лллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллл YOUR NEW PC - GETTING STARTED лллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллл The variety of software programs which are available for a PC (personal computer) and the tasks these software programs accomplish is stunning. Ultimately the reason for owning one of these marvelous machines is the variety of opportunities software presents. IBM estimates over 130,000 programs exist for the PC family of computers! These programs range from the predictably practical to elegantly imaginative to utterly eccentric. All are worth investigating. Local software stores, public domain and shareware sources from local computer clubs contain more possibilities. Addresses for free software and hardware catalogs are listed in PC-LEARN under the PC-LEARN menu options SOFTWARE and also RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY. A list of interesting computerized activities follows . . . Trace your family roots (genealogy programs) Learn to speed read (reading tutorials) Improve typing speed or learn keyboarding skills tutorials) Manage your career (aptitude tests, resume writing) Plan a workable diet and appropriate meals (diet programs) Track stock market performance Design a floorplan for a house, boat, garden Write the great American novel (word processor) Budget and manage finances (money managers and spreadsheets) Learn a foreign language (language tutorials) Design a personal aerobics/exercise program Play games (computerized chess, bridge, checkers, monopoly) Learn to fly a plane (flight simulation programs) Prepare brochures and newsletters (desktop publishing) Visit with others and obtain free software (modems/bbs use) Automate a professional office (physician, lawyer, architect) Prepare/forecast your taxes (tax return preparation programs) Track horse race odds Chart and graph business data Prepare for the college SAT tests And the list goes on! This is only a SMALL sample of some practical and entertaining programs which ACTUALLY EXIST for use with a personal computer. Most beginners guides start with a discussion of DOS. Let's do that in a later article, but first a little honesty to set the stage . . . лллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллл A TYPICAL ODYSSEY FOLLOWS . . . лллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллл Grownups who understand computers least will tell you to decide on one or two practical goals (word processing or accounting) and apply the computer to a task which will make you money or save you time. Grownups also unwisely suggest you should become organized in attempting these goals . . . Children and computer users (is there a difference?) who understand computers best will suggest that you to PLAY to see what happens. Let the machine guide you. As you delve into the computer, ask important questions: What kind of machine will keep me addictively awake until 4 am? How can I afford a modem? Can I write my own software? Week one - 6pm to 8pm. The marriage The new computer is home. You can load DOS. Your spouse is skeptical about this "fantastic computer consulting business you are going to run out of the garage." One way to start is to try learning a basic software function like word processing. Purchase a software package for beginners like Microsoft Works or First Choice. Or locate a free shareware copy of GALAXY or PC-WRITE from a computer user club. If you are just starting, nothing is as impressive, practical and fun as jumping from a typewriter to a word processor. Spouse is now mildly impressed that you have mastered the word processor but unaware of the savage reality which lies ahead . . . Week two - 6pm to 10pm. The honeymoon Now grab some games and play for a while. Study the visuals, the logic and the joy of computing. Continue delving deeper with the word processor. Join a computer User Club. The addiction is taking form . . . Week 3,4,5. 6pm to midnight. Reality dawns Study DOS and practice with the DOS tips contained in PC-LEARN. DOS lets you control the machine for faster, smoother results. Borrow a book on DOS from the library - see the suggested books and reading references contained elsewhere on this disk. DOS is a pain? Use a DOS shell software package like Xtree, DirMagic, Qfiler or PcTools which lets you manipulate the PC without having to learn too much about DOS. Get a copy of the PC-SIG shareware catalog and try some low cost and free shareware. PC- SIG address listed elsewhere on this disk under software resources. Week six. 6pm to 3 am. Addiction phase/personality shift Next move on to a good database program and index some christmas card lists or business data you use frequently. Tackle spreadsheets or number grids with ASEASYAS or a commercial program such as lotus 123 or Microsoft Works. Databases can act like spreadsheets and spreadsheets can act like databases. Software starts to blend together. Good programs have layers like an onion. You can go deeper for greater layers of complexity and reward, but (as with the onion) you can be left crying as you peel the layers. However, once you get this far you find your computer curiosity is overwhelming. Spouses of male computer-holics refer to "the man and his midnight mistress." However, being an "equal opportunity software package," the author of PC-LEARN hastens to add that women also find the PC addictive and equally infatuating! Week seven through 14. 6pm to 6am. Loved ones move away. Computer user does not notice or care . . . Now start to learn in greater detail. Go to the library and get some back issues of Personal Computing (interesting and basic), PC magazine (practical), and Byte (sophisticated). Try to see the pattern: you can use a computer for an infinite variety of tasks all of which may be at the same time fun/productive/silly/ lucrative/exhausting. Spouse realizes belatedly that this is a full blown addiction and finds solace by reading and writing personals ads which leads to discovery of a dynamite divorce attorney . . . End of first six months. Fatal discovery: programming Next plunge is to try programming. Basic or turbo pascal allow you to write programs that do exactly what you want. Alternatively there are keyboard macro programs (smartkey, prokey, newkey) that do "sort of programming." At this point you begin to see that the machine has logic and always does exactly what you tell it to do, even if you don't care for the result! Terminal phase. Severe addiction. Purchase of modem Getting a modem on your computer to "have a little fun" is sort of like getting a little bit pregnant. Basically things swell out of normal proportion, if you follow the drift. Modems let you hook into large databases, neighborhood "bulletin boards," and all kinds of expensive long distance telephone things. Incredible 4 day "no food or sleep" modem orgies begin. Modems are fascinating, global, thoroughly useful and BIG TROUBLE! Human Perspective phase. Back to the real world After sampling everything, somewhere about 1 to 3 years after you first started, the computer will integrate nicely into the real world again. You start to think about camping trips, cooking classes, church on Sunday, bowling, the routine things. Bedtime settles in at 10 pm. Going near a computer is simply like walking by a typewriter or can opener. The computer is there when you need it, does the job and is essential to your normal daily routine. Loved ones return home again after discovering your alimony payments are unreliable and usually spent on computer toys anyway.