Discussion on:

10 things you have to know to be computer literate

nt

I agree with spdragoo - the list defines someone who is a computer expert rather than someone who is "just" computer literate.

Those of us who know the way the OS and Applications work right down to the bits and bytes, that know how their computers work down to the level of quantum mechanics? Those that understand processor design, language design/theory,..... Those that can say the same for every piece of consumer technology to a similar level of detail?

Your "expert" ain't so expert after all.

Per dictionary.com

literate (adjective): "4. having knowledge or skill in a specified field: literate in computer usage. "

expert (noun): "1. a person who has special skill or knowledge in some particular field; specialist; authority: a language expert. "

Someone who is literate in the classical sense (i.e. able to read written words) will generally be able to sit down, pick up a book, & be able to read with few to no pauses to look up a particular word -- unless, of course, they picked up some extremely technical journal (i.e. American Physiological Society Abstracts). However, one can be a "literate" reader without being an "expert" writer.

By the same token, one can be "computer literate", yet not be comfortable with the process of restoring their PC from scratch after replacing a hard drive. My wife and her sister, for example, are very computer literate (you could probably even label my wife "computer savvy"), but when it comes to computer issues that require "experts" they call on me & my brother-in-law. Neither one of them really knows the difference between "bits" and "bytes", they know "kilo-" is smaller than "mega-" and "giga-" but don't necessarily know that 1 Mb = 1000 kb but 1 MB = 1024 kB, & they don't know why there's a difference between a 64-bit OS and a 32-bit OS...but for their level of computer literacy, they don't need to know it.

In telecommunications 1 Mb = 1,000,000
but
standard industry practice in RAM and ROM manufacture has been to use 1 Mb = 1,048,576

Mb = Megabit
MB = Megabyte

Yes an Mb = Megabit but the meaning of both of those vary according to context.
For example, following accepted practice
A 1 Megabit cable modem transfers 1,000,000 bits/sec
but
A 1 Megabit memory chip holds 1,048,576 bits

@Cmd_line_dino: you are comparing transfer speed to storage. that would be like saying the meaning of a mile is differnent because the actual distance of a mile compared to miles/per. Perhaps not the best analogy but saying Mb is relative because storage versus cable throughput doesn't "add" up. The Mb file that transfers through the cable is still the same size.

We don't "need" computers. However, we can be more productive if we use them.

Similarly, the more knowledge you have about the tools you use, the better use you can make of them. If they are a primary tool in your line of work, I'd expect you to be expert in their use.

Really well said. Few words, clear, true.

I agree with you dogknees that if some one is having knowledge about the OS and Applications that person will be fully knowing about the working mechanism of system.

I don't quite understand what you mean by never leaving anything "in" your computer overnight or why? So could you please explain what precisely you mean and why you never do so?

BALTHOR is noted for two behaviors: posting content of highly questionable technical accuracy, and never responding after his initial post.

All of his posts are clearly tongue in cheek.

J.Ja

While the points in the article make valid checkpoints, im having trouble understanding who the target audience was on this. Maybe i'm incorrect but I would assume that the majority of readers already understand these basic concepts as I could not see the tech republic being a fan favorite of layman...or is it to guide budding users on the path to better overall computer usage? I did enjoy the part about typing url's into search engines. I find people do that a lot and it literally drives me insane! The part about nic\modem confusion was dead on too. You may want to add something about understanding bandwidth...I find a lot of people telling me that they are getting 54mbps or 100mbps because they see it on the taskbar when they hover over their nic icon!

I think the audience is those of us who know how to do the tasks outlined in the article and have a need to feel superior to those who do not.

I am always amazed by how many people can safely operate their automobiles without knowing how to check the oil or the air pressure in their tires.

I assume most of the readers are pros too, but actually, it may be more like half, 2/3'rds, possibly? I am in NOOOO way anything near approaching a "pro" by about a thousand miles, but I read these articles to learn stuff. So much is above my head that I despair sometimes, but I continue onward. I had a *really* cool teacher who strongly suggested that we (the IT students) subscribe to TechRepublic because it contains so much information that is/will be useful to us. So I guess you could say that [it is a] "guide [to] budding users on the path to better overall computer usage..." For me it truly is that pathway. As for being "computer literate" I guess I need to reassess myself as "basic" or lower, instead of "fairly" because I don't know HALF of what was listed! Yet I can keep our computers running, understand file structure, (although Win7 threw me for a SEVERE loop with their go-to-hades file structure!) Now I make my own folders/files and can modify where I want those files to go. Makes life much easier. I can find, use and update all my spy/malware, firewalls, A/V and defrag/clean up tools and can usually find updated drivers. I can also do some minor troubleshooting, though THANK GOD for my cable company techs - I know all of them and they help me with stuff! (Very small cable company. DEAREST bunch of fellows! I love them.)

Why do I list all this? Because I think these things that were left out of the list are more important than some of that other basic-to-the-techs-but-not-to-the-casual-user stuff is out of line. Hey, all my husband can do is read his email, play his games, (minor ones, not a gamer like our sons) and live on Facebook! (No disrespect to him at all.) I keep the computers running and do pretty well, at least I think so

But what about the new stuff I'll be needing to deal with soon enough? The best products to try/buy? What works for real and not just what's hyped? I rely on you guys/ladies to steer me in the right direction. I consult others, but that doesn't always work either - Acer SUCKS!!! *shudder* I don't care WHAT my favorite techs say! GAH! First time I've ever replaced a laptop before it dies and I have to deal with a new version of Windows. But do I want to/should I switch to Apple? Does MS have a real future, as one one of TR's articles implied they did not, or is Apple just simply going to be the dominant product soon enough with all these iPads and such? How about this Android stuff? (Which I don't own. My phone calls people, it doesn't find the Holy Grail via GPS and do backflips besides.) See why a non-professional would read TechRepublic for the information that seems so basic to the pros? TR ROCKS!

(Sorry if I used up my quota of !!!, but at least I only used one smiley face and no LOL's!)

A doctoral dissertation...Sorry about that.

The true computer literate person knows that there is no reason to even open up the search engine page to perform a simple search. Just type in the words into the address bar.

Speaking of address bar: computer literate means keeping an eye on the address bar while typing in an address. You may see the page you wish to go to so all you have to do is highlight the page to eliminate typing the entire address.

A computer literate person not only knows how to use Word and Excel (and/or other word processing and spreadsheet programs) but also when NOT to use them.

At my previous employer, Excel was used for databases. While it is possible to use it as a simple database, they would use it for databases that should be in Access or another database program.

Excel was often used for documents that should have been in Word. The opposite was true, too.

File and Folder Management.

This is a basic one that so many people don't understand.

The simple processes of creating folders, moving and copying files, moving folders, creating shortcuts to files and using the Windows Explorer (or equivalent) interface. Different folder views, sorting and searching.

A small business that's outgrown the "everybody can create whatever root folder on the shared drive" stage but try consolidating it all into a rational structure while considering user input. Still, basic folder and file management is a must. don't create arbitrary folders in the drive root, name files so they sort together as desired, save to a new filename when starting further work on a file rather than overwriting/deleteing/loosing the original.. it's not hard stuff; take the ten minutes to understand it rather than claiming "but it's not my job to do that, I'm an XYZ not an IT person".

It's amazing how a person can use a computer for three years, and be totally clueless about files and folders. Since our management places NO emphasis on basic computer operations, I find myself tutoring my users, usually after having to search all over their hard drives for files they "lost." My favorite response to the question "Where did you save the file?" is, "I saved it in Microsoft."

That dog that pops up when you use the Microsoft search function would be wearing black glasses and waving a red tipped cane around!

We had a lot of users keeping their only copy of files on Zip disks. When the Zips started dying by the truckload (remember the 'click of death'?), my boss told them they should be saving files to their C: drives.

Doesn't take a lot of pondering to see where this is going, does it? Wasn't long before we notice there were still no files in My Documents, but tons in the root of C:

Argh

"On my desktop" But they haven't a clue where it goes after that and their desktops are so littered with documents they can't find their own shortcuts.

A while back (Windows 3.1 days), I had one user try to clean up her hard drive. She went to the command prompt at the root of the C: drive and typed "DEL *.*' She was a bit perturbed when her computer wouldn't boot properly.

"4: Browser basics
It is almost painful to watch some ???computer savvy??? people operate a Web browser. The most obvious goof is going to a search engine to type in the address of the site they want to go to."

I disagree with this.
I always use the Search box to go to sites that I don't have bookmarked.
It eliminates problems caused by typos.
Where does gooogle.com take you? A malware site?

What about foreign languages?
I can't type kanji, katakana, Russian, etc.
If you use search, an additional bonus is that you are offered a translated page link.

"6: Common keyboard commands
If you do not know how to copy/paste without a mouse, you are not computer literate."

Agreed.
I always cringe when I watch my friend use the scratchpad to force the cursor up to the "Edit" menu and then select "Paste".
He also does this when he wants to use the "Start Menu".

@dogknees
Agreed.
The number of people who just dump stuff at random on their PCs and then complain that they can't find anything is unbelievable.

3 incidents within about an year
a) my cousin decided to clean my nephews PC table; pulled off all cables dusted and left them; my nephew comes back fm college plugs all the cables and no picture. he screamed and stormed out, saying his mom has fried his PC. When I swung by to handle this emg., the monitor cable connector was plugged into normal monitor port instead of graphics card port.

b) neighbour was hopping mad screaming that vendor had skrood him with a dead graphics card. same thing. he shoved in the graphics card, but forgot to switch the monitor cable port.

c) frantic call from a niece 'bought a new nokia phone with micro usb port; pls tell me how to connect to PC'. the rest of the call went like this -
take the micro usb chord -
OK, ok, let me take it out -
now insert into USB port on PC
ok, ok, done -
insert the other end into nokia handset -
what other end? -
the other end of the micro usb chord -
but it has gone inside the usb port -
what? pull it out -
ok, ok, let me get a tweezer -
tweezer? ;; eureka moment ;; got the chord out?
yes -
is there anything written on the chord? -
yes, it says 'transcend 2GB microsd' ...
8-)
ever since, I call anything with 'wire' as cable and any data card as 'card'; no more 'chord' in my vocabulary

It misses obvious things, like basic file management, copy, delete, rename. A huge number of users don't even know how to do these basic tasks.

Also, #4, I encourage users to type the address into google search, this way they can't get hijacked by a mistyped URL so easily.

... it happens all the time. I trust my browser's "recently visited" list much more than a search engine.

J.Ja

You would already need to be infected for that to happen.
I only help people prevent infections and cure them, not help them operate within an infected system.

... I'm talking about people planting bad items into the search results... ie, you search for, say, "watches" and the results show something that looks like Rolex's site but it's actually something else or malicious. That happens all the time.

J.Ja

Its a great addin.

And thankfully google prioritizes results, which helps eliminate those bad websites from being the top results. It's not flawless though, but WOT helps fill the gap.

I'd love to see the folks who negged me or Slayer actually state a valid reason for it...

J.Ja

I can see upvoting without comment; that just indicates agreement. Downvoting ought to carry a mandatory reply.

Yeah, there are junk results in Google, but if you can't glance at the search results preview and make an accurate judgement call about the validity of the result, then you're just not trying.

This was the first commandment in an IT department I worked in. Since we were forever being called because someone had saved something "some where".

I worked in K12 education for a long time. My new users were five.

The other basic skill is reading search results. I once had to spend an hour on why we blocked http://www.martinlutherking.org/ until I showed the teacher the parent site.

The system doesn't work when you plug the power strip plug into a socket on the same power strip.

Really.

Just because you can give files and folders very long names doesn't mean you SHOULD give them very long names.

Exactly! Users do not have a clue where there items are and when you ask them, I don't know, it's just always there

...knowing all "10 things you have to know" eliminates 90% of the population.

Basic functions in Outlook. Outlook is a basic necessity, everyone should have the basics down, highlight and choose multiple items at once, move from folder to folder, add new contacts, etc.

You're not literate if you don't know the difference between a kilobyte, a kilobit, a megabyte, a megabit, etc. These units are important to know in a world where you are charged based on the amount/size, etc. How many people know how long it would take for them to exceed a 5GByte limit using a 2Mbit/sec average connection? A lot don't. Unfortunately, that's what some companies out there are planning on....computer illiteracy.

As soon as I'm done comment boxing I erase my drives and do a restore.Then I'm off to downloading or whatever.My whole installation is customized to my use.Active Boot Disk does it all from a pen drive.

Seriously? I've used Linux for most of the past 6 years, and I've never had any worries about viruses or malware. If users (or the companies they work for) would stop using the most unsecure OS ever devised (Windows), knowing how to scan for viruses and malware would be unnecessary.

It is just too low of a value target to go after. Why aim for less than 1% when you can shoot for over 90%? People who write malware aren't stupid you know?

You say Linux isn't bullet proof. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the lowest security and 10 being the most secure, Windows would rank a -5, and Linux would rank a 9 or 10. There can be no dispute that Windows is, by far, the most insecure OS to ever grace the world of computers.

There are ***NO*** viruses in the wild for Linux -- only "proof of concept" ideas that, in reality, have exceptionally little or no chance for implementation. No one said anything about the intelligence level of malware writers. Rather, the blame has to lie squarely on the shoulders of moronic users who can't be bothered with security or learning basic, common sense usage rules. Of course, those users also moor their entire computer existence on an OS that gives ANY attack, of any kind, a distinct possibility of success. This just isn't so under Linux, and anyone who's used Linux beyond just a cursory glance knows this.

"There are ***NO*** viruses in the wild for Linux -- only "proof of concept" ideas"

Thanks! That is really all the proof I need. Linux's greatest defense today lies in its unpopularity. With less than a percentage point of user base you cannot expect to attract too many developers with exploitation as their primary goal. If things ever pick up for Linux expect them to pick up across the board. It won't be all unicorns and rainbows.

The folks over at kernel.org recently got smacked down pretty hard and I wouldn't classify them as cursory. Perhaps they are just, "moronic users who can't be bothered with security or learning basic, common sense usage rules" though?

http://www.linuxfordevices.com/c/a/News/Kernelorg-hacked/

Whatever you say can and will be used against you in the court of public opinion.

This one pops up every so often, and it remains wrong. See this list, a few of which are in the wild:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Linuxvirus

But even if there weren't, you overlook two other problems. One is the potential to be a 'carrier', as the middleman forwarding a received infected e-mail to someone else. The other is the potential for social engineering to trick complacent users into doing something foolish.

and ensure the need for users of other operating systems to run AV software and run scans for all kinds of crapware.

I have been using computers for 20+ years running a variety of OSes including Linux, MS-DOS, CP/M, every version of Windows since 3.0, Solaris and others. I have NEVER had one of my personal machines infected even when running Windows 95/98/NT/XP without any antivirus software while connected to the internet (though I was using a SunOS box for a firewall/proxy). In most cases, it is not the OS that is the determining factor for infection, but the user.

BTW, apps appear to be more commonly compromised now than operating systems.

That is the way in which human engineering works to trap folks into divulging private information.

File management, and knowing how to change the browser options to meet one's own needs.

A lot of people don't know what dns or an ip address is I can forgive that one.

Not mentioned was the need to push the button to boot the computer.
I haven't a clue of what Outlook is but did write simulation programs in IBM Fortran 4 for the 1800 40 years ago. I wrote 8086/8088 Microsoft assembly routines to get my Epson to print italics, bold etc., when I was running MSDOS 2.1.
Keystrokes come and go. Wordperfect for DOS had a great set of keystrokes. Now I don't use them anymore just like I no longer program DBase 2 and 3.
I haven't bought a whole computer since 1982 and then I modified it immediately. I studied and almost built my own from chips, wire, solder, and radio shack boards. Then I realized that I had to write a BIOS plus other things. During the early 80's I immediately jerked the Intel 8088 8mhz from motherboards and replaced with the NEC V20 which had a better instruction set and was faster.
Somehow I get by with my currently two computers that I have scarfed together. The side panels are off as I never know when I will change hardware.
I will be 83 in a few days so don't accept the new quickly.
I still run XP and am happy with it. Since I no longer create and create and run SQL database, large spreadsheets, etc., I no longer have the need for the biggest and latest. If I played games I wouldn't have a computer but would have a dedicated game machine. It took a long time for me to grasp that it would be ok for a desk top to do anything but compute. Gaming is a different world from computing. Gamers live in a different world.
I like to play "what if". I wrote the program to simulate what will happen if things change and the program yields the result. Mathematical modeling. Everything in the universe can be expressed mathematically. We only must define the relationships mathematically in the form of code.
Yes.. I am a dummy. It took me a long time to accept windows as I was command line oriented.

most people don't want to know how it works they just want it to work first time every time. I agree these items are important but that is why people are rushing to join the ipad nation. They don't have to know anything to make it work and that's what they want. Too bad for those of us who have to clean up after them

Any time I see computer training I can not believe that simple drive/file/folder structure is left out. The building blocks of every PC, Mac, Linux box are the files/folders, yet many end-users have no idea where on a hard drive they save their files. This leads to the second thing missing...file backups!!

Most of my users do not know the difference between username & password, how to cut & paste, the difference between the desktop & screensaver, the difference between the monitor and the computer, and on and on. I explain things again and again in different ways and they forget by the next week. I have an 88 year old first time user who has a better command of the computer then some 40+ year old clients. Formal education is not an indicator of being computer savy, interest in mastering it is the most vital attribute of someone who is computer literate.

I strongly disagree that you have to know advanced search techniques, including the use of boolean strings or that you have to be able to use formulas, references, and macros in Excel before you can call yourself computer literate! According to the Free Dictionary at http://www.thefreedictionary.com/computer+literate Computer literate simply means the ability to operate a computer and to understand the language used in working with a specific system or systems.

I think this post http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060715071334AAUnxZw offers a fairer definition of computer literacy than Justin's elitist list:
1. Be able to identify all the obvious external parts of a computer (mouse, keyboard, CD-ROM drive etc) and know what they are for.
2. Understand a computers file system, so you understand the concept of files and directory structures.
3. Be able to use basic computer office software, mainly word processors and spreadsheets.
4. Be able to navigate the internet and use it to find information that you need.
5. Be able to use e-mail software

And I for one would be most offended if anyone suggested that I was not "computer literate", when I can perform all the actions listed in the Yahoo post AND do a clean install of the OS; use disk image to streamline future installs; use Easy transfer to migrate from one computer to another; install any internal hardware; troubleshoot and successfully correct any OS or program errors and faults; set up and troubleshoot network connections; format, partition, shrink, expand and mount hard drives; use advanced photo-editing techniques and so on!

Yet I do NOT have much experience with spreadsheets simply because I have never needed to learn how to create any complex databases! Does that one failing make me computer illterate? I don't think so!

From your Yahoo questions quote:

"3. Be able to use basic computer office software, mainly word processors and spreadsheets."

So even by your suggested alternate definition, you're still illiterate?

Seriously, don't take lists like this personally. It's just a generic 'catch-all'. Most of the items you list from Yahoo duplicate Justin's list; he just goes into more detail. He omits the file system, but that's been pointed out multiple times.

Excel is a spreadsheet, not a database application.

If you haven't learned how to use database software, & your database needs are simple enough that a "flat file" database format will meet them, then Excel is more than enough of a tool for your database needs.

It's when you start getting a database with thousands of records, records where you could be using relational database techniques instead of multiple duplicate entries, or need to be able to use queries on your database that database software becomes useful, if not a requirement.

still not databases. They are excel tables.

This is a fundamental problem, people seem to think that these terms are vague like normal English, when they are actually precisely defined things. That's why we invent terms, so there is no confusion about what is meant when talking about them.

per webopedia.com, a database is "a collection of information organized in such a way that a computer program can quickly select desired pieces of data", with a flat-file database defined as "A relatively simple database system in which each database is contained in a single table."

You can, therefore, create a flat-file database in Excel because a) you have exactly one table in your database (each row in the Excel table corresponding to a separate record, and each column in the Excel table corresponding to a separate field used within each record), and b) because you're able to quickly access it with a computer program (in this case, Excel).

Did I say that it was the best database solution? No, of course not, especially if you need more than 1 table in your database, or if your database table is going to be comprised of thousands of unique records. But if your needs are small -- say, maybe 100 to 200 unique records comprised of 3-10 fields per record, with no need for special queries or forms to be set up to present portions of the data, and no need for a relational database (i.e. the kind that Access is designed to create) -- then you can create an Excel "worksheet" that you can use as a small database.

Rather than "be the same thing", I'd say "do the same job". Not the same statement at all.

Being "computer literate" means being able to use a computer to get done the job that you need to do with it. For my wife, that means being able to do simple browsing, searching with a search engine, and using her web-based email interface. She doesn't need to be able to use a spreadsheet or word processor, and certainly doesn't need to be able to do DNS lookups or traceroutes.

I, on the other hand, need to be able to do way MORE than the list above, or my boss can dock my pay because I'm not computer literate enough for my job.

There's not even a single list that makes sense for the group of people reading this article, let alone the much wider and more varied groups of people who use computers in general.

Move on, Justin, move on!

How about using the Recycle Bin as storage..never deleting anything out of it. Same with Outlook trash folder...never clearing it out because I may need it. Well if you think you need it, then file it!

Yes, simple file management, and now, working with wireless.

Next to understanding hardware terms, people need to know which software they're talking about. I was on a library machine and this guy next to me asks what "operating system" the computers use. I tell him, he does something (that I'm not paying attention to, because I'm trying to do my own thing), he says, "No, that's not right." It finally occurs to me that he's thinks the web browser is called the "operating system"

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. - RobertHeinlein

I don't know how many people I know who call themselves computer savvy that don't know half of this stuff. I would estimate that, of my over 600 clients, that only 2% are actually computer savvy.
Thank you for this information. I am going to use this as a starting point to help people learn to be computer savvy!

Tell me what I could use a spreadsheet for.

Any kind of mathematical modelling or calculation, it doesn't have to be complex. Scaling a recipe to more or less people, ....

I've used them to layout airfoils for a model plane, calculate how to align my turntable and a bunch of other things over the years.

Most users unfortunately don't want to be computer literate they just want it to work so they can get there job done. Half of them still think that the monitor is the PC. How do you sit with them and try to help them when they don't want to help themselves.

There are too many people who rely on the alpha geeks such as myself. And sending a list like this to them will just reinforce their notion that computer geeks are elitist aholes. Many people (in manufacturing businesses for sure) don't want to be computer literate. They see the computer as an "evil forced on them by the company to make them look bad." I think a lot of the managers are the worst offenders, but don't want to appear to be incompetent by asking for computer help, especially from those that work for them.
I worked at a company once where the plant manager NEVER learned to use the system. He'd just ask people for whatever information he needed, or make them send all kinds of spreadsheets, which had to be perfectly formatted so he could read them. You'd have to send the same report (PRINTED of course) to him sorted several different ways because he didn't know how to use Excel to sort them, and was too "stupid" to ask. We knew exactly what was going on, but he would never allow any of us ot show him how to use Excel properly.

I wish more IT and/or HR departments would do more as far as educating employees on basic computer skills. It would certainly cut down on IT support calls, and make the employees more productive.

I(f people when they download a file would just save it to their desktop, so that they would actually remember where it is, would make my life a lot easier.

I'm adding touch typing , I think it's necessary skill to have as a modern computer user

The idea just seems lost on them, it is not an email, its not a word doc, so what is it. The connection between downloading a file, and choosing its location is lost on them.

I have been teaching lately people to use the firefox downloader and I just set it to always download and save. It seems to make more sense to people when they see that download dialog, then I just tell them to double click the file in the list and it will open.

I had friends complaining about a slow pc, suspecting having a virus, after a simple defrag, problems solved, or at least improved.

I would start at the very beginning, turning the computer on, and off, correctly. I come across so many clients who can't do this or who do it in a way that risks corrupting files. Like using the sleep and hibernate functions to turn the computer off. Most of them don't understand that the computer is not actually turned off but in standby, and all your open files are still there ready for you when the computer wakes up. The biggest problem with this is that some updates can't be applied without a proper shutdown. Oh and don't get me started on updates... that's a major one too, understanding what updates are, why we get them and which ones to allow and to not allow. Just because it flashed up on their screen doesn't mean it's a safe update.