Computer Lingo ???

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11-07-2006, 01:16 PM
churley

Computer Lingo ???

Mornin Gents,

I was directed to this category as a good place to ask LOTS of questions regarding "Computer for Beginners" ;) "cough" as that would be me, and questions about digital cameras, downloading pictures etc. I can assure you that some of my questions will be so elementary, its embarrassing! And whilst I suppose I could look some of this stuff up....its easier for me to understand it when "real" people explain it.

So if Gents could be so kind as to lend a Lady a hand....here goes.

Whats the difference between a CD and a DVD....aren't they the same. Or one is for movies while the other is for music..??

I need to download some photographs onto a disc.....I'm supposed to get something that is re-writable...?? Ya know I just hate to go to Wal-Mart and stand there like an idiot not being sure which is what and then having to ask the 10 yr old standing next to me what to buy.

Any advice....most Welcome, Colleen
11-07-2006, 01:53 PM
steve

CDs can hold a lot of data (approx. 650MB) that's probably enough for that book your going to publish ;)

DVDs can hold much more data (approx 4-8GB depending on type) and are better for video (movies) but can be used appropriately for storage of data as well.

The difference you will never see is how the data is encoded (burned) onto the discs.

So, if you wanted to make a soap-making documentary use a DVD. If you just want to store your computer files and pictures, a CD would probably be just fine.

As for downloading photos: If you want to keep adding photos to the same disc, then yes go with a re-writable. Depending on your PC, you may need to buy some CD burning software (Roxio, Nero, etc).

Best advice I can give you is to go to Best Buy and talk with them about what you have and what you want to do. They'll set you up fine.

Terminology: MB = megabyte. A measurement of data. I took the following from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megabyte to give you an example of what that means in real terms:

Depending on compression methods and file format, a megabyte of data can roughly hold:

* Roughly, a minute of near CD-quality MP3 compressed music (at 128 kbit/s)
* Approximately 100 pages of single-spaced 12 point font text in Microsoft Word. - translate that to approx. 65,000 pages (your book shouldn't be longer than that - will it????)
* Approximately 3 seconds of DVD-quality video

A digital photograph produced by a typical digital camera in 2005 might be 1–4 MB depending on the camera's image resolution and level of compression used.
- Approx. 160 pictures on average.

GB=Gigabyte (1,000 MB) From the same site:

# One gigabyte is roughly equal to 18 hours of MP3 music (at 128 kbit/s).
# One gigabyte is roughly equivalent to 11 hours, 40 minutes of Flash video (at 450x370).

Sorry for the techy stuff. I hope it isn't too foggy but I wanted to give you a foundation
11-07-2006, 01:53 PM
Effigy

Quote:

Originally Posted by churley

Whats the difference between a CD and a DVD....aren't they the same. Or one is for movies while the other is for music..??

Basics:

Main difference is capacity - a DVD will hold about 6 CD's worth of stuff, which is why DVD's are used for Movies.

If you are just looking to store pictures, then CDs will be fine, and you will get lots onto one.

To record once and keep, then you need cd-r
To record and then later re-record over the top, you need cd-rw

Hope that helps:D
11-07-2006, 01:59 PM
steve

Exactly what I said - just in English :D
11-07-2006, 02:07 PM
churley

I actually recognized some wording (single space 12 point font text) Thank You!! It helps to have something to associate these computer words to!

My homework assignment is to download all of my Photographs onto a disc, and then take them to the University student who is designing my Website (aka...the person who doles out my Homework ;) ) I have to turn in my work on Friday.

Colleen
11-07-2006, 02:21 PM
Effigy

Quote:

Originally Posted by churley

I actually recognized some wording (single space 12 point font text) Thank You!! It helps to have something to associate these computer words to!

My homework assignment is to download all of my Photographs onto a disc, and then take them to the University student who is designing my Website (aka...the person who doles out my Homework ;) ) I have to turn in my work on Friday.

Colleen

Moving stuff around like that is pretty straight forward - even old dinosaurs like me can do it:D

The key phrase is 'Drag and Drop'. There are fancier ways, and no doubt some quicker ways, but the ole D&D works for me:D
11-07-2006, 03:13 PM
churley

I'm still sorda at "Point and Click".....Although! I have learned in the past week to drag and drop files into other files.....or files into folders, or folders into files...lol. Uhhh...my files are a weee bit of a mess!

Colleen
11-07-2006, 07:49 PM
HoekmanX

Ok, now a small question ...
Do you have either a cd or dvd burner?
Would come in handy.

If it is for a single personally delivered amount of data, consider a memory stick.
Various sizes.
11-07-2006, 10:34 PM
ToxIk

Quote:

Originally Posted by steve

Best advice I can give you is to go to Best Buy and talk with them about what you have and what you want to do. They'll set you up fine.

I'd avoid that. In my experience, the people at big box stores are dumb as nails, but, that doesn't stop them from recommending lots of crap to buy. If you have any smaller independent computer stores around, I'd try those instead. I buy all my parts from those kinds of stores, and, the staff is usually much more helpful because they themselves are the type of nerds who are into the stuff.
11-07-2006, 11:38 PM
steve

That's good too. With something small like CDs for data storage or other not too technical solutions, I have had good experiences with the Best Buy people locally and the employees seem to be into the same "geeky" stuff as the smaller guys are. I do alot with them and seem to be treated just fine.
11-08-2006, 01:47 AM
churley

Hmmmm.....we only have a Wal-Mart and Radio Shack.

Not that I live in the middle of nowhere and I'm sure there are computer stores in Charleston, but thats an hour and 20 minutes away from here. I'm afraid my choices are limited to the two mentioned above....

Colleen
11-08-2006, 06:50 AM
rickw

Walmart carries the blank CD's and DVD's. The burners can be found online.

You might consider a DVD burner. The software / hardware can differentiate which media is loaded. Additionally, the storage in the cameras is growing. I use a 512 MB card in my camera. That almost fills a normal CD (700 MB capacity). On a two week trip, I can fill the memory card more than once.

If your computer has a USB2 or a Firewire port then you could go with an external unit. Windows 2000 and XP are generally plug and play. You don't have to install drivers; they exist in the operating system. The latest DVD burners are double layer (9GB). You also want one that is dual format. It will work with both the +R and the -R formats. It should also handle rewritables.

Rick
11-08-2006, 07:04 AM
randydance062449

Hello Colleen,

First you need to find out if have a CD drive or a dvd drive.
Then you need to know if either can also write to the appropriate CD or DVD blank disk. In short, can it burn a disk for you. Then you can try the drag and drop method or purchase some software that will burn the disk for you.
Frankly, you need a geek at your side to walk you thru all this.
Do you have any computer repair shops around you?
11-08-2006, 12:03 PM
churley

Good Morning....I've been studying...

looks like I have a "samsung CD-R/RW SW2525...and just on a note I have Windows XP. I remembered too, that we have a "Staples"....duhh, obviously full of computer accessories, although a little pricey.

My computer has a Help section...as I assume they all do, its just the words are confusing to me as Computer Lingo rates as a Foreign language to me.

Hi ya Randy!! We used to have a Computer Repair place....but they went out of Business. While I wish I had someone who sit down with me at the computer, I actually find I like Y'all better anyway!!! I'll get it figured out, with a little guidance.

Colleen
11-08-2006, 12:12 PM
Effigy

Colleen, sounds like you have the kit you need. Best way to learn is to do it! CD's are cheap enough - just go copy a few and see how you get on. You can then impress everyone by talking about 'burning' cd's:D

Just do it - you wont foul anything up. Trust me, I'm a doctor:D

(Actually I lied about being a doctor, but hey, you never know, someone might believe it one day!)
11-08-2006, 12:34 PM
ToxIk

Well, since your drive is a cd-r/rw you should be able to write both cd-r (write once) and cd-rw (rewritable) media. I usually just get cd-r media; it's not all that often I need to re-write a disc, and if I do, cd-r media is so cheap that I can usually just write a new disc anyway.

Windows XP has some stuff built in to write CDs, but I never use it. I like to limit my use of microsoft products to a minimum, like any good geek would ;). If I had to recommend some software, I'd say go with Nero. It's possibly the most used software for writing CD/DVDs, so you shouldn't have trouble finding it. It's very full featured, has lots of wizards to guide you through, and quite user friendly (though, too user friendly for my geek level:)). In fact, a lot of new burners like to come packaged with it anyway.
11-08-2006, 09:42 PM
plor

I'd agree that the built in Windows XP CD burning program isn't as good as Nero, it should get the job done easily enough for you. It works around the "Drag 'n' Drop" concept that Effigy talked about, so you basically just put in the blank CD-R and drag the files you want to burn into the cd-burner's drive and when you have them all there you hit burn. It is fairly easy, and I have no doubt you can pick it up easily.
11-09-2006, 11:11 AM
churley

Mornin! Whats the difference between "Rich Text Format" and "Text Format" ?? When I send files to people...which is better?

hmmm....what I'd really like to ask is "WHY are they ALL DIFFERENT" ? Is it like different formats for different computers...like different cars for different folks; sports, racing, utility, stolen...lol. wouldn't it have been easier to communicate if they all just interlinked?

Colleen
11-09-2006, 11:56 AM
ToxIk

Quote:

Originally Posted by churley

Mornin! Whats the difference between "Rich Text Format" and "Text Format" ?? When I send files to people...which is better?

hmmm....what I'd really like to ask is "WHY are they ALL DIFFERENT" ? Is it like different formats for different computers...like different cars for different folks; sports, racing, utility, stolen...lol. wouldn't it have been easier to communicate if they all just interlinked?

Colleen

plain text (.txt) is just that. They are only characters and no formatting, no frills what so ever.
rich text format (.rtf) supports formatting (ie. bold, italic), different fonts, colour, and some other stuff.

Which is better? well, rich text does more, but that's not always a good thing. If you just need to say a few words, plain text is fine, if you want some colour, or formatting, go with rich text. Although, now a days, you could probably just exclusively use rich text. The extra features won't slow anything down, and both are pretty much universally known by all operating systems.
11-09-2006, 12:37 PM
churley

OK....so when you say "supports formatting" you mean like a skeleton, or structure that the words, colors etc. are built upon...yes?

Colleen
11-09-2006, 01:01 PM
ToxIk

When I say formatting, I mean things like bullets, justification (left, right, centre), different fonts, colours, type (bold, italic, underline). You know, all the basic stuff you'd use in word or wordperfect.

Plain text on the other hand, is just plain text. Nothing more, nothing less.
11-09-2006, 01:27 PM
churley

Got It....Thank You :D

Colleen