The Desktop

Getting Started

The Desktop

Windows is very user friendly, you'll always feel comfortable with your computer, no more typing strange commands on your black Screen. The computer is now colorful, very friendly and accessible to everyone.

The opening screen of Windows 98 is called the desktop. This workspace on your computer screen contains:

• Icon or graphical pictures (These represent applications, files and other parts of your computer system.) • Start button • Taskbar

The Start button,  in the lower-left corner of your desktop, is one of the most important tools you will use while working with Windows 98. The Start button allows you to open menus and start applications.

Before going through details, here's a short description of each item

Desktop Icons

The small pictures on the desktop are called icons. One type of icon is an object icon. Examples of object icons are My Computer, Recycle Bin, and Internet Explorer. These icons allow you to open applications and documents on your computer.

A shortcut icon has a small jump arrow in the left corner. You can use a shortcut icon to open an application quickly. The icon below is a shortcut icon for the Microsoft Word application found on the Start menu. You don't have to use the Start menu to access the application if you have a shortcut for it on your desktop.

My Computer:

This is where your Hard Drive(s) lies, 3.5 Floppy (a:) the CD-Rom (the item with a CD icon) Printers (where you have the Printer icon inside in case you installed a Printer) Control Panel (Computer controls, it's like your Computer operation room, this is where you can change colors, configure devices, install software.... Dial-up Networking for Internet Connection, Scheduled Tasks (give your computer jobs to perform when you're out)

My Computer is the portal to everything in your Computer

My Documents

This is where you store all your personal stuff e.g files anything you create with your computer. Don't worry you can put your things somewhere else. Think of My Documents as your Desktop drawer where you can put your papers

Recycle Bin

Microsoft worries about the environment so it recycles everything ! The Recycle Bin is the Trash basket, when you wanna get rid of a paper/file you can throw it there, you can easily restore anything you trash.

Internet Explorer

Perhaps you will be reading this tutorial using Internet Explorer, it's a piece of software called a browser that comes with Windows for FREE, let you explore the Internet.

This icon will not appear unless the software is installed. You might have another icon like "Connection Wizard" that will help you configure your computer to access the Internet.

Network Neighborhood

When you connect two or more computers together you obtain a Network, with Network Neighborhood you can share what's on every computer, you can go into the second computer just by clicking on its name.

Online Services

If someone is not already connected to the Internet, he can subscribe to companies likeCompuServe, AOL, Prodigy, MSN to get online

The Start Menu

When you click the Start button, a pop-up menu (the Start menu) appears. The Start menu shows all the applications that are on your computer. It also lists several options, including Shutdown, Help, Find and Programs.

If you select Programs, a pop-up menu appears. Pop-up menus like this are called cascading menus. If a cascading menu is available, a small black triangle appears next to the name of the application or function.

Taskbar

When you turn on the computer, the taskbar appears as an empty gray area at the bottom of the screen. When a window or application is open on the desktop, you can see a rectangular button on the taskbar that shows the name of the application.

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