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Understanding Command Line Arguments and How to Use Them
Command line arguments are extra commands you can use when launching a program so that the program's functionality will change. Depending on the program, these arguments can be used to add more features that include specifiying a file that output should be logged to, specifying a default document to launch, or to enable features that may be a bit buggy at the moment.
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Introduction to the Windows 8 Start Screen
Windows 8 comes with a new user interface called the Windows Start Screen that is the first thing you see when you login to Windows 8. This is the main interface that Windows 8 user's use to launch applications, search for files, and browse the web. This Start screen contain tiles that represent different programs that you can launch by clicking on the title. One of the features of this new interface is that the tiles themselves are able to show you real-time information directly on the Start screen. This will allow you to use the Start screen not only as a way to start an application, but also as a way to quickly see data such as the weather, e-mail information, new RSS feed articles, etc. For example, the weather tile will not only allow you to launch the main Weather application, but will also display your actual weather conditions directly on the Windows 8 Start screen.
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How to log off Windows
To achieve the best performance on your computer, it is suggested that you log off an account instead of switching to another one using Fast User Switching. By logging off an account, all the previous user's programs and files will be closed. This will allow the new account to have access to all of the computer's resources, which will allow it to be faster.
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How to shut down or restart Windows
It is important to know how to properly shut down or restart your computer so that you do not lose data or corrupt important Windows files or Registry locations. Many people think that you shut down your computer simply by pressing the power button. On some configurations, this will work as Windows will recognize that you press the power button and shut it down gracefully. On the other hand, if your computer is not configured to do this, when you press the power button the computer will turn off and any unsaved data in Windows will be lost. Shutting down a computer this way could also cause data corruption on your hard drive or within Windows.
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What is a File Extension?
A file extension, or file name extension, is the letters immediately shown after the last period in a file name. For example, the file extension.txt has an extension of .txt. This extension allows the operating system to know what type of file it is and what program to run when you double-click on it. There are no particular rules regarding how an extension should be formatted other than it must begin with a period and have at least one character after it. For the most part, file extensions consist of three characters, which are typically letters or digits, that textually represent the type of file it is. Some examples of file extensions include .txt, .mp3, .jpg, and .gz, which represent text files, mp3 files, jpeg image files, and files compressed with the gzip program. As you can see, the actual extension name gives clues as to the type of file it is.
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An Introduction to your Computer
Almost everyone uses a computer daily, but many don't know how a computer works or all the different individual pieces that make it up. In fact, many people erroneously look at a computer and call it a CPU or a hard drive, when in fact these are just two parts of a computer. When these individual components are connected together they create a complete and working device with an all encompassing name of computer. As a computer user it is important that you have a basic understanding of the core components that make up your computer. This knowledge will prove invaluable if you decide to upgrade your computer or if a piece of hardware breaks and you need to purchase a replacement. The purpose of this tutorial is to discuss the basic pieces in every computer and their function.
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All About E-mail
According to a report by The Radicati Group on May 9th, 2006, there about 171 billion e-mail messages sent daily, 1.1 billion e-mail users worldwide, and 1.4 billion active e-mail accounts. These numbers are staggering and truly reflect how e-mail has become such an important medium for communicating with friends, family, colleagues, and clients. Though so many of you use e-mail all the time, how many of you truly understand how e-mail works? This tutorial is designed to give an overview of how e-mail works as well as related e-mail features. Hopefully after reading this tutorial, you will be a more informed users and consumer of e-mail products or services. This is going to be a long and detailed tutorial so I suggest you print it out and read it casually so you can absorb it all.
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Understanding Hard Disk Partitions
When a hard drive is installed in a computer, it must be partitioned before you can format and use it. Partitioning a drive is when you divide the total storage of a drive into different pieces. These pieces are called partitions. Once a partition is created, it can then be formatted so that it can be used on a computer. When partitions are made, you specify the total amount of storage that you would like to allocate to that partition from the total size of the drive. For example, if you have an 80 GB drive, then it would be possible to make one partition consisting of the entire 80 GB of available storage. Alternatively,you could make two partitions consisting of a 20 GB partition that will be used for the operating system and programs and a 60 GB partition set aside for data, music, and images.
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How Hard Drives work
Almost all desktop computers have a hard drive inside them, but do you really know what they are? Many people when they hear the word hard drive, think that it refers to the computer as a whole. In reality, though, the hard drive is just one of many different pieces that comprise a computer. The hard drive is one of the most important parts of your computer because it is used as a long-term storage space for your data. What that means, is regardless of whether or not the computer is on, or you lose power, the data will still stay stored on this drive keeping it safe. On the other hand, it tells you how important backing up your data is, because if the hard drive malfunctions there is a good chance you will lose it all.
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Understanding File Compression and Archives
This tutorial will focus on explaining what file compression and archives are and how to use them. This technology will not only enable you to more efficiently send attachments via email, but also save space on your hard drive and allow you to more easily back up files. To begin, lets discuss some of the terminology that will be used in this tutorial.
