#how to use computers

[captain-acab]

Okay to be honest, 99% of users never need to access the BIOS. (Although if you do PC gaming, you may need to get in there to overclock your GPU. Though frankly they have apps for that too nowadays).

Anyway, BIOS is the very very very most basic level of firmware for your motherboard. When you turn on your PC, the BIOS is what tells everything what drive to use, how to boot up the operating system, how much memory you have installed, etc. When you see the splash screen on startup (AKA a screen that briefly displays the manufacturer name of your device, like "Dell" or whatever), the BIOS has already run. To access BIOS, you generally need to hold down a key when you first power on your device. Which key may differ by manufacturer, so just google "how to enter bios Dell" (or whatever your brand is, like Lenovo, Asus ROG, etc). But, uh, please don't actually change anything in your BIOS unless you know exactly what you're doing and why. It's a good way to make your device stop turning on forever.

Command line is much more useful. (You may also have heard terms like CMD, console, command prompt, CLI, shell, or terminal, and these are technically not all synonymous basically synonymous for your purposes.) It's what you see every movie hacker using, where it's a black window with nothing but lines of text and a blinking cursor. You can launch it by hitting your Windows button and typing "CMD".

Command lines are useful to do technical things more quickly than going through a graphical interface. For example, let's say you've finally decided to switch to Firefox. You want to do it tomorrow, but hey, you could at least get it donwloaded and installed tonight, right? So you could launch Chrome, navigate to "firefox.com" click Download, save file, go to your Downloads folder, doubleclick the executable, and click through the installation prompts. Or... you could launch CMD and type "winget install firefox -h && shutdown /s /t 0". When you hit enter, the Windows built-in package manager will download and silently install Firefox and will turn off your PC once it finishes.

The big learning curve for command lines is that, compared to a graphical interface where you have clickable buttons and pages that show you all your options, command lines generally require you to know what commands you want to run, and what syntax they take. Different command line programs require different command languages, too. Windows Command Prompt uses "CMD", but Windows also has a more advanced command line called Powershell, which uses the language "Powershell." You can also run Visual Basic scripts that use VBS or VBA. The thing that makes Linux so tricky for most people is that the command line terminal is your primary way of interacting with the computer, using the language "Bash". It requires a lot of memorization; when you first start using any of these, google and superuser.com are your friends.

this can't be true can it

[chewchuck]

dungeon meshi // abbey - mitski

[tenowls]

rivals

[fazmid]

Tag your age if you wanna bc I was just thinking about how I have used floppy disks before (I'm 25 and used them in elementary computer lab) but my 22 y.o. brother hasn't which is so weird to me like 3 years isn't a long time at all to me

[theelusivepoetalien]

Okay so it's a great day to go see if something like Khan Academy or other freebie learning zone has a Computer Networking 101. Turns out KhanAcademy.org is still free for now. I'm sure it mines the hell out of your data like anything else. I use one of my like 10 google logins. Did you know you didn't used to have a phone number to get a gmail address? There are still some e-mail services that don't require phone numbers, though they have different limitations and uses. Becoming a suite was quite another magnitude for a login. Anyway, someone tag me if we need the article on Other Email Services. https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/basics-computer-networking/ ^This doesn't require a log in. I'm probably going to try to find a couple amusing videos. Like probably from youtube, unless I can find something on vimeo or the fediverse. A lot of this is learning how the internet goes. It teaches The Names and Commands of The Internet. Sort of like programing languages like C(++++?) and Python are Vocabulary and Grammar for Taming Your Processor. I'll reblog with more related links as I add to my Updated Study Library. My current aims include: > getting competent in basic LAN and internetwork administration > continuing to munch on html and CSS -- //Every time I get used to a service, it disappears or monetizes out of my budget or fills up with ads until it stops working.// I think I can make an ugly tack board and file server for my household. Also it's really satisfying -- like painting with puzzle pieces. > web hosting so there is somewhere to put it > uh taking screenshots and making posts about better net navigation and building skills to improve awareness? And of course: https://www.myabandonware.com/browse/theme/typing-29/ A bunch of typing games so old that no one cares. If you're willing to go with lowtech graphics to skip modern spyware and webtracking, it's honestly a fun little ride. Learning to type physical conditioning. However you make 15-30 minutes almost every day good and fun for yourself. (Sometimes 2d alien fun for points is enough, ya?) Yeah, those are for windows. Most macintosh users these days can maybe blow a few currency on a indie app, eh? Linux users -- you already know how to use freeware and honestly I'm not expecting to be read by a lot of linux users on this thread. (@ me for linux introductions ig too) Android? Basically in the same app boat as mac... Shout up for android power user info, like sideloading but... I haven't been browsing the indie APKs or the flash community in ages.

And uh, get a keyboard. bluetooth is fine for a while and better for someone trying to start this kind of project on a phone or a tablet. If someone is sticking to typing games for a few weeks or several, it might be worth considering getting a corded keyboard -- Anyone who is topping over 45wpm and heading for 60+ will find that bluetooth keyboards may not keep up with that leveled up meat input. (I can type around 90wpm or so when I'm on a roll and get frustrated pretty quickly.) Most Importantly: SAVE YOUR PROGRESS (u matter), & Look It Up before you Give It Up.

another thought about "gen z and gen alpha don't know how to use computers, just phone apps" is that this is intentionally the direction tech companies have pushed things in, they don't want users to understand anything about the underlying system, they want you to just buy a subscription to a thing and if it doesn't do what you need it to, you just upgrade to the more expensive one. users who look at configuration files are their worst nightmare

[cerealjpeg]

enjoying each other's company quietly for valentine's day

[otiksimr]

Trying out this 'Procreate' thing again.

[speakergame]

Progress Report - 12/25/24

Hello and happy holidays!

It’s been a while, huh? 😅 my apologies for disappearing on you all. Long story short, I had a severe case of tendonitis in my shoulder, and have spent the last few months heavily restricted in my ability to type or do pretty much anything on the computer. And since I’m left-handed, and it was my left shoulder, writing the old fashioned way wasn’t much of an option either. It’s been absolute hell for me, to put it lightly.

I’ve finally recovered enough to be able to get back to work… slowly. More slowly than I’d like, honestly, but it is what it is. I’m trying my best not to overdo it and set my healing back. It’s easier said than done.

Besides the speed, however, work is actually going really well! Well enough that I have the next update very nearly ready to go. I have a really bad, game-breaking bug lurking somewhere in my code that I’m trying to unravel, but once I’ve found and squashed it, I’ll be able to roll the update out to patreon 😁

Beyond that, I also have a couple mini-stories planned (akin to the Spooktacular from a couple years back), the first of which is written and mostly-coded. I wanted to have it ready earlier this month, but again, work is slower than I want it to be. In addition, I want to roll out an updated version of the Idle Hands prologue/demo to my lovely and infinitely patient patrons, and I really hope to finally, finally release the first episode of Partially Stars.

Most of all, I hope to start being more active again on tumblr and to stop disappearing for months at a time. That’s my number 1 goal for 2025.

So that’s everything I’ve got for y’all for now! I’m gonna go back to fumigating my code so I can kill this bug, and with luck I’ll have something fun for you all very soon.

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate, happy Wednesday to those who don’t, and a Happy New Year to everyone. Enjoy the liminal week remaining until 2025, I love you all, and thank you as always for reading 💙💙💙

[captain-acab]

This will not work for most users.

The above advice, in addition to being quite complicated for a layperson to follow, forgets one key fact: most users can't access to the Group Policy Editor. It is, as the name suggests, specifically for groups using Win 11 Pro and Enterprise users, not Win 11 Home, which is what most people have on their personal devices. (and if you have a company laptop, you probably can't access GPO anyway.)

Here's what to do instead: go to (https://winaero.com/winaero-tweaker/amp/#download) and download the free program Winaero Tweaker.

It's a simple, user-friendly interface that offers all of the above privacy tweaks, plus other enhancements to usability and appearance. The layout is easy to follow, so there's no confusing settings locations. Each option has a clear description of what it does.

In other words:

I got a laptop with Windows 11 for an IT course so I can get certified, and doing the first time device set-up for it made me want to commit unspeakable violence

Windows 11 should not exist, no one should use it for any reason, it puts ads in the file explorer and has made it so file searches are also web searches and this cannot be turned off except through registry editing. Whoever is responsible for those decisions should be killed, full stop.

Switch to linux, it's free and it's good.

[annabelle--cane]

I really, really must stress that I am a university student at a big school and every single person in every class I have ever had brings in laptops that they do work with on a daily basis. I know a couple of 17 year old freshmen who skipped grades at some point and they all know how to download files, use email, and sort folders on their hard drives. I'm sure young people being completely computer illiterate and only knowing how to use smartphones is a problem in some circumstances but I really cannot overstate enough that "most teenagers don't even know how to use computer mice" does not line up at all with anything I have ever experienced as a Youth who is in consistent close contact with yet Younger Youths.

[vampirade]

🐈‍⬛💀👁️

[oneroomjestershow]

☆ok you know the drill☆

The creatures are from the video but i made them into Jess and my oc (the red one)

Also I made another version where she is smiling and without the filters :) smileee happyyy

and this is a doodle i didn't know where to put

Genderbends are from the official April Fool's day art

[millany]

Hii i'm back!!! c:

[superbat-lmao]

In college, Harvey and Harley would poke fun at being Bruce’s first friends. He’d been so closed off with all those rich kids that it took him until college to really find his people.

But that’s not entirely true.

Bruce would say he had a lot of friends actually, just that none of them stuck around for very long. Meeting each of them was completely accidental. And strange. It has taken him a while to figure out what was happening, but once he got one of them to admit to it, the rest caved pretty quick.

You see, Bruce’s friends were time travelers.

They had crazy suits, some skin tight, others padded like a SWAT team, and all of them made of stuff Bruce had never seen before. They could also do insane tricks they were willing to teach Bruce, like backflips and knife throwing when he was old enough. They promised to teach him more each time they came back through time.

They wouldn’t give him their names, but they all had nicknames for each other and that worked well enough. Didn’t want to blow up the time-space continuum.

He met “Wing” first. He’d felt moronic calling someone that looked like an adult something that wasn’t a real name, but by the time Jay, Red, and Robin turned up, he caught on to the bird theme. The girls didn’t stick with the bird thing and neither did Tom, although the knew that was a fake name, especially because Robin would often try and call him Thomas, so he assumed it was close.

So yes actually, Bruce had friends before he met Harley and Harvey. He was just waiting for the day he would meet them in his time.

[count-pudding]

Wizard Installer🧙✨

[the0ther-side0f-dawn]

🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀