| Monitor | The CRT or display that shows the words, graphics, etc., to the user. It is a critical part of a user’s interface. |
| Motherboard | A printed circuit board that has (at least) slots to connect cards into. Often, they also include a CPU and memory. |
| Mouse | An input device which has one to three buttons and when you move it, it causes the arrow in a Windows display to move. |
| Printer | An external device that takes commands and data from the computer to place on paper. There are several types of printers: daisy-wheel, matrix, laser, thermal, inkjet, and plotter. |
| RAM | “Random Access Memory“. A pool of storage for the CPU. It can be written to/read from in any order (unlike a VCR tape which is serial— you have to wind to the place you want). There are several types of RAM: SRAM, DRAM, EDO-RAM. |
| ROM | “Read Only Memory“. Memory that has imprinted in it data and programs for the CPU which cannot be erased or written to. |
| Scanner | An external device that is able to optically read in printed material—kind of like a copier, but it stores the image on the computer instead. |
| UPS | “Uninterruptable Power Supply”. This is a box that is like a surge protector but will keep you going even if you lose power. You can plug your computer into. If you have a brown- or black-out, this unit will keep you running for 3 minutes to an hour (certainly enough time to save your work and shutdown the computer). |
| CD-ROM | A disk made of plastic and aluminum which can store up to 650MB of data. Usually these disks cannot be written to, instead they often are used to distribute software from companies. |
| CPU | Central Processing Unit. The “brain” of the computer. It executes commands which, eventually, we see as a response to our input. Without the CPU, the computer is nothing. |
| Hard disk | A medium to store data for the computer while the power is out. It uses a hard material (typically aluminum). |
| Keyboard | A typewriter-like tool that has keys. Sends letters or commands to the computer. |
| Microprocessor | A CPU that composes only one chip. Some CPUs may actually be several square feet is size; but, the microprocessor is designed to be 100% self-contained in a single chip. |
| Modem | A device that will let your computer talk to other computers through the telephone line. |
| DVD | The next generation CD-ROM which will store 10-20x the current capacity. |
| Card Slot | The slots found on the PC motherboard may be one of five types: ISA EISA, MCA, VESA & PCI.. Slower adapters (like I/O boards) can be ISA. But for the best performance, use VESA or PCI for hard drives, CD-ROMs or Video adapters. |
| Cable Cache | A thick wire that connects the computer to the external device or power. An interface between the CPU and the memory (RAM and ROM). It helps the CPU keep running even though the RAM may be too slow. It does this by keeping a copy of what the processor has read/written. |
| Adapter | Most of the time it refers to a card that plugs into the motherboard adding special capabilities not originally found on the computer. Other times it refers to tools to convert one connector type to another. |
Despite it being the second most used application on my work computer (behind the Mozilla Firefox browser),it’s still impossible for me to get excited about a new edition of the Microsoft Office suite.
With the final release due in a couple of months,Microsoft have provided a beta test version of Office 2010 that’s free for members of the public to download. The beta test version will run unhindered until October 2010 at which point users must decide whether they wish to purchase the final release or have it removed from their hard drive.
For the costs involved the majority of home users may still be better off with the free OpenOffice Suite (www.openoffice.org) as it should provide all the features you are likely to need at no cost. This having been said,the Office Suite has remained a popular flagship product over the years due to business users often requiring a specific function or application only present in the Microsoft offering. I,for example,use Outlook on a regular basis and haven’t yet found an alternative that suits my needs.
Having not been the biggest fan of Office 2007 (especially the ‘ribbon’ interface discussed in the past) I wasted no time downloading the 64-bit professional version of the beta to put it through its paces. I have now been using it for a couple of days it does appear notably faster than Office 2007 and certainty incredibly stable. The speed increase could easily be attributed to the fact that a 64-bit version of the application is now available to run on modern 64-bit computers.
Office Professional 2010 includes Word,Excel,PowerPoint,InfoPath,OneNote,Outlook,Access and Publisher. The home edition (also currently available in beta) includes Word,Excel,PowerPoint,Outlook and OneNote. After the official release,computer manufacturers may choose to bundle new machines with a starter edition of Office which includes just Excel and Word;this version of Office will replace the aging Microsoft Works Suite.
Although the ribbon interface remains,it is certainly a lot clearer than that provided with Office 2007;the confusing Office orb has been replaced with the familiar file menu,there are fewer distracting borders,a neutral colour scheme and most importantly it is customisable to the users individual tastes. The applications look and behave like a ‘family’ now and have become more intuitive to use as a result of the more refined user interface.
An important new feature due for release in the final version but missing from the beta is the ‘Web Apps’ which will extend the Office functionality to a compatible web browser. Very similar in form to Google Docs,Office Web Apps allows users to collaborate,edit and share Office documents online. This is an incredibly important new feature that has no doubt come about due to the success of Google Docs and one that I would like to field test when complete.
This article isn’t long enough to go in to details about minor new features so I will summarise by observing that the changes made from Office 2007 to Office 2010 are evolutionary rather than revolutionary;very much in the same way that Windows 7 was an evolutionary change compared with Vista. Excluding the Web Apps there is nothing substantially new however the minor improvements are certainly welcome as is the chance to road test a new piece of software completely free of charge for a year.
Users interested in downloading the beta version of Office 2010 should visit www.microsoft.com/office/2010 to get their hands on a copy.
Reference : http://www.computerarticles.co.uk
