Computer Help with Jargon and Definitions for SeniorsComputer help, for Seniors, can be a little over whelming, at first. This causes a lot of resistance to learning how to use one. But I hope that I can help take the fear out of that by giving you a few definitions of terms that you hear quite often, but don't know what they mean. And like children, we seniors sometimes are afraid to ask for fear of being ridiculed. As I sit and watch TV of an evening, I hear words pertaining to computing, quite often. Most often on CNN but I hear things from time to time on regular shows. Do you? Or maybe you don't even realize it when you hear them. If you watch Larry King or Anderson Cooper, then you have heard them talk about their BLOG or TWITTER. 
As we jump on the world wide web (aka...WWW.) together, also known as the Information highway, we will see where a lot of these terms, or jargon, comes from, and what their definitions are. For computer help,
Let's go to the library!
In order to get to the library (aka... internet) for some information on computer help, we need some transportation. Be it a car, a bus service, a cab service, or what ever can get us there. This service (aka...server) to the internet is known as Comcast, ATT, Dish Network, etc. These servers use a cable or phone line (aka...hardware) to connect our computers to the internet. If you have more than one computer in your home and want to be on them at the same time, you need an interconnection (aka...network) between the computers.
"The Web" The World Wide Web (commonly abbreviated as WWW.) is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet. With a Web browser, one can view Web pages that may contain text, images, videos, and other multimedia and navigate between them using hyperlinks. Now a few years ago that would have sounded like a bunch of mumble-jumbo to me. But I have learned (did you get that?) my way around the internet just as I have learned to drive on freeways. On and off ramps, billboards, mile markers, and road signs all helped me to navigate my way. Same applies here. Once you learn (do you get that?) to use the many tools that are available to you, the rest is pretty easy. You have all the computer help you need on every page, too. A help button is always at the top. 
But practice does make it more simple and so does patience. "Web Surfing" is like going to the library and looking up what ever it is that you want information about. I don't know why they didn't call it "Web Searching". They both, the internet and library, also have movies and music that you can check out and take home. They usually have a daily newspaper there for those who don't want home delivery. These you can bring up on your computer, every day, and even work the puzzles, on line or off (aka...print out). You can also get directions from a map, or a number from a phone directory.
And guess what else they have at the library? Yep, computers for you to use! And they have someone who can give you computer help if you need it. 
When we get to the library we first go to the index to find where to look for our information. On the internet, we go to an index (aka...Web Browser). "Windows Internet Explorer", "Mozilla Firefox", "Apple Safari", "Opera", or "Google Chrome". Web Browsers are the on ramps to our super internet highway or index to "where do we start". It will take you to the WWW. (aka...Search Engine). You've heard of them and here they are! GOOGLE, YAHOO, MSN, AOL, and ASK. When someone tells you they "Googled" (as a verb) they were merely using the search engine to get the information. Directories are where the search engine takes you and from there you are given a list of sites to choose from. Sort of like "the aisle" the books are in and what they about. 
Once we choose a search engine, we type in a word (aka...keyword or words) that is/are relevant to what we want to find. Now the more specific you are with this, the less filtering you will have to do later. For example; I type in Bichon Frise and hit enter. Up pops many pages (aka...directories on this subject. So to narrow it down, I should have typed in "Bichon Frise ( show dogs, white, butterscotch, pure bread, illnesses of, temperament, etc.)." This narrows my "search" and saves me a lot of time. (I hope this is giving you some kind of computer help with easier understanding of some of the jargon out there that we hear every day., Like "I Googled it!". Do you get it?)
Now on these pages (aka...directories) that pop up, there is a bit of a description as to what each of these sites (aka...web addresses) are about. This will help you once again, narrow your "search". 
Now I would like to pause here for a minute to clarify one thing. If I am looking for definitions, I look in WEBOPEDIA, the only online dictionary and search engine you need for computer help with Internet technology definitions. W.H.A.T? Remember when you would go to your mom or dad and ask about something? Yes, They would say, "Go look it up! I didn't pay all that money for those encyclopedias just to have them collect dust!" Well, this is even easier. Just type in your "key word or words" and when the "directory" comes up, there is almost always a site (aka...web address) on the very first page to WEBOPEDIA. Click on that site (aka...web address) and wha-la! you have your definition.
Any way, where were we, oh yah. Back to the library. 
Once we find what aisle (aka...address) we want, we go there and start browsing up and down looking for what is available that best fits our needs. Now at the library, we can either sit down and read our information, or check it out (aka...print it out) to take home. We have the opportunity on a computer to save this address (aka...favorites) to return to later. I hope you do that with mine.
With a library book, it will always be what it is. A book that never changes and is the same information all the time. But an informational "web site" will constantly be changing and updating for you to continue to learn from, for FREE! Now not all "web sites" are free to gain something from but most educational ones are. And where else can you learn about organic foods, household cleaners, home remedies, and your favorite past times with just the click of a button (aka...mouse)? With the schools using computers to teach students with and teachers using them for lesson studies, it is not hard to see where this is going in the very near future. I have heard more about "Home Schooling" in the past year than I have my whole life. I truly believe that children going to school, will one day be a thing of the past. I hope I'm wrong. But stop and think about it. Schools are closing all around us. And we might say they need the social skills that they get at school, Welcome to The Social Media!!! At the bottom of my pages you will notice the little boxes marked, GOOGLE BUZZ, FACEBOOK, MYSPACE, STUMBLEUPON, TECHNORATI, del.icio.us, and TWITTER. In front of them there is the question, What's This? Go on and click on that and see what it is. Go on, I'll wait. Hey, this is computer help and definitions for all the jargon. Now, go and learn. I'll be here when you get back. Hmmm. What Are Social Media? And what do these buttons do? And what do they mean? Social Media let you use the Web to interact with others. This could be through social networking sites like Facebook or MySpace, where you can visit with friends and acquaintances. Or it could be through social bookmarking services, like StumbleUpon, Yahoo! Buzz and del.icio.us, where you bookmark Web pages you like and share them with other users of the same service. RSS (most commonly translated as "Really Simple Syndication") is like your local news paper. You can write an article (aka...blog) in it or read others. And known as RSS feed is like the delivery boy. In a nut shell, RSS is a "Web syndication". OK? Now let's break them down, according to definitions by,
Yep, WEBOPEDIA. 
I Google in the Social Media, takes you to an I Google page that you make your own. You can save your favorite places there. So when you are at work, at the library, or a friends house, you can still get to your favorites without your own computer with you. Click that button and see. I'll wait. See, it's kind of cool. See why the kids like it? It's like their own locker to decorate. Getting a little computer help, isn't that hard after all, is it. Yahoo! Buzz is The Web's most remarkable stories, determined by people like you. Stories are ranked based on your votes, comments, emails, and searches. Facebook's mission is to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected. Millions of people use Facebook everyday to keep up with friends, upload an unlimited number of photos, share links and videos, and learn more about the people they meet. In a nut shell, say I have a Facebook page and I have on it, an update on what I've been up to. I also put on where and what my family is doing and so on. My cousin in Florida can look on Facebook and see whats going on in my life. New babies in the family, any deaths, so on. It is sort of a personal journal of ones self or family. Not a good idea if you don't want everyone knowing your business but a good way to stay up to date on the family but don't have time or means to communicate with them.
MySpace is a place for friends to * Search Friends * Find old friends * Make new friends It is Your Space to * Express who you are * Upload pictures & videos * Add music * Your own web address It keeps you connected * Keep up with your friends * MySpace Mobile * Share what you're up to 
Stumbleupon uses ratings to form collaborative opinions on website quality. When you stumble, you will only see pages which friends and like-minded stumblers have recommended. This helps you discover great content you probably wouldn't find using a search engine. It works with Mozilla Firefox and Internet (E)Explorer.Technorati is an Internet search engine for searching articles (aka...blogs). Blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. I mentioned these a long with Twitter at the beginning of this page. Larry King and Anderson Cooper have blogs. It is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. del.icio.us is a social bookmarking service that allows users to tag, save, manage and share web pages from a centralized source. With emphasis on the power of the community, del.icio.us greatly improves how people discover, remember and share on the Internet.Things you can do with del.icio.us, bookmark any site on the Internet and get to it from anywhere. Instead of having different bookmarks on every computer, del.icio.us makes it easy to have a single set of bookmarks kept in sync between all of your computers. Even if you're not on a computer you own, you can still get to your bookmarks on the del.icio.us website. Share your bookmarks, and get bookmarks in return. That leaves us with, Tweet this or Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing? Like right now. If I work in an office, and a friend of mine works one floor down, she might text me and ask, what you doing? I might be getting ready to go to a meeting or get a cup of coffee. We do it a lot when we text on our cell phones when we can't always talk. Just a few quick words. I like this idea for kids because they love to send messages on their cell phones(aka...text) yet you always know where they are and what they are doing. I also think it is a good way to keep loved ones safe.
If you want computer help, you have to be willing to try a few new things. It isn't hard once you know a little jargon. I hope by giving you a few definitions to start with, that you will continue to come back and learn that some of the computer world is not as intimidating as you thought. Please continue on to my next page and to learn along with me. I plan to learn a little more every day and you can, too. But the good news is that I will do all the leg work. I also would like to give you an opportunity to share with others; What I Learned, Today. Together we can get the computer help we need! Back to Home Page from Computer Help and Jargon
|
