What can you do with computers?

In the workplace:

• Keep records, analyze data, do research, and manage projects.

At home:

• To find information, store pictures and music, track finances, play games, and communicate with others – and those are just a few of the possibilities.

The Web

The web is the most popular part of the internet, partly because it displays most information in a visually appealing format.

Headlines, text, and pictures can be combined on a single webpage. A website is a collection of interconnected webpages. The web contains millions of websites and billions of webpages.

Surfing the web means exploring it. You can find information on the web about almost any topic imaginable. For example:

• read news stories and movie reviews;
• check airline schedules;
• see street maps;
• get the weather forecast for your city or research a health condition.

You can browse and purchase products: books, music, toys, clothing, electronics, and much more. And you can also buy and sell used items through websites that use auction-style bidding.

E-mail

E-mail (short for electronic mail) is a convenient way to communicate with others. When you send an email message, it arrives almost instantly in the recipient’s email inbox.

You can:

•  send email to many people simultaneously;
• save, print, and forward email to others;
• send almost any type of file in an email message, including documents, pictures, and music files.

Instant messaging

Instant messaging is like having a real-time conversation with another person or a group of people. Communicating by means of instant messaging is called chatting.

Pictures, music and movies

If you have a digital camera, you can move your pictures from the camera to your computer. Then you can print them, create slide shows, or share them with others by email or by posting them on a website. You can also listen to music on your computer, either by importing (transferring to your computer) music from audio CDs or by purchasing songs from a music website. Or, tune in to one of the thousands of radio stations that broadcast over the Internet. If your computer comes with a DVD player, you can watch movies.

Gaming

Do you like to play games?

Thousands of computer games in every conceivable category are available to entertain you.  Many games allow you to compete with other players around the world through the Internet. Windows includes a variety of card games, puzzle games, and strategy games.