different drive.  Another way to see the difference between folders and drives is that different folders are on the same piece of hardware, but different drives are on different pieces of hardware.

Examples

On an Apple computer, the icons used to represent files look like this: 

Depending on the file's extension (type), there might be a picture on the icon that tells you what type of file it is.

Folders look like this:

Some folders have special pictures on them that tell you what kinds of files are in them.  For example, the "Applications" folder has an "A" on the icon, and the "System" folder has an "X" (for Mac OS X).  On Windows computers, the "Desktop" folder looks like, well, a desktop.

Drives can have different icons depending on what kind of drive, and on whether you're on a Windows or Apple computer, but they usually look something like one of these two:

Notice how the first drive is called "Macintosh HD."  This is the computer's own hard drive (HD stands for hard drive).  The one called "Music HD" is a separate drive that has music files on it.  Different kinds of drives can have different "labels" on the icons, but those two are pretty generic.

Up Next: Navigating Your Computer: Part 2

Upload and Download

As you know by now, the Internet allows files to be exchanged between computers.  When you are just viewing webpages, the contents of the page are only temporarily saved on your computer (just for as long as you are viewing the page).  Web browsers can only read certain file types, namely those with the .html extension (HTML files) and certain picture files like .jpg, .gif, and a few others.  There are other file types that you might encounter on the Internet that you want to see, though, such as Word files, music files, etc. that the browser cannot open.  In order to open them, you need to transfer a copy of the file from the Internet to your computer, and open it with an application on your computer.  The process by which files are transfered from the Internet to a computer is called downloading.  Once a file is downloaded, it can be treated just like any other file you created yourself on your computer.  Two of the most common sources for downloads are emails and the iTunes music store.  Downloading is an amazing process—I can write a novel on my computer and send it (attached to an email) anywhere in the world and the email's recipient could be reading it within seconds.  With great power, though, comes great responsibility: while many downloads are regular, harmless files, there are a large number of files that contain viruses and other programs that can harm your computer or steal your information.  These files are often disguised as regular files, so it is important to use caution when you click on a link to download a file.  Only click on links that appear on web sites that you trust!!!  A good rule of thumb is that if you don't expect to have to download a file, don't download any files.  Also, only download attachments from emails if you know the person who sent the email to you.  Many email services have great software that tries to filter out messages that have viruses attached to them, but none of them is perfect, so it's always best to err on the side of caution.

A much less hazardous process than downloading is the reverse: uploading.  When you want to share a file with someone (or the whole Internet), you need to upload it to an email or web site so that others can download it to their computers.

Examples

When you buy a song from iTunes, you have to download it in order to play it on your computer.

A file that contains a virus may appear as simple as this (this is not a real virus, or even a real link):

Congratulations! You just won $100!!!!! click here to claim your prize.

Even though you might be flattered at the thought of winning $100, since you did not log on to the Internet today to claim a lottery prize, you are better off not clicking the link.

Most email programs have a button that says "Attach a file" or has a picture of a paper clip on it.  Clicking that will let you choose which file you want to attach, and when you send the message, your file will be uploaded to the Internet.

Up Next: Navigating through your computer

Earlier Topics Revisited

Now that you are more familiar with some of the terminology and functions related to computers, let's go back and elaborate on some earlier topics:

• Bits and bytes: these are the building blocks of software, such as programs, applications, and operating systems.
• Interface, input, and output: things like keyboards, mouses, and computer screens are interfaces.  So are operating systems (connect hardware to software) and (new term) GUIs (Graphical User Interfaces), which translate text commands into pictures.  GUIs are responsible for clickable buttons, file icons, and menus.
• Keyboard: by now, you know how to type capital and lowercase letters, numbers, symbols, and accents using keyboard modifier keys.
• Program and application: you know about programs such as web browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari) and word processors (Microsoft Word).  You also know that programs are contained in windows, and you know how to close, minimize, and maximize windows.
• The Internet: connects computers so they can exchange files.  The most common way to access the Internet is through a web browser, where you can see files (web sites) residing on other computers.
• Menus: the File menu has options for opening new files and saving or closing current ones, while the Edit menu has options for editing the text or some other aspect inside of the current file.
• Media: different kinds of files that are usually meant for entertainment (consider the term "the media industry"), commonly video, picture, and music files.
• Files and Extensions: different kinds of files are represented by different endings to their names: .doc, .txt, .jpg, .mp3, etc.

Hopefully this list connects some of the terms discussed earlier and provides a broader picture of the way computers work.

Next Up: Upload and Download

Files and Extensions

A file is a set of computer code (software) that contains all of the information necessary to complete a particular task.  There are different kinds (or types) of files, denoted by different extensions, which consist of a period followed by (usually) three letters that abbreviate the kind of the file.

Examples
Applications are files, and they are denoted by the .app extension on Mac OS X, and by the .exe extension on Windows (.exe stands for "executable file").  Other common files are Microsoft Word files, which contain whatever you wrote on Microsoft word.  These have the .doc and .docx extension (both stand for "document," but the x in .docx is to distinguish the newer version of Word from previous ones).  Here are some others:

• Microsoft Excel: .xls and .xlsx
• Microsoft PowerPoint: .ppt and .pptx
• MP3 and AAC (music files): .mp3 and .aac
• MPEG (video files): .m4p and .mp4
• Web Pages: .htm and .html
• Plain Text (i.e. without formatting like color, size, font): .txt
• JPEG, GIF, TIFF, RAW (images/pictures): .jpg, .gif, .tif, .raw
• PDF (Portable Document Format): .pdf

Tomorrow: Revisit some previous topics with our new tech-lingo

Media

Media is any sort of information that can be read, watched, or heard by people.  Common non-electronic media include books, newspapers, voices, musical instruments.  Digital media refers to media that is represented as a computer file (in bits and bytes).  Media in this sense is different from media in the sense that writing and television are media for delivering information, although the line becomes blurred with the common reference to hard drives as "storage media," so-called because they are a medium that stores information.  However, we are not talking about that sort of media, but rather the media that can be stored on a hard drive.

Examples
Common digital media include music files (mp3's), video files, e-books, email, and digital photographs.

Tomorrow: Files and Extensions

Some Technical Jargon Explained

In order to more efficiently explain tech concepts, I have decided to list a short reference of jargon that will make life a lot easier in the future.

• click: click the mouse.  move the mouse so the pointer is covering whatever you want to click on.
• URL: the web address for a webpage.  it often starts with http://www.  For example: http://www.google.com or http://www.techinenglish.blogspot.com.
• Hyperlink (or just "link"): text that you can click on to go to a particular webpage.  the text is often just the URL of the webpage, but can also be something like Click Here.  Links normally appear in underlined blue until you click on them, when they turn underlined purple.
• browser: a program that lets you view websites
• word processor: a program that lets you create and edit text documents
• address bar: the text field at the top of most browser windows that tells you what the URL of the webpage you are viewing is and lets you type in a new one.  this is the main way to go to new web sites (i.e. ones you aren't already viewing).
• push "tab," "space," etc.: certain keys on the keyboard aren't labeled with single letters, but rather words.  these will be in quotes.
• type "words:" type those words in quotes into the specified text field.
• go to : type the URL in the brackets into your browser's address bar and push "enter" or "return." (either will do).
• file: a collection of bits and bytes that run on a particular program and contain some specified data.
• hard drive: hardware where files are stored indefinitely (until you delete a file).  when you "save" a file, its contents are "written" on the hard drive.
• RAM: acronym for "Random Access Memory," which is where the computer can temporarily store files necessary for programs to run.  RAM gets erased whenever a computer is shut off.  this is why computers don't remember what programs you were using right before you shut them off.
• memory: informally, the number of bits or bytes that can be stored on a hard drive. technically, the amount of RAM a computer has.  either way, normal amounts of memory range from single bits or bytes to kilobits or kilobytes (Kb or KB), which are 1000 bits or bytes, to mega- and gigabits and bytes (Mb, MB, Gb, GB, respectively), which are 1000 Kb, KB, Mb, or MB, respectively.  Recently, the terabyte and petabyte have come into use, representing 1000 GB and 1000 TB, respectively.

Tomorrow: Media