Setting a Background And Change The Screen Saver

Setting a Background

The picture that appears on the desktop is called the background. You can change the background picture on the desktop. Windows XP prvides a set of background pictures from which you can choose the background you want.

To change the background on the desktop:1. Right-Click anywhere on the       blank area of the desktop.2. Click Properties. Then the display         properties dialog box appears.1. Click the desktop tab.2. Click a background from the background list.3. Click Apply,then click OK.
    

You can position the Background  command in three positions. These are Center,tile and stretchTo position the background:1. Click center,tile or stretch in the position box.2. Click Apply, and then click OK. You can also select a plain background for desktop.1. Click None in the background list.2. Click the color arrow in the display properties dialog box. A colour in the palette.3. Click a colour in the palette.4. Click Apply, and the click OK.

Changing the Screen Saver

Windows XP provides a set of screen savers that you can apply apply to your computer. You can use the wait box on the Screen saver tab to set the amount of inactive time that must pass before the screen saver appears. The time interval is specified in minutes.

To change the screen saver:1. Right-Click anywhere on the blank area of the desktop.2.  Click Properties. The Display properties dialog box appears.3. Click the Screen saver tab.4. Click a screen saver in the screen saver list.5. Click apply, and then click OK.You can customize the screen savere by clicking setting. The setting may very for each screen saver.How to set the Marquee screen saver:1. Click the screen saver tab.2. Click the Marquee screen saver in the Screen saver list.3. Click settings.The marquee setup dialog box appears.4. Click position.5. Set the speed and background colour.6. Type the text you want in the text area.7. Click OK.8. In the display Properties dialog box,type or select a time in the wait box9. Click Apply, and then click OK. You can see the preview of the screen saver by clicking preview        

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Customising The Taskbar

Narmally, the taskbar appears at the bottom of the desktop. You can also move it to any side of the desktop. However, the taskbar is lacked by defaulot. You need to unlock th taskbar before changing its size and position.

To unlock the taskbar.

1.Right-click anywhere on the empty space on the taskbar. A shortcut menu appears.

   2.Click properties.

 The Taskbar and start menu   

 properties dialog box  

 appease. A dialog box is a type of window displayed to gather information from the user to complete a specific task.

3.Click to clear the Lock the taskbar check box.

4.Click apply, and then click OK.

Now, you can move the taskbar to a new location. For example to move the taskbar to the left side of the desktop:

1.Point to an empty space on the taskbar.

2.Drag the taskbar to the left end of the desktop.

  The taskbar is moved to the left side.

  The taskbar can be resized also.

1.Point to the inside border of the taskbar. A double-headed arrow appears.

2.Drag the border to the size you want.

The taskbar is resized.

You can also hide the taskbar to view documents or pictures in full-screen mode.

To hide the taskbar

1.Right-click anywhere on the empty space on the taskbar.

2.Click Properties.

The Taskbar and start menu prorperties dialog box appears.

3.Select the Auto-hide the taskbar check box.

4.Click Apply, and then click ok.

  The taskbar is hidden from your view.when you       

  point to the location where the taskbar was, the 

  taskbar reappears.when you move the mouse

  pointer away, the taskbar is hidden again.

  To view the taskbar permanently,click to clear the Auto-ide the 

  taskbar check box in the Taskbar and Start Menu Properites   

  dialog.

   

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The Windows Desktop

The desktop is the on-screen work work area on which windows, icons, menus and dialog boxes appear.

After starting a computer with windows XP installed, you have access to the desktop. From here, you can operate the system. The desktop can have several components. Parts of the desktop include icons and the taskbar. You can change settings on the desktop to customize it. For example , you can change the background to display your school logo, arrange the icon to find class files easier or add a screensaver containing student pictures.

Components of the desktop

The componets of the desktop are:

1.    Icons

2.    Taskbar

3.    Background

4.    Screen Saver

The small pictures that appear on the desktop are called icons. When you start Windows XP for the first time, only the Recycle Bin  icons appears on the desktop. Each icon is a small image that represents afile, folder or program. The text below each icon is the name of the icon. When you rest the mouse pointer on an icon, a rectangular yellow box appears. This is referred to as a tooltip. It gives a brief description of the icon.

The band that appears at the bottom of the screen is called the taskbar. The taskbar has the start menu on the left and the notification area on thr right. You can start an application by using the start menu. The notification area holds system icons that allow for functions, such as changing the time and volume of the computer. Each time you open an application, a button representing the application appears on thetaskbar. The button disappears when you close the application. 

The background is a decorative picture that appears on the desktop behind the icons. The background is also referred to as wallpaper.

A screen saver is a moving picture or a pattern that appears on on yhe sreen when the mouse and keyboard are not used for a specified period of time. You can set a password-protected screen saver, which locks your computer automatically and prevents others from tampering with your system.

Arraning Icons

You can create and arrange the icons on your desktop. You can either drag the icons to positions of your choice on the desktop or arraning them automatically.

To arrange the icons automatically:

1.   Right-click anywhere on blank area of the desktop.

2.   Point to arrange Icons BY, and then click Auto Arreange.

The icons are arranged automatically.

      You can also arrange the icons by name, size or  

      Type.

1.   Click Name to arrange the icon in alphabeticalorder.

2.   Click to Size arrange the icons in order of the size of the file

3.   Click Type to arrange the icons in order of the file types

   

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Software, Data and introduction to Operating System

A computer cannot perform any task with the hardware only. A set of instructions is required to direct the computer on what needs to be done. The set of instruction is called a program and a set of interlinked programs is software.

Software can be broadly classified as system software and application software. Software that provides basic functions of the the computer is called system software. Software, which is employed by users,scuh as teachers and students, to accomplish specific tasks, is called application software. Paint is an of application software. You use an application or progam to create, modiy, or delete data stored on youtr computer.

OS- an operating system is the software that manages and controls the working of computer. The moment you turn on the computer, it checks that all of  the computer’s internal devices, such as RAM, ROM and peripheral devices, such as printer and montor, are functioning properly. After these checks are successful, the operating system loads. Some examples of operating system are UNIX, which is used in corporate and university setting, Mac and Windows. Operating system undergo improvement and have different versions. There  are different versions of the Windows Operating System ----Windown 95, Windown 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Windown xp.

You interact or communicate with a computer through the user interace provided by the operating system. The user interface can be text-based or graphical. Text-based operating system, such as the old MS DOS ,are less intuitive, because they depend on text commands made up ofvarious words and symbols, which the user has to memorise. Windiws xp, on the other hand, is a good of a graphical operating system. It provides graphical user interface that user visual components rather then text to help you interact with an application. It provides menus and toolbar contain commands to perform specific tasks. These commsnds are presented in everyday language or as pictures. All you need to do is click a command from the menu toolbar, and Windows will do the rest. This user-friendly interface allows even users with limited skills access to the many benefits of computers.

An operating system performs the following functions :

1.The operating system receives inputs in the form of commands and clicks, and translates it into a form that the computer can understand and process. Similarly, the processed results are conerted into a form that the user can understand. Thus, theoperating system acts as an intermediary  between the user and the computer hardware.

2. handling data transfer to and from devices, such as hard disks and printer.

3. Managing the storage space.

4. ensuring that the system resources are utilized by authorized users only.

   

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Performace Factors of PCs and Monitors

The performance of a computer depends mainly on the storage capacity of its RAM and the speed at which instructions and adta are processed.

Speed of the Microprocessor-:A microprocessor is the computer of the system unit that performs the actual processing of data. Microprocessors can manipulate 8, 16, 32 bits of data at a time. An 8-bit processor can manipulate only a single byte of data at a time. A 16-bit processor can handle 2 bytes while a 32-bit chip can process 4 bytes at atime.

In general, a 16-bit PC will be faster than an 8-bit system and a 32-bit PC will be faster than the 8 and 16-bit models. The treansfer of data between the mixcroprocessor, memory and peripgerals is done through the bus. Most current processor designs use a 32-bit bus, meaning that 32 bits of data can ce transferr4ed at a time.PCs witk a 64-bit bus also exist but are not as  common yet.

Storage Capacity of RAM-:The amount of RAM required depends on the application you run on your computer. Reasonable performance today calls for at least 128 MB. If you want to run several applications at the same time or work with large files and documents, you need to increase the amount of RAM. Increasing the capacity to 256 MB or even 512 MB can measuabley increase performance.

Clock Rate-: The fundamental rate at which a computer performs its operations called the clock rate. The faster the rate, the quicker the microprocessor processes instrucations and data. However, a clock rate faster than the maximum speed of the processor may overheat the microprocessor and lead to critical processing errors.

Performance Factors of Monitors-: Screen resolution is a key characteristic of computer monitors and refers to the number of pixels a screen can display within a given area.for higher legibility of documents on screen, you can adjust the screen resolution of your monitor. A higher number of pixels means better clearity in the display.

Another important characteristic is the vertical frequency, which indicates the number of images that can be put together per second. A higher frequency means less stress for the human eye. If you want your students to look at computer screen for45 minutes or more, use a frequency of at least 72 Hz. With lower frequencies, students might get headaches.

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