6. Speaking of Operating Systems - What is BIOS?
BIOS is an acronym for Basic Input/Output System. It is a type of firmware used during the booting process (power-on startup) in IBM PC Compatible computers. The BIOS firmware is built into PCs and it is the first software they run when powered on.
The purposes of BIOS is to initialize and test the system hardware components and load an OS from a mass memory device. It provides a way for programs to interact with the keyboard, display and other input devices.
You may need to visit BIOS (tapping Function key (F2, F10) during startup or Bios button on Lenovo) and go to Configuration and toggle the function for hotkeys.

7. UEFI firmware replaces BIOS in Windows 8
Warning: Dry and boring - Geek Alert!
Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) is a standard firmware for PCs that is designed to replace BIOS.
To Enter BIOS/UEFI without restart in Win 8:
Tap the upper right corner of the screen. Move the mouse down to “Settings.” Click on Change PC Settings. Click Update and Recovery. Choose Recovery. Choose Restart Now. An options menu can then be seen. Click Troubleshoot. Choose Advanced. Click UEFI Firmware. Choose Restart. Select Setup under the Tab “App Menu.”

9. ANDROID OS: (Desserts in alphabetical order): Alpha, Beta, Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean, KitKat, Lollipop, M?
Windows: (3.1)- 3.51, Windows 95, Windows NT, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows ME, Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8.1, (Skipping 9), Windows 10.
Mac: Macintosh 1-7.6, then OS X: Kodiak, Cheetah, Puma, Jaguar, Panther, Tiger, Leopard, Snow Leopard, Lion; (Cats to CA Landmarks) Mavericks, Yosemite.
UNIX: Developed as a server language. Still the most widely used in Internet backbone and large LANs.
LINUX: Open source code, originally for UNIX.
Chrome OS: Chromebook. Soon Android apps will be useable.
iOS - Apple mobile devices

10. MS Windows Explorer
(RIP )
Firefox (Mozilla)
Chrome
Safari (Mac, iOS)
Opera
Native Apps

11. Techie* words to know
*a person who is expert in or enthusiastic about technology, especially computing.
Taskbar: Windows toolbar with programming options.
MIME: Multi-Purpose Internet Mail Exchange format
PDF: Portable Document Format
PTX: File format for e-Transcripts
Server: High-capacity machine linking many other computers
WAN: Wide Area Network
LAN: Local Area Network
WLAN: Wireless Local Area Network
GUI: Graphical User Interface.
IP Address: Internet Protocol (dynamic or static) An IPv4 address consists of four
numbers, each of which contains one to three digits, with a single dot (.)
Each of the four numbers can range from 0 to 255.
BBS: Bulletin Board Service
Forum: BBS, usually moderated.
Usenet: BBSes without one particular central server. Precursor to the Internet.
Shareware: Programs available to download and try before you buy for PCs
Freeware: Free programs for PCs
Firmware: Software that provides basic instructions for a device.
Apps: Applications. Programs available through iTunes and Google Play
USB: Universal Serial Bus. The bus everyone uses.
Daisy Chain: An interconnection of computer devices, peripherals, or network
nodes in series, one after another using a single USB port (DSD device)
Firewall: Protective system that, when utilized correctly, prevents unauthorized access
to your network.

12. STORAGE - BACKING UP Hard Drive Two Types:
HDD (Hard Disk Drive) Cheaper than SDD. Easily damaged if dropped, has moving parts, platters and read/write heads. HDDs will wear out over time but last longer than SSD.
SSD - (Solid State Drive) More expensive than HDD. Movement not an issue. SSDs degrade the more it’s used. Lifetime of about 10K write/erase cycles. But data is stable if you don’t write much. 100x faster than HDD.
CD (700MB), DVD (4.7GB), Blu-Ray (25 GB) - Requires a drive. Lifespan of about 10 years. Can be easily damaged, scratched or broken. But they are inexpensive, lightweight and portable. Easy to use. Know the media you want, when shopping: CD-R, DVD-R, BD-R avs. CD-RW, DVD-RW, BD-RE and “dual layer.” Not all drives and read dual layer.
Thumb Drives, Flash Drives, USB Drives (Local Backups)
They are SSD (Solid State Disk) so they are limited with read/write cycles. Must eject properly or data could become corrupt. My require a card reader if your computer does not have one built in.
Online Storage - Many popular options: iCloud, Carbonite, SugarSync, Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, MS SkyDrive.
Considerations: Encryption included, cost, ease of use, auto vs. manual backups. May want boxcrypter.com

13. Terminology (Continued)
Viruses: A program that causes malicious change in your computer. It can be attached to a program or an . It requires user interaction to reproduce itself, like sharing an infected file with someone. IT can be hidden and may not appear until the user performs some action.
Worms - Similar to a virus, but they reproduce themselves over a network
Trojan horses - Harmful computer program that looks legitimate because it is planted in another program and does damage when the software is activated, whether damaging the local computer, opening a “back door” to send personal information to another location, etc.
Malware - Software designed to access your system without your consent or knowledge. It is a general term of viruses, spyware, trojan horses, and worms.
Spam - a disruptive message or unsolicited advertisement
Spyware - a program designed to track your Internet habits, nag you with sales offers, or generate traffic for their Web site.
Cookies - A piece of text stored by your browser that is used to track site preferences, shopping cart contents, etc.
Phishing - Sending an to a user while falsely claiming to be an established and legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft.

14. Shopping for and Setting up a New Computer
Searching for Programs/Apps in your OS:
For XP or Win 7, click start. For Win 8, click a start button you added in Win 8 and then “Search,” or click on the search button on the Charms Bar. Click in the box and type what you want to find.
Once you have it set up, you need to Dump the Junk (antivirus software or packages, search bars like Bing, Google, trial programs or software, trial games or services
Disabling Programs in Startup (via Task Manager)
(XP and Win 7)
Type msconfig in the search box and click on it in the list. (This will work in some versions of Win 8 but then go to No. 3 below “(Win8)”.]
Click on the startup tab
Uncheck a program/process to stop it from starting when the system boots up. Then click “Apply” and then click “OK.”
(Windows 8)
1. Right-click an empty area of the task bar and left-click on “Start Task Manager.”
2. Open up the task manager by clicking on “More Details.”
3. Click on the startup tab
4. Highlight a program/process and click “Disable” to stop it from starting when the system boots.

15. Shopping for and Setting up a New Computer
For Windows 8, Install a new “Start Menu.” Classicshell.net
Setting up how Windows updates:
Type in the search box “windows updates” and then click on it in the list. To set up how updates are handled, click on “Change Settings” on the left and choose how you want to get updates and how you want them to install.
How to Update Drivers
Drivers are a set of instructions that allows a piece of hardware of software to interface with the computer.
Search “device manger.”
Click on it in the list. You may get a UAC window where you need to put a password or click “continue.”
Right-click on any hardware.
Choose properties.
Here you can update, uninstall, or roll back the driver.

16. Shopping for and Setting up a New Computer
Administrative Accounts
What is an Administrative Account?
Gives unrestricted access to everything on the computer. The Administrator can create, delete, or modify all files or folders: change any settings; load any programs; view all data, etc.
OS Administrator Accounts
In XP, if you do not have to choose a user and log into you computer, you are running your system as the administrator.
IN Vista, Win 7 and 8, Microsoft created the UAC (User Access Control) and it can be overridden in many ways by the user. If you are on Eclipse, you must override it for certain macros to work.

17. Windows Key and Keyboard Shortcuts and Features
Most Common Windows Key + Shortcuts
D - Desktop E - Windows Explorer
F - Find R- Run
M - Minimize all windows
Other handy shortcuts:
CTRL+F - “Find” in any program.
ALT-TAB Cycle through open programs on the Taskbar
PrintScreen Key - Saves a screenshot to memory. (CTRL V to Paste)
ALT+PrintScreen Key - Saves “active window” only
CTRL+ALT+DEL - Restart (Task Mgr or Twice to Restart)
CTRL+SHIFT+ESC - Task Manager
CTRL+C - Copy; CTRL+V - Paste

18. Buying a New Computer
There’s no right or wrong way to shop. You must consider YOUR personal needs and start there.
What are you using this computer for? Reporting only? CART and/or Captioning?
How many USB ports do you need? Are they powered? USB 2 or 3?
Do you need an HDMI port or MicroSD Card port?
Do you need a VGA port or adapter?
Ethernet or USB to Ethernet adapter?
Do you need separate audio ports, microphone and headset?
If you sacrifice ports for compatibility, be prepared to have adapters.
Set it up: Remember to tweak the startup files, Antivirus/Firewall, Power Management and UAC options as discussed.

23. Equipment -Computer - Writer - Cables - Wi-Fi – Chargers -USB Sound Card

25. Right Click on Properties
Find under Ports (COM & LPT)
Right Click on Properties

26. Click the Port Settings Tab
Baud Rate or Bits Per Second is a handshake between two devices so they can communicate.
This needs to be set at 2400 for any cable application
Set at 2400

27. Right click on USB Root Hub to get Properties
USB Root Hubs
Right click on USB Root Hub to get Properties
Device manager to Universal
Serial Bus Controllers to USB Root Hubs

28. Power Management Click the Power Management Tab Unclick (if selected)
Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power

29. REALTIME SETUP Know Your Setup: Port numbers for input and output
Know your equipment. Have a checklist to bring it all: MiFi, routers, cords, extension cords, backups.
Know how to troubleshoot
Set up iPad/Tablets correctly!
Set Auto-Lock to Never. Turn off Auto-Brightness. Turn on Do Not Disturb. Turn off iMessage. Turn off Fetch New Data. In Sounds, turn off sounds for text tone, new mail, etc. Turn of Mail in iCloud.

30. Troubleshooting Checks
Equipment -Computer - Writer - Cables - Wi-Fi – Chargers -USB Sound Card

31. Device Drivers
Equipment -Computer - Writer - Cables - Wi-Fi – Chargers -USB Sound Card

32. Alan Peacock, CRR, RMR
Realtime Systems Administrator