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Please
Note: This was written in 1998 and is extremely outdated. I plan on
rewriting it soon. It can still be used for general information.
Getting
Started
This is not a technical guide in any sense. I will just try
to explain the basics, in the most simple way I can. If you want more information,
links to several online technical guides are listed. This is my opinion, some agree
while others do not. By reading this you agree that
if you feel I am wrong or have misguided you, you will not maim me, send death threats,
harass my family, place my picture on a wanted poster, create a voodoo doll and torture
me, cast an evil spell on my home, reveal my number or e-mail address to creditors, tell
phone solicitors "I buy everything", or in any other way make my life more
frustrating.
Hardware
You have probably heard the terms hardware and software. Hardware
is the physical component of your computer. It performs the functions you need.
However, the hardware requires software to tell it what to do. Your computer
would be rather useless if it did not have software installed. Consider your
VCR...that is hardware. The video tape that it plays is software. Your
hardware includes the computer itself, the hard drive, CD-ROM, modem, sound card, etc...
Evaluate the computers capability:
Computers are changing so fast today, it is nearly impossible to keep
up. Looking through the Best Buy ad, you see computers getting faster and bigger.
They now boast speeds of 500mhz, a 19.0 gigabyte hardrive, 128 MB of RAM, and a 56K
modem. What does all of this mean, and should you go out and purchase a new one?
Chances are, the computer you are using at this very moment is fine, but may need a
little fine tuning. Let's take a closer look at the components.
CPU or Central Processing Unit
The CPU is the powerhouse behind your computer. It performs the
mathematical calculations needed to run your software, and regulates what resources go to
what sections. Among the different choices of chips, there are important differences in
individual chip "clock speeds"-- how fast the chips actually process
data. This is measured and described in "MegaHertz"(MHz), or millions of
cycles per second of processing. So, a 486 DX-4 100 is humming along at three times the
speed of its older 486 DX 33 cousin. Similarly, the newer Pentium started out at the (very
slow) 60 MHz version (which is actually just barely as fast as a 486 to the newest
266 MHz Pentiums. The Intel Pentium II (and its equivalents) range from 233 MHz at the low
end to 400 MHz. Although there are some important technical differences in which exact
speed is better in terms of power + price + upgrade ability, in general, the faster chips
will result in less waiting for programs to get started, less time looking at the little
"I'm working on it" symbol on the computer screen, and longer time before the
computer becomes a dinosaur. There are other important considerations dealing with
the CPU, but I want to keep this simple. ** There are physical upgrades available
for your CPU. This involves removing your old CPU, buying a new one, and installing
it. (As of March 2002, CPU's hit over 2000MHz=2GHz)
Hard Drive
The hard drive is the storage bank of your computer. Everything
you run directly from your computer is stored electronically on your hard drive. A
"hard drive" is just a magnetic disk that encodes the information necessary to
run the operating system and applications (programs) you will use every day. This
"capacity to store" is measured in MegaBytes (Millions of Bytes-- think of 1
byte = 1 letter of text). Older hard drives were limited (by technical problems built into
Microsoft's DOS) to about 528 MB or so per partition; Hard drive technology has improved
drastically, therefore they keep getting bigger. (As of
March 2002, hard drives are over 100 Gigabytes=100,000 megabytes.)
RAM (random access memory)
This seems to be what gives people the most trouble. RAM is
another form of memory on your computer, and is also expressed in megabytes.
Whenever you turn your computer on, or run a program, everything needed to run what
you see is stored in RAM. Look at it this way. Think of your computer as a
library. Your hard drive is the bookshelf with hundreds of books. OK, you want
to run a program called Moby Dick. Your computer retrieves the book (program) from
the bookshelf and places it on a table (RAM) where you can open it and explore. If
you decide you need another book (program), your computer retrieves it from the bookshelf
and places it on the table (RAM). If you only have 8 megabytes of RAM, you have a pretty
small table and cannot fit too many books on it without slowing things down.
However, if you have 32 megabytes of RAM, that is a pretty big table and you can
have as many books as you want open on the table. Sometimes you decide you want to
read one of the really big books(big program). They probably won't fit on your
table(RAM) if it is small (8mb or less). The good thing about RAM, is it is
really fast. Once your program is loaded in RAM, the computer can run it a lot
faster than if it had to retrieve it from the hard drive or CD ROM everytime you made
a change. Once you turn your computer off, your RAM is cleared(all of the books
are returned to their shelves)
CD ROM
The CD-ROM drive is similar to the familiar CD players introduced for
musical purposes in the mid-1980s. By shining laser light on a spinning optical disk,
information bouncing back gives the computer the same kind of data that the spinning
magnetic hard disk can provide The major point to keep in mind about CD-ROMS is
that, although faster speeds (denoted as 2X, 3X, 4X, 8X, etc...) do result in faster data
"throughput" (delivery), the very fastest ones will NOT result in obvious
improvements in performance for MOST programs in use nowadays. WHY? Well, unless you are
doing strictly a database search (e.g., Medline, accounting information), the software
programs available today June, 1998) were "Optimized" for the older 2X
("double speed") CD-ROM drives. Even in the near future, I don't see software
being written that is optimized for anything beyond 4X. Additionally, there are
inexpensive programs you can buy (such as Ballard Synergy's D-Time10) that enable the hard
drive to "accelerate" the effective speed of a drive. So, bottom line: ignore
hype about Kilobytes per second data throughput and milliseconds seek time (HUH?), and buy
an 8X-12X CD-ROM drive minimum. If the dealer throws in a faster one, take it, but don't
break the bank for the latest (32X) drive-- because tomorrow somebody's gonna release a
50X drive, and you'll no longer be the fastest kid on the block [same reasoning goes for
chip speeds, by the way]. One more note: for funky technical reasons having to do with
constant angular velocity (CAV) vs. constant linear velocity (CLV) architectures, some of
the variable speed CD-ROM drives out nowadays featuring "24-X max" speed really
only rarely deliver that degree of throughput. SO, as I said, don't stress about the speed
above 8X. (As of March 2002, 48x speed CD-ROMS are the
norm, but still not that important.)
Modem
Basically, what a modem (modulation-demodulation unit) does is
translate computer information into the format necessary for transmission back and forth
across telephone lines, just as the telephone translates the sound waves of your voice
back and forth. There are new types of connectivity coming out daily (ISDN, ATM,
etc.), but for now, a modem will be your best bet for inexpensive and dependable home
connection to such attractions as the World Wide Web, or other computer information
service providers (CompuServe, America Online, Prodigy, Delphi, etc.). Modem speed is
expressed n KBPS, or Kilobytes Per Second. Again, consider one byte being one letter
of text. A 28.8 modem can download 28,000 bytes per second. Look for a 28.8
KBPS (kilo-BITS-per second) V.34 modem or better to ensure that you can keep up with the
explosive growth in the size and scope of the internet (at least for the next 2-3 years!).
56K modems are getting cheaper and cheaper, but the truth is that most telephone lines
will only rarely allow you to achieve the theoretical maximum speeds over plain copper.
Moreover, the industry standard for 56 kbps transmission is being Balkanized into two main
camps-- U.S. Robotics and everybody else. This means that, although the X2 is supported by
many ISPs, it may end up being an evolutionary dead end. In other words: don't hold your
breath, and watch for reviews of these modems once they can be tested in action under
real-life user conditions. (As of March 2002, 56K modems
are dirt cheap and most people are turning to high speed internet access.)
Let's Play Pretend
Ok, I enjoyed my library analogy so much, I will use it again.
Consider these roles:
Computer=Library
Hard Drive=Bookshelf
Program=Book
RAM=Table you work at
CPU Speed=The helpful librarian
Modem= your friend at home
OK, you need to pick a library to do your research in. The first
one you go to doesn't have many bookshelves (small hard drive), and thus not many books.
You ask the librarian (CPU) to get a book for you. Well, she has to use a
walker to get around (shame on you) so it takes her a while to get the book and bring it
to your work table (RAM). You need an additional book (program), but after the
librarian retrieves it for you, you realize that your table (RAM) is not big enough to hold
both of them. You must continually close one and place it back on the bookshelf, and
then have the poor librarian retrieve it for you again. Now you have to call your
friend to see what other books you need. She is a really slow talker (slow modem) and
it takes a long time to get the information from her.
Now consider the other library. It has lots of
bookshelves (big
hard drive) with lots of books (programs). The librarian is very fast and delivers
your books to your table within a second. Your table is huge so you can have as many
books open as you want. You call your other friend (yes, you have more than one) and
she is a quick and clear talker.
There, kind of silly I know, but I like to play make believe. Now
that I have totally confused you (and if you have continued reading despite your better
judgment), let's look at what all of this is supposed to mean.
What does this mean?
Well, I don't know. I was just brushing up on my typing skills.
The computer I use is considered an antiquated piece of hardware. Two months
ago, it was a low end pentium(75 MHz), with 8MB of RAM, a 14.4 modem
(embarrassed here),
and a 750 MB hard drive. As I started work on my web page, I became increasingly
frustrated with it and decided to do some minor upgrades. If your computer is as old
as mine, I do not recommend doing a major upgrade. In fact, chances are your
computer would not be really upgradeable. However, if you know you do not want to
buy a newer computer soon, and want to increase the performance of your current one, there
are some options.
GET SOME RAM!!!!!
The first thing I would do is look at your RAM. If you are
running below 16 MB of RAM, you should definitely consider getting some more. I
could not believe the difference in my computer after I put more RAM in it. Surfing
the internet was a lot faster, even with the 14.4 modem. RAM is getting so cheap
now, there is really no reason to not get more if you need it. You can get 16MB of
Ram for around 20 dollars now. That is really cheap. Plus, if you decide to
buy a newer computer later on, you can always take the RAM out and put it in your new
computer. A lot of places charge around 30 dollars to put 20 dollars worth of RAM
in. This is a waste of money, because RAM is so EASY to install. It literally
takes about a minute to install, and it is very simple. You will be pleased with the
results from your new upgrade, and it won't set you back at all. When you do go to
purchase RAM, make sure you have the SN number on your computer, so the techs can tell you
what kind of RAM you need. Most pentiums also require that you install two at a
time. So if you want to upgrade by 16MB, you buy two 8MB. (As
of March 2002, you should have at least 128 MB of RAM to make your computer run
smoothly, with 64 MB considered a bare minimum by most. The good news
is...RAM is really cheap. You can get 128 MBs from Crucial.com for less
than 20 dollars.)
A Faster Modem is Nice
I recently decided to upgrade my modem. My computer came with a
nice one for its time...a 14.4 with voice capability (capable of using your computer as an
answering machine, etc..) and caller ID. However, it is not so fast on the
internet. If you do use the internet a lot, a quicker modem is a nice investment.
If you have a 28.8 or higher already, I wouldn't mess with upgrading. As I
said earlier, most phone lines do not allow you to reach the theoretical speeds of the 56K
modems. I went against the advice of a lot of computer gurus, and purchased a cheap 56K
modem. Why? Even though I can't reach speeds of 56k, I do reach connect speeds
of around 38, and that makes a big difference. You can find many "cheap"
56k modems for around 30 dollars. They do not have any of the neat features like
voice, or caller ID, but they get the job done when on the internet. Also, with the
troubles surrounding the different versions of the 56K modems, I thought it wiser to buy a
cheap one until they get the issues resolved. I installed the new one, and
left my old 14.4 in my computer for jobs like the answering machine. It is sometimes
tricky to resolve hardware conflicts this produces, but is well worth it.
So, for about 50 dollars, I upgraded my RAM, and put in a new modem.
Now I am cruising the internet much faster and a lot easier. Not a bad
investment in my opinion.
A Bigger Hard Drive?
This is a tough question. Although it is not a cheap upgrade like
the RAM or the modem, you can still get a 5 gigabyte (around 5000 MB give or take) hard
drive installed for less than two hundred dollars at places like Best Buy. If you
are considering getting a new computer, and can hold off on the hard drive, I would.
But, if you know you cannot get a newer computer for a couple of years, or if you
plan on giving your present computer to a relative or friend when you get a new one, then
a new hard drive is not a bad idea.
OK, I do plan on giving my computer to a relative when I get a new one.
However, I do not plan on getting a new one for a couple of years. So, for 220
dollars, I upgraded my 14.4 modem, 8 MB RAM, 750 MB hard drive to 56K modem, 32 MB
RAM and 5.7GB (5750 MB) hard drive. Not bad in my opinion. Plus, if I want to be
stingy, I can take out my new RAM and hard drive and place it in my new computer.
(Just to note: As of March 2002, 220 dollars can get you a 30GB hard
drive, 256 MB of RAM, a 56K modem, and a CD-RW drive (lets you make your own
cd's.)
NOTE* There are many other factors to
consider in evaluating your computer, but I am just focusing on those that are most
important to educators. For information on sound cards, video cards, etc...consult
the technical guides.
The Bottom Line
Some people believe as I do, while others think you should go out and
buy the biggest, fastest machine available. Who is right? I AM OF COURSE!!
Even the computer gurus disagree on this subject. The best thing to
do (in my
humble opinion) is evaluate your present and foreseeable needs, evaluate your computer's
ability, and then make a decision or give up and dig out your old typewriter and
abacus.
Some of the buyer's guides I have read suggested that you can not get a decent
computer to fit the average home user's needs, without paying at least $3,000. They
say "the computers you see advertised for $2000 are obsolete boat anchors that
do not have the power to run your toaster." Well, they have a heck of a
toaster that I would love to see. I have seen computers for $1300 that totally blow
mine out of the water, and although mine is tragically outdated, it stills gets what I
need done quite nicely. Unless you are a graphic artist, I think most of the
computers out there would do just fine for educators. Don't get caught up in the
hype about all of the power house computers. A little upgrading or some fine tuning
and chances are your computer will be fine.
One more thing. Some of the computers you see advertised for
under $2000 might actually be considered obsolete by the computer gurus. But
"obsolete" is a relative term in this situation. They are comparing the
computer with what technology allows either today or in the near future. The new
400MHz computers of today will be considered "obsolete" by the computer world in
a couple of years.
Want more in-depth information? Check out An Introduction to Computer
Hardware
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