Iron Age (Pre-Beginners)

How hard can it be? The good old days -- those were hard times. Here's your basic toolkit:

How Addresses are Constructed

These forms are standard. There are addresses that are a little different from this, but they are variations on this.

The page address has domain name first, then username, separated by a "/".

www.domain.xxx/~username

The e-mail address has username first, then domain name, separated by a "@".

username@domain.xxx

."www" means "world wide web" (always the same)

"domain" is the provider name, such as "enteract" or "webtv" (this is the heart of the name)

"xxx" is a code identifying the domain type, such as "com" (commercial) or "net" (a computer network) or "edu" (educational)

"/" is a divider

"~" (tilde) is a character that identifies an individual user)

"username" is the user's chosen Internet name -- it can be a handle (such as "feaudrey"), or an actual name (such as "gbeddow") (first initial and last name is common, especially in business addresses)

"@" ("at" sign) is the divider used in e-mail addresses

The machine's manuals: The manual will usually be included in the box the machine came in. There will probably be a few flyers about hook up the beast, too. Some manufacturers have cut back on manuals ("no-one reads them, anyway"), but will send them to you free on request (call customer support, knock three times, and say, "Joe sent me").
1. find pictures of equipment (usually in front of booklet)
2. read descriptions of each feature
3. find and try out on/off switches (one each, box, tube, maybe printer)
Windows: We're talking old Windows, Windows 3.something-or-other. (If you've got a Mac, you're not supposed to have to worry about this stuff. Windows 95, same notation. Windows NT and OS/2, keep reading.)
DOS is what mainframe programmers would recognize as an operating system. Windows is stacked on top of DOS, kind of like a set of super CLISTs or dialog managers, so you don't have to remember (or keep looking up) a lot of obscure instructions. Some manufacturers stack something on top of Windows, so you don't have to remember (or keep looking up) a lot of obscure instructions. (Examples: Packard Bell's Navigator, Compac's Tabworks)
Each program groupcontains an assortment of goodies. Your machine comes with some basic ones, plus whatever is pre-installed, and you can add or rearrange groups. It's pretty much the visual equivalent of a program library. Some basic ones you should look at first are:
1. Program Manager
  This is the place you get to every place else from. The squares are called "program groups"; the little pictures are "icons". The white bar below the tinted thingie at the top is the "menu bar". It offers:
  1. file -- This is where you add program groups and icons -- like a procedure library.
  2. options -- ways of having your groups re-arranged
  3. window -- acually re-arranges your groups
  4. help -- the main resource for learning Windows, offering some or all of:
    1. Contents: directory of all features for which on-line documentation is available
    2. Search: keyword search of contents directory
    3. How to Use Help: start here if you're lost already
    4. Tutorial: lessons on using basic features -- YES! TAKE THE TUTORIAL!
    5. "About ": the usual expression for the standard boilerplate copyright notice
    6. How Do I: step-by-step explanation of most commonly used features
    7. Coach: on-screen walk-through of feature use
    8. Transition Advisor: explanation of differences between current release and previous releases (and a few rival products)
    9. Macro: extra material on macro facilities
2. File Manager
  This is where the files live, breathe, die, pile up unidentified, and so on, just like they did in the days of the 2314. Except now you've got something better than the IBM Utilities to deal with them. But the fundamentals still apply as time goes by -- you'll sleep better (especially if you're on call) if you back up everything important. The chef suggests:
  1. file -- pretty much the territory covered by the Utilities or IDCAMS (depending on how much of an old-timer you are); directories correspond to file prefixes
  2. disk -- various operations on floppy disks
  3. tree -- change the depth of directory expansion
  4. view -- different ways to diplay file information; I recomment "tree and directory", "all file details", and "sort by type".
  5. options -- changes the display format (a low-priority item for ABCers)
  6. tools -- the usual two included are back-up (configures automatic backups, if you're knowlegable and persistent; also makes copies of multi-disk files) and anti-virus (for checking everything you download)
  7. window -- same as for Program Manager
  8. help -- same as for Program Manager, except no tutorial
Word Processing: Now you maintain your documentation as easily as your programs. Or send the really good stuff in your letters to everyone you know. Fancy memos? With pictures? Exotic typefaces? Enjoy!
At the simplest level, just key in the text. The machine will figure out things like line breaks. Go back and insert or typeover (choise available via the menus) anything you want to change. Save it now and then, and when you're finished. You can keep it on a disk, print it out, send it via E-Mail, use it as a template, or lots of other cool stuff.
Feel lucky, punk? Change the size or the typeface. Make lists or outlines. Insert graphics. Do mass changes. (For example, you can key in "ABC", then do a mass change from "ABC" to "All-powerful Ballistics Corporation", saving keystrokes.)
Further up the food chain, you can fold in spread-sheets or database displays. The next step up is desk-top publishing and multi-media presentations.
Keyboard Skills: Still the language the machine understands best. Men used to regard it as a skill beneath them; now women do, too. Such people never make high scores at Colossal Caves. Download a freebie typing tutor from the net. The alphabet is enough, especially since it is an industry standard that no two keyboards have the same layout.

Try the Search Tutorial!

... and There's More!

This page's URL is:
http://pages.prodigy.net/feaudrey/prebegin.htm