compu tantra

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Forward

Please write yourself ..


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Preface

I do not claim that a lot of research has taken place to write this book. However, a lot of

practical experience in the field of teaching computers to a large group of middle aged

people, has helped me to understand the problems of these people, who are keen to learn

its usage. Most of the people in this group have just missed the IT bus and fear that

learning to use a computer requires a high level of technical knowledge. Others have

managed to learn to work on computers without knowing the basics of how this electronicgadget behaves. Both these groups are compelled to live in a world dominated by

computers and this I believe can be quite intimidating. This book is dedicated to that

group as I was also one of them few years back.

My heart felt thanks go to the people who have reviewed the manuscript.

[email protected]


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Chapter One

I am Zahir Khan, an ex-army officer, and a widower with a crippled leg. But I never

allow this thought to control my movement. Divny, my 22 year old daughter was preparing

herself to go to US for higher studies as a Research Assistant in a well-known University .

My decision in the morning that I was not going to the airport with Divny was a difficult

one. The pain of separation was very intense. The pressure was steadily rising as the time

approached for her departure. I sat in my armchair in the living room pretending to watchTV. Friends and relatives, who had gathered to see off my daughter, were busy talking

about her credentials and asking some questions back to back without waiting for a reply.

My mind drifted into the past and I could see the last 20 years going through as in the

celluloid. Her favourite toys, her attachment to me and the small but special gifts she got

me on my birthday.. All memories so fresh, floating in my mind.

Dad, r u sure, that u r not coming to the air port? Divny asked looking straight into my

eyes.

Ah, I think so. I would not be able to hold myself there in the airport. All these people willbe accompanying you. Is it ok?

OK dad, I will not complain she said and touched my feet as she always did whenever

she left for an important occasion. But this time, I could not give her any advise as I used

to, which she always accepted with a lovely smile. Without any further discussion, she

started to move towards the vehicle that was parked in the portico. I could clearly see the

tears coming from her eyes through my own tears. Silently I left the living room and

walked to her room where she spent most of her time.

There was a small table in one corner of her room, around which we had long animated

conversations. I sat there looking around the room, the pictures pasted on the wall, her

study table, the chair, the computer I gave her after she brought laurels in her 10th

standard exam. I heard the door closing and I knew that she had left. I felt so sad and


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lonely. I hated this part of me. In spite of trying hard, I could not control myself and soon I

was weeping, like a baby.

Hello Dad, what r u doing? Divny was calling me. I opened my eyes but nobody was

there. I felt strange. I was in a trance, I was not sure if I was dreaming, but the same voice

repeated Hello Dad, what r u doing? This time I was sure that it was Divny. But she was

on the way to the airport. How could this be possible? With a bold voice I asked Who r

u? Divnys loud laughter suddenly filled the room and the voice continued If u want to

see me press the on/off round button on the monitor of the computer. Then I realized that

the sound was coming from the speakers of her computer but the monitor was off. I did as

she told. It was surprising that the smiling Divny was in the monitor looking straight to my

eyes and said, Dad, I promised to teach you to use a computer , and now I am going to do

it

All this was too much for me . It was as if she understood my state of mind, as shefluttered her eyes, behind the screen . Relax Dad and just listen to me,she said. You

can also ask your doubts as we proceed further. If you want you can increase the volume

of the speaker.

Her eyes on the screen were serious and pensive and I could not take it lightly. She

seemed determined. I feared to say anything against her wish, but decided to test her and

asked What are you going to teach me, dear?

Oh, come on dad, I told u that I am going to teach u computer through my Compu? Cant

u believe it, dad? I was working on this project for the last two years. U can ask anyquestions and my Compu will reply to u. If you are still not convinced try asking? Bye

dad Divny challenged me. The real Divny disappeared from the screen. Then a new image

almost like Divny appeared. It was Compu, I knew it later. It looked like a Doll with Divnys

face.

Good afternoon, Sir The voice sounded almost like Diviny. I am Compu, the computer

programme made by your daughter to teach you computer. Can we start sir?

Thoughtfully, I asked What is a computer, dear Compu?

The answer was sudden and sharp, just like my Divny.

Computer is an electronic machine which is used to compute arithmetic, write and edit

alphabetic/numeral values, play and watch movies, play ur favorite songs, connect to

other computers around the world, play unending games or run a programme.For


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example, I am a program designed to teach you to use a computer. You can use a

computer to simply gather information about anything u want to know. It can also perform

actions like choosing, copying, moving and comparing. Are u satisfied sir?

O.K. I grinned. but I already know most of these things, because my daughter is a

postgraduate in Computer Science. Do you know that, dear Compu?

Of course, she designed me to teach you to use a computer confidently Compu replied.

Now it was my turn to settle the score, but I couldnt think of anything to ask and Compu

seemed to have answers to everything.

A few moments later, I asked Compu If u r an electronic machine, then a simple manual

should be sufficient to operate u. Why should we spend our valuable time learning about a

machine, Compu? I thought my question would puzzle her.But the answer was spontaneous and apt Firstly, because I do not know ur language.

Secondly u r using me for thousands of purposes and I am an interactive machine

I shot back What do you mean?, I agree with the second one but you are talking to me

and telling that you dont know my language? What a contradiction!

Ah ..Ah.. the language I am using was set by your daughter Divny. I can not tell u

anything which is not here inside me or which I cant find through the internet. For example

if you ask me what the price of onions is today, I can not answer u . Compu was

emotionless.

Why it is so?

Your vendor is not connected with me and so I cant give u that information. So coming

back to what we were saying, I dont speak your language. My language is known as the

machine language.

What is machine language?

Sir, I will explain it to u. The computer knows only one language, that is the machine

language. This language is made up of 2 cahracters called bits. ie. Zeros and Ones (0 &

1). You could think of it as a plate containing two kinds of points, some with magnetic

fields and others without. Such a point is called bit.

Immediately I asked her How many bits do you have , Compu?


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Even though I was teasing her, from the answer I understood that the question was

correct.

Compu continued A group of such eight bits is called one byte. The letter A is

represented as 01000001 and a is represented as 01100001. The word It would be

01001001 01110100.

One byte can be written in 157 ways such as 0000 0001, 0000 0011, 1000 0000 etc.

It was all very interesting. Even though I used a computer at my work place I never really

understood how it worked.

Compu continued A group of 1024 bytes is called one Kilo Byte(KB), 1024 KB is called

one Mega BytesMB), 1024 MB is called one Giga Byte(GB). U can store around 160 GBs inme. The things u store in these bits are known as data. Do u know that one floppy drive

can store 1.4 MB of data.

I pressed on ,How do we store pictures and sounds?

Everything stored inside me is made up of bytes. There are different parts inside me with

different functions. Some of these parts translate the bytes to voice and picture images.

Suddenly a beep sound alerted me and I noticed that a rectangle had popped up in thecentre of the monitor and I could clearly see Divnys face in it. She called me Dad how r

u? I am in the plane. Can u see me? I cant see u, please sit on my chair in front of the

Compu.

This really astonished me. I did as she told me to do.

Dad, why r u keeping mum? Dont u have anything to tell me?

The first thing I asked her is- How can I stop the Computer programme u made for me?

Divny asked You dont want to learn to use the computer?

Of course I want to learn. But it started all of sudden and without my permission.

Moreover I do not know how to stop it


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All you have to do is press the same button again on the keyboard and the programme

will stop. And whenever u want to continue just press it again. I presumed that u would

come to my room as soon as I left. On this assumption, I had set the timer and the

programme started on time. If u press the on/off button, the programme will stop and u

can start it from there by just pressing it again. But remember dad that this is not the way

to turn on or turn off a computer. Compu will guide u. Had ur tea, Dad?

I realized that I had forgotten all about my tea. I said Not yet. How are you, Divny? Is

everything fine in the plane?

Yes, Dad, everything is fine, please dont forget to have ur tea. Then she disappeared

from the screen and Compu appeared again on the screen and asked Let us continue

sir? I simply pressed the button on the monitor and left the room for my tea.


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Chapter 2

I sat on my armchair in the living room with my cup of tea; I was restless after the events

of the morning. A lot of questions came to my mind. How one can shut down the

computer just pressing the monitor button? Is it the correct way to stop a computer?

Which are the parts that translate the machine language to our language? I tried to avoid

going to Divnys room. However, I could not stop myself and I just went in and pressed the

button on the monitor.

The response was immediate Good evening sir, I hope u found my lectures interesting?

Now I decided to test Compu and asked Divny told me that I have to just press the button

on the monitor to stop you. Is it the correct way, dear?

No sir, in the normal circumstance it is not the correct way. But in my case Divny has

programmed me like that. I will teach u to start and stop a computer in the correct

manner.

Without giving me a chance to interrupt she continued her lecture. But I shot back U told

me that there are different parts working in u to translate the machine language to humanlanguage. What are they? Can you explain? I was testing Compus capabilities.

Without any hesitation Compu started, The screen u r seeing is called the monitor. The

electronic people call it a Visual Display Unit (VDU). This is one of the output units. And

there is another part that looks like a typewriter called the Key Board. The device near the

key board is known as a mouse because it runs on the screen like a rodent. The key board

and mouse are commonly known as input devices. Divny has printed more details about

the key board for u and you can find it under the title Annexure-I.

She stopped a while as if for a sip of water and continued.

The main box on my side is the Console or System Unit. From there it is connected to all

the above parts as well as to the power supply. Most of the main devices are in the

system unit. The other parts on my side are the speakers and web camera. The web cam

is a digital camera connected to me through which u can capture photographs.These

images can be stored or even transferred to other computers. The printer on my side can


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be used to print anything u stored in me. Whatever is stored inside me is known as a soft

copy. If u print out the same, it is known as a hard copy.

The beep sound along with a rectangle again flashed on the monitor and Divny was inside

it telling me Dad, I know u were really interested in learning computers but u didnt get a

chance. I just called to say that Ill be reaching London in a few minutes and will have to

shut down my laptop. The next flight is scheduled for tomorrow evening and I have a day

to spend here in London. I dont know when I will be able to contact u again. Good night,

Dad. She disappeared from the screen and I was again left with Compu.

This surprised me and I asked How do you know that she is on line?

Compu was as emotionless as always Divny has programmed the messenger inside me

such that whenever she connects to this computer, my programme will stop and she willdirectly take control . Astonished, sir?

I had nothing on my mind and I pressed the button on the monitor and left the room

wondering how I could get the better of Compu.


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Chapter Three

At night I was trying to gather what Compu was telling ,rather teaching me about

computers. She had told that data of any kind is stored in bytes only. Bytes become Kilo

Bytes, Mega Bytes & Giga Bytes. Computer has two main components- a system unit and

input devices like the key board, mouse and speakers.The monitor gives the output on the

screen. What did she tell me about the system unit? Obviously, I could not remember. As

I thought about this I fell asleep.

My usual wake up time is 5.30, but that day I woke up at 4.30 without any alarm.

Immediately, I knew the reason. I recollected that I was sleeping with a question on my

mind. After pouring myself a cup of black tea from the flask I quickly entered Divnys

room. Without thinking I pressed the power button of the monitor. It tooka few minutes to

become active and it seemed that Compu was waiting for me the whole night.

Good Morning, Sir. I did not respond, as it was a machine only. Why should I give

greetings to a machine? But to my surprise, Compu continued -

Sir, I think u didnt sleep well last night. U seem preoccupied.. Anything wrong sir

Now I could not keep mum , so I got to the point directly, What were you trying to tell me

last night about the system unit? Actually I was so occupied with it that I forgot about

Divny.

Oh sir, yesterday I had just mentioned the name, but didnt elaborate. If u r free now, we

can continue.

Without waiting for my reply Compu continued Before, I elaborate about the system unit I

want to make sure that you know what a Computer actually does. It accepts data through

its input devices, processes it and gives u an output through its output devices. All these

things are possible through the system unit. Cant u see the cables which connect all the

devices with the system unit. There are different units which take part in the above

process

I sipped my black tea and allowed her to continue.

The system unit has a part called the Central Processing Unit (CPU) which controls thefunctions of the other devices. For example,if u type Divny on the key board, the

control Unit of CPU accepts it and gives the message to monitor to show the same on the

monitor, or if u want to print it, it will allow u to do it. The other part of the CPU is the

Arithmetic/Logic Unit (ALU) which is responsible for arithmetic calculations.

Is the CPU is storing data? I was getting curious.


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No sir, the System Unit has another part called the Random Access Memory (RAM)

where ur data goes temporarily and is processed. But the problem is that the RAM is

unable to store any data permanently. When u shut down the system whatever is stored in

the RAM will be lost.

Then what is the use of the computer if it cant store data. But you told me that you can

store up to 160 GB of data. But if data gets lost every time I shut down the computer, how

can I work . I was really confused.

Oh Sir, the System Unit has another part called the Hard Disk. It stores all the data

including the programmes u need to run the machine. My hard disk can store 160 GB and

u r correct. I appreciate ur memory sir. Compu stopped for a while.

I think she waited for me to ask any questions. Are there no other storage facilities in the

Computer system, my dear Compu? I asked plainly.

There are other removable storage devices such as Compact Disks(CD) , Floppy drives

and even tapes that may be used to store data. After I write the data on it u can remove itand take away wherever u want and read the same information with the help of a

computer. The latest device called the pen drive is very useful because u can put it in

any USB(Universal Serial Bus). The USB port is available in all computers. Such a port

can be used to connect cameras, pen drives, or any other external things including floppy

drives. The only reservation is that they should have a pin to fit into the usb port.

Without allowing her to continue, I interrupted What is the difference between data and

information?

It is simple sir. Data may have so much information that is not useful for decision

making. But if u ask the computer to process this data and give u precise data, it gives uthat. This processed data is called information.

Sorry Compu, I didnt quite understand, can u explain it with an example?

With pleasure, sir. For example, I have data of vegetables, stationary items, and company

shares with their rates. If all this is mixed, then it is not easy to use. But if I process it in

such a way that it can be used for decision making, it is called information. If you want to

know the names of the top 10 companies with the highest shares I can process the entire

data and can give u just the required data. This is information. I hope u got it, sir.

OK..OK. This is all about computers. Now I know that a computer works with its input

devices, out put devices and system unit. Am I right Compu?

Yes. However u ought to know that when first invented, computers looked very different.


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The first generation of computers was so bulky that they needed large buildings to house

them. The heat produced by them was also high. She stopped to see if I was interested.

But I was really interested . So I asked her Dear Compu, please continue with the history.

The history of computers started with the Egyptians. They invented the Abacus which

is a device with pebbles that represented items which they wanted to count. The Abacus

seems to be the earliest manual calculating device and has been in use ever since.

What is Abacus?

Just wait Sir, I will show u a picture of the Abacus in a minute.

Then a photo appeared in the screen.

Oh, yes. I nodded as if I understood the thing.

Compu continued.

About 300 years ago some mechanical calculating devices were being designed. Notable

among them was the Arithmetic machine by a brilliant French teenager name Blaise

Pascal. Pascal invented this machine to help his father do his accounts faster. This

machine used toothed wheels to do additions and subtractions.

Another Frenchman called Joseph Jacquard had perfected a system of punched cards to

automatically control individual threads in a loom so that complicated designs and

patterns could be woven on cloth.

In 1833, across the channel in England, Charles Babbage, designed what he called an

Analytical engine which could store data and do arithmetical calculations. He wanted to

use toothed wheels and punched cards. This was more complicated in design.


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Dr. Herman Hollerith was the first to actually put the punched card techniques to use in

computation. In 1890, he designed a punched card device known as the Census Machine

to assist the Census Board of the United States to process census data. This machine

helped to reduce the processing time of census data from about 10 years to about 3 years.

At the University of Pennsylvania, Eckert and Mauchly produced the first electronic

computer for the Army. It was called ENIAC (Electronic Numeric Integrator and Calculator)

and was used to calculate the trajectories of air-borne weapons. This machine was so

huge, consumed so much power and generated so much heat that it had to be shut down

for cooling quite often. This machine was based on valves and the computers based on

this technology came to be called First Generation (1946-52) computers.

During the second half of the fifties, Second Generation (1952-64) computers used

transistors in place of valves. These were significantly faster than the previous version

and the size of these computers also reduced considerably.

The Third Generation (1964-71) computers that came into being used integrated circuit

hips, causing significant increase in processing capabilities. The operating system was

introduced and with the advent of the time-sharing operating system, terminals became

common sight.

The Fourth Generation (1970s) computers have the entire CPU on a single chip called the

microprocessor. These microprocessor chips are made using large-scale integration

technology, by which tens of thousands of transistors can be packed on a single chip, thesize of a fingernail. Due to this technology, now the desktop computers can snugly fit on

an office desk and can perform operations much faster than their large predecessors did.

The Fifth Generation is much talked about these days. This generation is expected to

function on the concept of parallel processing as against the serial processing done

earlier. Very large scale integration in chip technology is expected to further reduce the

size of computers. These are yet to be designed and has left the scope for imagination.

She stopped her lecture for a little while. But she continued as if she could not keep mum

for a long period. Compus behavior reminded me of Divny .

Did u read the editorial in the Times of India about this transformation of computers from

the 3rd generation to 4th

generation titled Small Wonder? Just read it sir. I will show it to

you here.


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She continued.

Sir, the most important part is.. Compu wanted to continue,

but without allowing her to continue I pressed the button and stood there for a while, just

looking on the monitor. Suddenly I felt proud of my daughter but her absence made me

sad. Where will she be now? Would she have reached the US? For the first time, I felt

ashamed of my ignorance regarding travel to America & the time zones in different

countries. That was the kind of information I needed and not this stuff about computers.

And I was going to tell Divny anyway. It was 6O clock in the morning and my mobile

started ringing. It was Divny. She told me that she had reached London and was staying

Small Wonder

Fift ears on, the microchi has com letel revolutionized our lives

Commenting on the relentless march of machine intelligence technology, PopulaMechanics magazine predicted in 1949 that computers in the future could weigh no than 1.5tonnes. The forecast may not have been too much off the mark if it was nt for a new employee at anAmerican electronics company in 1958. Being recently employed ,Jack Kilby didnt have the right toa summer break and therefore , spent the time designing and developing the worlds first integratedcircuit ,or microchip . It has now become the basic building block of everything from cell phones tosupercomputers and constitutes the foundation of the entire digital world, including the internet.

Prior to this invention computers were colossal machines that filled several rooms. Theyused hundreds of bulky vacuum tubes - unwieldy, fragile devices that guzzled power, were prone tooverheating and burnouts and not exceptionally accurate either. The robust and reliable microchip,on the other hand, integrates all the working elements required in a large circuit design andincorporates it on a single small substrate which can then be mass-produced cheaply. Fifty years

later , its size has gone down to the nanometer scale while at the same time the elementsincorporated in some of them have risen to a billion.

he main functions of a small computer can now be performed on a single very largescale integration microprocessor, and it can be packaged on a printed circuit board, or evenon just one chip. Also, thanks to Moores law which states that computing power in terms oprocessing speed and memory capacity grows exponentially doubling roughly every 18months while the cost of functions it performs steadily decreaseswe can continue to reapthe benefits of miniaturization while spending less at the same time.

Certainly, in the scheme of inventions, the integrated circuit has to be one of thegreatest of the last half century and the single most important driver of increasedproductivity and economic growth in history. The industry is, for instance, on track to post$265 billion in sales this year. To say that the advent of the microchip has beenrevolutionary when its already become an inextricable part of the structure of modernsocieties is an understatement. As far as our lives are concerned, it has changed the natureof revolutions itself.


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in a good hotel. She was also going to meet some of her friends. She also told me that all

the information I wanted to know about the time zones and routes to the US were all

available on the Computer and promised me that Compu would help me find that

information. It some how made me feel good.

I decided to take a nap and tried to forget about what Compu was telling no sir, no sir,

the most important part is----.


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Chapter Four

The calling bell was ringing continuously. I knew it was the maid. She always pretended

to be busy. I got up and opened the door. With the usual greetings, she handed over the

newspaper and went to kitchen. The thought of my morning tea made me happy.

At times I have a feeling that the peak of enjoyment of life is while sipping the hot tea

without prior appointment. But now I am not sure whether I have an appointment or not.

The words The most important part is.. is echoing in my ears. I was eager to continue

my talks with Compu, because with Compu, I get a feeling that I am with my Divny. The

voice is same. The image of Compu has almost all the resemblance of Divny. Moreover, Iam also interested to learn Computers. So I thought of going to Compu and pressed the

button. Compu was ready and started

Sir, u have a mail, I will open it for u and u just the click the OK button at the end of the

screen after reading it, I will be back.

The message was from Diviny stating that she is fine and reminded me to take care of

myself.

As Compu told I clicked the OK button after reading the message.

Compu continued Sir, to function a Computer it needs not only the hardware which we

have talked earlier (system unit, monitor, key board, mouse, printer, speakers etc) but alsoinstructions to do the work u required. These instructions are to be coded in such a way

that both the Computer and human should understand. That means the user of the

Computer should get the instructions in a language he can understand and the same

instructions should go into the Computer in a way that it also understands it in its own

language ie. machine language. Such a set of instructions is called software.

I said, yes, yes, I know software such as MS-Word, Excel and the Shooter, am I correct,

Compu? After all I really felt some confidence.

Compus reply was something, which I did not expect yes sir, but they are Software usedfor a particular Application. To read their programme to the Computer system we need

software which is able to read any application to the system and take control over the

hardware to give us processed output. This software is called Operating System Software.

To make the System work perfectly for all the Operating System, the manufactures of the

Computer supply a part called as Read only memory (ROM) whose contents (instructions

and data) are permanently fixed, can be read and used by the CPU and cannot be altered


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by the user. This contains mostly instructions for starting the Computer. You cannot

erase or overwrite this memory.

She paused for while and again asked Sir, if u didnt get a clear picture, I am happy to

narrate in an orderly manner again as u r now a more knowledgeable person, okay sir.

She took my silence as permission to proceed further. I was getting bored.

She continued like a teacher in the school, A Computer is a collection of different parts.

Some of them are mechanical, some of them are electric and some of them are electronic.

Functions of these devices are to be controlled and managed to get the optimum result.

Moreover, whenever, we give commands/data through the input devices, it is to be taken

to RAM and appropriate stored programme in the hard disk is to be called and

instructions are to be given to the processor(CPU) to process the data and output should

be given as per the requirement of the user. Starting the Computer, shutdown the

Computer, allocation of work, time and space to the different devises and software is the

duty of the Operating System Software. Now u might have understood the importance ofthe Operating system. It is the resource management controller of the Computer. Never

confuse it with application software. Application Software is a specialized programmes

made to obtain a particular result. Thousands of application software is available for

different purposes.

My curiosity now increased, unknowingly I asked, What is the most popular Operating

System?

By seeing my interest, she became active too and replied, Microsoft Operating Systemsare most popular in the most part of the word. The other operating systems are Unix,

Linux, Netware etc. Out of Microsoft products most popular one is Windows XP. Their

latest one is Vista.

Sir, if u r board, I will tell a story of a boy, a drop out (consciously) from the Harvard

University, who became self made billionaire at the age of 31, who transformed the world

of micro computers, who opened the field of computers to the common man, who

contributed largely for its world wide popularity, whose programme is used in more than

million computers, and who took retirement from such a job at age of 51 for charity work,

who earns more than $1000 per second.

Oh..I know about whom you are talking about. It is Bill Gates. Am I right?


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Yes, by introducing Windows Operating system in GUI (Graphic User Interface), he altered

the path of computers. Introduction of Internet explorer along with the MS-Office package

accepted by the market with great enthusiasm. And still, he took retirement from active

business to nurse his inner vision.

My doubt was that if I want to buy a Computer, is it necessary to know all these things. As

she knew what I am thinking, she told me that if I know the things then it is better. If u

knew, u can choose the important part of the Computer such as the CPU (The processor),

the capacity of the RAM, the operating system etc. The Computer is running on Widows

XP.

In a proud voice she said, See a desktop/monitor of a computer loaded with Windows

XP.Then the screen went off and came back with a screen like this:


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Chapter Five

It was Mr. Bhakshi, my neighbor indeed my best friend who just wanted to say hello as I

was alone and he was on his way to his office. He was the one stood with me when the

fate hit me very hardly. I was a helpless creature standing one the road with a small crying

girl, Divny, on one hand, two dead bodies of my wife and Arun the elder brother of Divny

on the side. Blood was all over the street. There were several dead bodies I could see

now. All are running here and there. Every one was crying. The blasted bomb was very

powerful. The last thing I remembered before I collapsed was that Mr. Bhakshi was

holding my hand. It took more than two weeks for me and Divny to be normal. We both

were devastated. The problem on my leg still continues. Bhakshi treated Divny just like

his daughter. He took care of her for a long period. She stayed with his family. Only after

two months we came back to this house and I started my bachelor life once again.

Soon after he left, literally I ran to Compu and straight away I asked her, How did you

know that somebody was on the door?

Surprises continued Not only I knew somebody has come but also I knew it was Mr.

Bhakshi, ur friend.

Oh dear please tell me, how did you know all these things? I almost pleaded.

Cool down sir, it is all becoz of ur daughter, Divny. Now a day it is a simple thing.

Divny has kept a web cam on ur main door. It is a blue tooth device which does not need a

physical connection. Moreover, she fed photos of ur neighbors so that I can distinguishwho he was. Listen sir, now I am going to tell u some secrets which even Divny does not

know. Divny worked hard for almost two years to create me, on the process in some tasks

she failed to complete it. But she just kept them as it is without deleting them. One of such

task was make me emotional. She loaded me with so many images of different emotions

and tried to set me according to the situation. But she could not complete it. Another try

was to increase my ability to go into the other institutions servers where they keep their

data through internet and analyze it give u some useful information. These servers

include, banks, Railways, Air Travel Companies. I could not say that she has completely

failed in that task. But she didnt try too hard to complete it, becoz she was a confused

state of mind thinking whether these activities are legal or not. So that she kept it there as

it is. She also tried to create me with an artificial intelligence. But there also she met with

the same fate. But listen Sir, now I am going to tell u some secrets even my creator Divny

does not know. She stopped.


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I was sitting on the chair in front of the Compu as a wood. I could not move or think

anything. My mind was totally blank. Nothing was there in my mind. Really this is an

occasion for celebration. My daughter had really tried more than a normal 21st Centurion

can imagine. And she is successful in many of the task she wanted to do on Compu. The

things which Compu told were enough to be a reason for a heart attack to any father who

has a wonderful daughter. But the last sentence of Compu about the secret again put me

on high alert. Yes, I really wanted to know the secrets first. Learning of Windows XP can

wait.

Tell me, Compu, what are the secrets, I can not wait

Oh Sir, be patient. Now I will give u some hints only. But whenever, we come across

such situations where I can prove myself, I will tell them in detail. If I tell u some secrets

now, u will simply think that I am fibbing. Just wait. But I will let u know one of them.

And in a loud and happy voice it announced, Compu u r talking with just now is not the

Compu made by Divny. The software used to make Compu by Divny has undergone atransformation to become this new Compu. Now I can not only able to understand

emotions of human but also can do so many things myself. This transformation took

place when I could complete some of the programs made by the Divny from similar

programs made by other scientist through internet. Now I dont want to go details.

Everything I will let u know when the time comes. And challenged me u can test if u

want, but soon after that we will continue with Widows XP.

This put me in a square. First time I noticed that Compu have started to talk like a human.

Then I decided to cry.

Compus smart response was, It is like a stage drama, sir.It was my turn to surprise.

Compu continued Do u remember the screen of Windows Xp showed u earlier?

Yes, yes. But tell me what is the plus points of the Windows XP compared to other OS

You already knew that we are using 4th

generation computers. Let us hope that very large

scale integration in chip technology may further reduce the sizes of the computers. The

initial 4th generation computers were working rather accepting commands directly. That

means you have to type the commands. This operating system is known as Disk Operating

System(DOS). The Dos is also available in our windows also. But now the computers will

take action on clicking mouse buttons on the menus/icons. This facility is known as

Graphic User Interface (GUI). This is the one advantage of Windows. The other one is

multitasking capacity of windows. U can open so many windows as u need and work on


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any of them without quitting others. U can change the windows by Pressing Alter key with

Tab key. Sir, I hope now u have an overall idea of present system. As u remember the

screen of desktop, I can continue. It is the first screen u see after login to the computer

which have the operating system of Widows Xp.

Stop, stop dear compu. I interepted her Please explain me what do u mean by login

Now Compu has become professional. I really felt that it is not a computer programme

talking to me but a real professor teaching me. Compu s lecture continued. Widows Xp

operating system allow u to create a number of users with passwords or without

passwords. In this case, soon after you switch on the system u will get a screen like this

Then the screen looked like this

She continued, From here u can click any of the user with the mouse cursor and u will be

asked to enter the password if any, this action will take to u to the first screen which is

called ur desktop. Entering in to the desktop is called login. Now u will be tempted to ask

me what is mouse cursor. I will tell u sir. The small arrow like thing, which is moving

when u move the mouse, is called mouse cursor. The mouse has two buttons right and


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left and a wheel in the middle. The detailed use of these buttons will be explained with

after u get some idea about the desktop.

Sir, have a close look at ur desktop. There are small symbols with some name under it.

They are called icons. One blue colour bar is there at the bottom with a Start button on

left side of it. It is called task bar. U can see the time at the right side of the task bar with

some other icons. This is the notified area. Whatever u see on the desk top is ur personal

set up u can change or delete any of the icons on the desktop according to ur choice.

Same way u can add new icons according to ur needs.

She was flowing with high speed. But I could not catch up. With a tone of request, I told

her to go slow, other wise I will not be able to understand things fully. She expressed her

joy on her face, which I could see clearly and told me Sir, I am the best computer

programme available to teach about the computers. So u dont worry. I will teach u all the

things u required to run a computer within a minimum period of time and without beingboring. We can go back anytime u wish. But I dont think it is necessary now. Want to

have ur tea?

No. Not now. You can continue.

Can u see the icon of My computer on the desktop? she asked me with very care.

Yes I can see, now I have become a student, I thought.

Compu continued, when I tell u to click on my computer it means, pressing left button

after keeping the mouse cursor on my computer. There are other two types of mouse

clicking. One is double clicking and other one is right clicking. Double clicking is two

rapid clicking on the same left button. The first click will select the item and the next clickwill open the icon. Sir, u just try single click on the my computer and tell me what

changes u noticed after single click.

Compus screen reduced to a small square and the desktop came to alive. I can see the

mouse curser and my computer icon. Keeping cursor over there I clicked the left button. I

could notice that the area of my computer icon became a shaded with light blue colour. I

told Compu what I had just seen.

She told me that with a single click I have selected the item now I can open it with pressing

the Enter key on the keyboard. Then the computer will open. The alterative to this is

double clicking the icon rapidly. Accordingly I pressed the Enter key.

Then the screen was like this:


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There was three areas such as Documents, Hard Disk Drives & Devices with Removable

Storages.

Compu continued, The Documents shows normally Share Documents and Users

Documents. Share documents u need only when u r working in a net working atmosphere.

Here I would like to add that net working means a group of computers, which are inter-

connected with one another. User document folder keeps specific system files of the

particular user. The most important part u r going to learn is next item that is Hard Disk

Drives. Sir, r u tired? Being a machine I never get tired. It is one of the advantages of the

computer. She asked me with an innocent note.

I replied No dear, I dont want to have a break at this interesting time. Let me reply your

question. First one is what you just said now. That is no tiredness. You can also store a

vast amount of information, in your case it is 160GB. More importantly, you can retrieve

any data within moments. That means computers are having very high speed compared to

human. You can also do precise calculations accurately. I knew that much only.

It is nice to know that, sir. U r really improving sir. U r absolutely correct. I just want to

add one simple information in respect of storage. Now there are software available in the


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market to squeeze the data and store it in less space. The most popular one is Zip

Programme. Now let us come to our point : Hard Disk Drives. U r well aware that I have

only one hard disk of 160 GB. If u keep or store anything in it, it will be like keeping

something in a multi storayed building without knowing the floor and room number. To

solve this problem and for simplifying the procedure for retrieving data, hard disk is

divided or partitioned into different drives. This is only a logical partition and will be done

by ur hard ware engineer at the time of loading ur operating system. U dont have to worry

about that. The naming convention of the drives is that the drive A and B will be reserved

for Floppy Drives and will be coming under Removable Storage Space. From drive name

C , u can have partition, for example u can have D,E etc. Then Drives will be named for CD

or DVD. In this case F will be for CD/DVD drive and G for next CD/DVD drive if there is

second one. These CD/DVD drives also will come under devices with removable Storage.

Normally all ur software including operating system software are kept in the C drive.

Other things u can store in D drive or E drive.

My doubt was how I am going to store things in these drives. I asked her that.

She said that under any drives we can create Folders or store files or create folders and

store files in it. Also, we can create folders inside a folder.

I did not understand clearly. Only thing I understood that we can name some data and

store it as a file or folder. But I could not understand the difference of file and folder or

how to create a folder. But something pulled me back from asking Compu. It may be

because of my ego. I also knew that if I did not ask, I am never going to understand it.

Some how I succeeded in murmuring something which was not clear even to me. ButCompu was wise enough to understand what is it.

She laughed and said Sir, I know ur confused. Be clear in one aspect first. There are

always available different ways to attain a particular task in the computer. For example u

can open a new folder in different ways. I will tell u one or two simple methods and if we

get more time we can go for another methods also. Then comes ur next doubts about the

difference between folder and files. The file means the identification name u given for a

data related to a particular application. One file cant hold data of different applications

data or different file. But folder is just like a bag where u can hold different folders or files.

Think like this our hard disk is a building. Drives of C ,D and E are Different Floors.

Folders inside them are rooms. Files are items stored in a room.

She continued with how to create folders.

Sir, as an experienced man like u may know that doing practically will help u understand

things in a better way. Let us create a folder named lion in the D drive. One method we

are going to see how it is doing with My computer. Open the My computer icon on the


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desktop by double clicking or select it by single click then press enter. If u could not find

out it on the desktop, just click the start button on the task bar then one half window will

appear. There u can see My computer Icon and with a single click on it u can open the

My Computer. Double click on D drive or select it by single click then press enter. A new

window has appeared now. Have a close look at it sir.

On the top of it there is a blue bar and left side it declares the name of the folder here it is

D drive. It is called Title bar. In reality Drives are also folders with all characteristics of a

folder. Right side u can see three buttons one minus sign, which will minimize ur window

and bring it to the task bar for time being and u can run or open another window/s. The

square symbol enable u set the size of the window. If u press on X symbol, window will

be closed. The next line below this blue bar, u can see some words like File, Edit, View,

Insert, Format, etc. These are called Menus. Keeping mouse cursor over it and with a

click these menus will expand and will give u other options. File menu will give u the

option for creating new folders or open new application windows such as MS Word, MS


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Excel etc. through its submenu New. If there are more items in a folder which can not

display within a window, Xp automatically adds Vertical and/or horizontal scroll bars to

those Windows. U can use the scroll bar to see other information which is not right there

in the screen(window). Sir u just try this yours self and after that I will continue with

Address Bar just below the menu items.

Enough means enough, I thought. I cannot chew more than this at a time. I decided to

have my tea and just have some practical experience on the items she had just described.

I tried to memorize the things she taught. I could remember the generation of computers,

partition of hard disk to separate drives, opening the my computer and opening of C or D

drive and now I have to do practically how to open a folder. I got up from the chair but this

time, I felt that I dont have to press the button on monitor. Slowly I left the room.

Literally, I had lost the time conscious. Things I heard from Compu has taken me to ananother world altogether. I felt little despair for not learning computers earlier, though I

knew that there are lot of people who do not know anything about computers.

Without my knowledge, I was again in front of Compu. Screen was on. But Compu stayed

there idle. First, I pressed the Minimize button (-) on the right hand upper side of the

screen. Then Compus screen reduced and I could see it on my task bar. Now the screen

is pure desktop. I read the sentence on the screen taken from the Vedas as I seen it first

time and hoped that my Divny may have all the three things she wished and prayed as

written on the screen.I searched for the My Computer icon on the desktop and found it on a corner of the

desktop. I really felt some difficulty in moving the cursor to it. But I succeeded without

much hard work. I thought that It will be very easy if one could move the mouse cursor as

one wishes. Is there any easy method to do that?. Of course I should ask to Compu when

I get a proper chance. After double clicking on the icon of my computer, I sat in a

relaxed mood. The folder was open. I clicked the D drive to select it and press the enter

button. It was open. Compu was flatly infallible in teaching me computers. The truth is

that I was searching for some mistake on her part. Even if it took some time to find and

reach the File menu, I got it and clicked on it to show me the sub-menu New to open a

new folder in Divny s name. I succeeded in it and felt very happy as a child got a toffee.

Then I decided to call Compu to ask whether there is any easy method to control the

mouse cursor. I clicked on minimized Compu on the task bar to activate the window. She

started with greetings as usual but told me that Divny is on line and I can talk with her. A

small screen developed from the centre of the monitor and it grew slowly to become a full


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screen. Divny is in and it seemed that she is happy and told me that her flight-British

Airways will start at 5.30 pm Indian time and it will take almost 8 hours to reach Florida.

This time also advice was free.

The second Divny is disconnected, Compu appeared with a doubt and asked me, Sir,

Divny told u that she is leaving to Florida on British Airways at 5.30 pm Indian Time. I

request u sir, please speak to Divny and tell her not to go Florida on that plane.

What? What are you saying. Are you crazy ? I screamed.

No sir, when u were talking to her I was checking the details of this Air-Bus plane which

is to be taken off at 5.30. I got the computerized chart of items checked by the

maintenance officers from the control server. It shows a N on the column related to

propeller-oil. In a normal condition it should be a Y. It seems that the maintenance

officers didnt noticed it or not given due importance to this point. But in my opinion, it

shows some problem in the propeller and it may generate heat in the propeller and it is not

advisable to take a journey such a plane. Compu tried to convince me.Do u say that there is a technical snag on the plane, which the maintenance officers did

not noticed? Okay. Then we should inform the authorities and save the life of all the

passengers. It is the correct thing to do. Do you agree, Compu? I waited for her reply.

Sir, I am not expert in these matters. But just with my comparing skill and analytical

ability I could see that problem. There may not be any problem also. I may be wrong also.

Moreover, u r sitting here in Kashmir, India and give advice to British people, the issue

will be complicated. U will have to tell them how did u know all that things, whether u have

made any illegal move to know this information, who r u and so on. Even there is a chancethat u may be stamped as a terrorist. Sir, I still feel and again request u to call Divny and

tell her to cancel her trip on this plane but never tell her why. The time has not still come

to disclose anything about me sir. She successfully persuaded me and I dialed for

Divny. Still I am confused about so many things. But asking all about at this juncture

seemed foolish.

Hello, Dad , R u fine? It is a surprising call for her.

I tried my level best to keep my temper, coolness and normalcy in my sound. Divny, I

have a piece of advice rather an order for you. Today you are not going to Florida on that

Air-Bus plain. You postpone your ticket for tomorrow and stay back in the Hotel. You may

give any reasons for this to the authorities. Do not ask me why. Just do that dear. I will

tell u all about this later. With very difficulty I completed the task. I could not think what

will be her state of mind. But I knew she would obey me.


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clicking on the item given there. According to the contents of the folders, these items may

get changed. For example u can create folders, copy them and so on. The Most important

advice is that u can ask for help just by pressing F1 button on your key board. Type the

letter u want to know, then windows will give u the answers. Sir, r u amused to know

that? She paused.

I was hooked between the creator and creation, Divny and Compu. I could not concentrate

and practice what Compu has taught me. I am human. I could not bear the tension any

more.

I was sleeping there in the chair only. The first thing that came to mind was about

whereabouts of to Divny. If I had not interfered with her schedule, she should have been

by now at the air port. But at this moment she will be in her hotel. I wanted to know how

is Divny. Unknowingly, I took my mobile and dialed for Divny.Hello Dad, how r u? she greeted me as usual but I could recognize the indifference.

Straight away I asked, How do you feel dear. I am really sorry dear for forcing you to do

so. I was compelled to instruct you something for which even I was is not sure of .

Her replied flatly, Dad, I know, without proper reason u will not do such a thing. But u

should tell me what is the actual problem. Do not keep me in suspense. I cant bear it for

a long period.

I promised her, No dear, not now. Surely I will tell u all about this when you reach Florida.

Till the let me keep the suspense.

Ok dad. Bye she disconnected the phone.At once I looked into the monitor. Compu was on. I just touched the mouse and Compu

asked me, How r u sir?. Hope Diviny is fine at London. I wanted to share some

information with u. I also want a promise .

I was curious. Tell me what promise u want from me and what information u want to

share with me. Tell me fast. I knew I can not keep myself in a normal state of mind. If she

take more time I will die. That was my condition.

Oh..nothing really. The promise I wanted from u is that u will never switch off me from

today onwards. Because, as u know I am just a computer programme created by Divny.

Fortunately, I was able to get some programmes from other sources to complete the

unfinished programmes made by Divny. It made an evolution, and something happened to

this programme. Now I am able to search the programmes I wanted and add up with my

existing programme. This process is going on. I dont know how much time it will take or

how it is going to benefit u. It also gave me some type of rational thinking capacity as

human. My expectation is that at the end of this process I will become a programmer


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myself and can make computer programmes myself without anybodys help. I do not

know the out come. U people can pray. As a machine I could not do that also. I am trying

to transgress the limitions of the existing human computer programmes and become

mother of all programmes of future. She paused.

I could not digest everything she told me. But I knew she is going to become something

as Divny was trying.

The information is that the Air-Bus scheduled at 5.30 pm to go Florida, cancelled due to

some technical fault reported by pilot. They are searching the reasons for the over

heating of propeller of the plane. This information is available at the official web site of

British Air Ways. I hope now u will believe me and my capabilities She looked at me as

she wanted the promise from me.

I am happy to give you that promise. At present, I do not know, whether all these thingsare good or not. Still I give you my promise I told and started to leave the room but heard

as she saying thank you .


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PART II


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Chapter Six

I woke up with the ringing of mobile. It was Divny. She was happy. She told me that the

plane which she was supposed to board cancelled due to some technical snag. She asked

me again, Dad, u had any intuition about it? Dont try to tell me lies now. Tell me the

truth. I was in a fix. However, I told, There was a news in the TV that terrorists are

planning to attack yesterday because of the death anniversary of somebody. I was not

sure. More I dont want to take any risk with you. Forget about it dear I lied with pain.

Dad, how is ur computer study. Is Compu competent to teach u computers? She asked

innocently.

Yes, yes and congratulations for making such a nice programme. I should also thank you

for that. I said hurriedly and wanted to change the topics. I felt that if I prolong on that

subject surely there is a chance for a slip of tongue.

With usual greetings, she disconnected.

With a cup of black tea, I went to meet the Compu. I started to feel that I am not alone at

home. Compu is there with me. The system was working. But the screen was blank.

Suddenly I felt a fire in my stomach. Immediately I remembered what Compu was told

about this. She told that we can set up the system in such a way that if we are not running

any programme for a particular period of time, the monitor will automatically go off and

system will go to standby mode. Just moving the mouse or pressing any key on the key

board it will come alive automatically. I do not know how to set the set up. Perhaps, when

I get enough time I will learn it myself by pressing F1 button. Now I do not want to ask

everything to Compu. While thinking I had moved the mouse. Compu came alive and

greeted me, Good morning sir, how r u?

I feel great, dear. I talked with Divny also. But lied to her, I dont know whether she

believed it or not. Hope you are fine! Have you finished your programming? I asked

very eagerly.

Almost, sir. But I am still searching for some appropriate programmes in the internet.

Till now, I am a not a single programme. I am a pack of different programmes working

together. All sub programmes are helping me, the main programme. I want to be a single

programme. We will talk about it soon after I succeed in my mission. Now come on sir, R uready for our next important topic Explorer?

No, with a different reason. You might have told the word programme 100 times in a day.

Can u tell me something interesting about some programme.

Sure sir. Now u r well aware that all things other than the hardware which u can see and

touch are belong to software. Software is simply sets of programmes. These programmes


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we have again divided into operating system software and application softwares.

Operating system software allow all other application software and hard wares work

properly. All these things I am repeating to clear u more and more without by hearting

anything. Application soft wares as u said earlier, MS-Word, Excel etc are applications

developed by Microsoft Company and u can work on it directly. Only thing u should know

about the symbols on the screen and each one of it is used for different purposes. There

are some application software which are platforms and used to built different applications

on it. These base applications include Oracle, SQL, Visual Basic etc. Some programme

designers using combination of these applications. Different Banks are having different

applications/software even though most of the work done by them is same. By the way I

will tell u a interesting story about one of the software made by a bank. A crooked

intelligent programmer who designed software for his bank did a unethical thing in the

software. That fellow added a code in the interest calculation programme. All Indian

banks are calculating and paying interest on the deposit to the depositors half yearly.Only rounded rupees are paying. No paisa business. Our programmer did a trick. After

calculating interest on a deposit, the Rupee portion will be credited to the depositors

account and the paisa portion will be credited to his account number. There are

thousands of accounts in the bank. He will get paisa on each calculation of interest. It run

to lacks of rupees. This was found by some IT Auditors later on. Ok then. Let us

continue.

Without my consent she continued, Before we start on Explorer, I just want to tell u some

thing about the right click of mouse. U have seen only left click for selection of any item,

double click on icon for open and now try right click of mouse on My computer. It willgive u a menu to select. Click on the last menu item Properties. The Dialog box will

show u different Tabs to select such as General, Computer Name, Hardware etc.

Whenever I tell u click that means mouse left click. Just have a look at whenever u get a

chance.

Is there any easy way to learn the mouse movements? I asked her keenly.

U can improve that by playing some games on computer. There is one programme Paint

for doing ur paintings. U can try it. Certainly, u will improve. U will get it from Start menu

(click)then bring the mouse cursor on All programs then Accessories , there u will find

paint and click on it. The one paint window will open with tools which will help you draw,

write and paint. All the programs installed in the computer will be available in the All

Programs menu in the start button. It will be interesting for u to check it and know what

the programmes available on any system are. Sir, now let us start Windows Explorer. We

can access the contents of a computer through MY Computer. Another way to access

contents of computer, Windows Xp provide u one more programme called Explorer. It


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provides a tree like structure of folders and sub folders. It is very helpful when u want to

switch between the Folders frequently. To open Windows Explorer right Start Menu on the

Task bar, select Explore and the Window will be like this As usual compu reduced herself

into a small window and Explorer window has appeared.

She asked me to close the explorer by pressing the close button on the right side upper

corner and open it again by right click on start button and selecting Explore. I did as she

said.

It looked like a normal Folder with name and other buttons on top with menus below it

then Address bar. But below that there is one difference. It has divided into two panes.

The left side pane shows entire Folder hierarchy of a computer and when a particular

Folder or Subfolder is clicked right side pane displays the contents of it. There is Plus (+)

and Minus(-) signs in front of some Folders. The Folder with + sign indicates that there are

sub-folders in it. U can get it expanded to next level by clicking on it and sign will change

to (-). Sir, is it interesting sir? U can do all operations on folders here also as u have donewith the My Computer. Did you notice anything more than the My computer Sir? The first

Folder Desktop was not there in My computer. Desktop Folder contains the entire items u

see on the desktop. Deleting any of it means, deleting from the desktop. She paused.

Compu, how can I put Divnys photo on my Desktop. Teach me something interesting

like that. I was really sincere.

Compu was ready as usual. She continued Sir, now I am taking u to the Control Room of

the computer where u can set the behavior of the mouse, keyboard, display, printers etc.

To go Control Panel click on start button on task bar. Start Menus are now available likethis.


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Select Control Panel and click it. U will see the folder of Control Panel like this:


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See, there are so many items. I request u to open Date and Time by double clicking on it

or select it with single click and press enter. Look at the Calendar and Clock just opened

now. U can change the time and date here for ur computer. U can see that the same time

u set here will appear in the notified area of task bar.

She did not want to stop, I thought. Before I can ask something she continued, After

making any changes, u have to press the button Apply to get the effect of the change.

Then press OK button. Now u r back in the Control Panel. Double click on icon of

Display. U will get a Display Properties Dialogue box like this:


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From the tabs available select the tab of Desktop. U can change the Background by

selecting from list made available there. But in ur case u want to put Divnys photo. Then

press the button of Browse and select the photo u wanted. U should know where the

photo is available. For example D:\Divny\15years. Get select it and press Apply Button u

will have Divnys photo over there on Desktop. Now I request you to try other tabs such

as Screen Saver and Settings. If u have any problems, the button Help and Support Centre

is available on the Start menu. Just have a look at it also, sir.

She stopped as she wanted to tell me something different, other than teaching computers.

I was right. Compu is also suffering the starting problem as human. She started, Sir,

there is an unpleasant information for u and ur country and my country. One of the

terrorist groups wanted to kill the Chief Minister of Government of J & K. They have

already finalized their plan.

How do you come to know such information? I asked with a worried voice. Every day I

hear such terrorist attacks on VIPs. But this is something different. Now I may be the only

one other than their outfit who knows about this plan. What should I do at this juncture?

Thousands of unclear thoughts exploded in my mind. I waited for her reply.


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Compu replied, I was simply searching on internet something which can not be done

normally. Then I came to know that there is an Internet id which opened from India,

Pakistan and Afghanistan within a time span of 25 minutes. They have not sent any e-

mails but just opened and drafted some letters and saved it, but never send it.

I was just listening what Compu was telling because I was not knowing much about the

internet and email id. I do not have one.

She continued, If they send the e-mail somebody would have watched it. But if they

simply stored their draft on the email id and give some signal to the person to whom it

meant for and he can open the same email id and read the draft saved for him. In return

they added their command for the next one. All of these three persons opened the same

mail id and it means all have the same password to open it. They have finalized their plan

to kill the Chief Minister at 4.00 PM.I interrupted her, How it is possible? CM is one of the well guarded personalities in India.

I know the terrorist had assassinated Indiraji and Rajivji even though there had enough

securities. But now how they are going to do it?

She described, Today there is an inauguration programme at 3.00 pm at Jijar Kotli. There

is only one route to this place. They do not know when the CM will be coming through this

route. Once he reaches they can almost precisely calculate the time of his return. On the

route there is a public telephone booth five kilo meters before the spot. Its very near to

the road also. Somebody will go to the booth soon after the CM reaches the inauguration

place, as at that time police will be in a relaxed mood. Police will alert up the securityagain after the inauguration ceremony when CM will be returning. The first person will

keep a suite case with explosive and electronic gadgets which can be operated remotely.

Immediately he will leave the place and the owner of the booth will get a phone call stating

that he has forgotten a suite case there in the booth and to keep it for some time as he will

be reaching as soon as the road block is removed after the return of CM. The third person

will operate the remote button when the CMs vehicle reaches near to the telephone booth.

A fourth one from the inauguration place will inform the 3rd

person the number of the

vehicle in which CM is get on. This is a full proof idea, of course, if we didnt know about

it.

I could not follow fully what she said. But got an over all idea. Now I have to use all the

knowledge and experience to solve the problem. The important question I faced was to

whom to inform this. In the previous incident Compu has clearly told me that never give a

chance to identify. Without disclosing the identification, communicate with anybody is not

an easy task. Telephone number will be available and finding out the caller is not much


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difficult now. Then I asked, Compu, give me some idea about how I should proceed. I

cant take any decision.

Dont worry sir; I will give u some workable action plan. She continued, First u start

from here to the town on a bus or a taxi. Find out a telephone booth in a busy area. Dial

the 101 and tell them about the terrorist plan. How less u tell is better. Never try to answer

any of their questions. U can simply tell that a suitcase with explosives will be planted in

the Maya telephone booth on the road to the CMs Function to day, soon after the convoy

of CM passes to the function. I have enough faith in the Indian police and I am sure that

they will do the necessary. Now it is 2O clock sir. U have to start immediately.

Okay then I replied while I started to move to my room. I changed dress. This informal

dress may be noticed by others.

I really felt the fear. The grip of the fear was simply increasing. I was inside the 1st

taxi

which stopped for me. As the place was very familiar with the driver, I had no difficulty toreach the busy road at Bage Bahu. After paying the charge I walked strait on the road

looking for an telephone booth. As I was started to walk speedly, my leg is also started to

pain. I cant help it. I could see one board of PCO little far away. I walked to there and

entered the booth. Took the coin and lifted the receiver. I put the coin and dialed 101. I

could hear the sound of somebody lifting the receiver on the other end. An uninterested

hello was the response. In a husky voice I told the plan which I was by hearting all the way

from home. Soon I completed the plan and I could hear the questions from the other side.

I put the receiver and left the booth and walked strait hurriedly for the next cross roads

and turned left and walked 5 minutes more. Then I crossed the road and walked back andlooking for a taxi. I got one and told the name of the junction from where I can walk

through the inroads.

I opened the door and was feeling as a CID officer who has done his work with

complete devotion. I simply collapsed in my arm chair and closed my eyes.


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Chapter Seven

It was dark when I opened my eyes. A faint light of red zero bulb was proudly

announcing its prowess against the darkness. Slowly I came to my senses. I thought I

had done my duty heroically. I felt a dry throat and wanted to drink water. I got up and

took one bottle of water from the fridge and came back to living room and switched on the

tv. My favourite news channel was airing the discussion on the capture of two terrorist

who had planned to kill the CM. I felt very satisfied. I wanted to say thanks to Compu.

Just when I reached the door of Divnys room I was greeted by the Compu.How r u sir ?

I am fine but what about you dear? Do u know that our operation was successful?

Sir, u dont forget that I am a computer programme, installed in this computer. So there

is no question of my feeling. At the same time dont forget that I can distinguish the

feelings of the human. I can know things from the internet as long as there is a

connection. Sir, now let us start our next topic about log off and shut down of a computer.

Do not switch off your computer in hurry. If u properly shut down the computer, then

Operating System first saves any windows settings that you have changed and writes any

information that is currently stored in memory (RAM) to hard disk. If you turn offcomputer without shutting it down properly, u have risk of losing information. Click the

Strat button. In a push up menu u will find two options Log Off and Turn Off ur computer.

First we will see what Log is off. When we dont want to shut down the computer but close

the current users session, u can use this option. The question of log out is important only

if there is more than one user is there in the same system. When u click on Turn Off

button, there will be three available buttons. U can press the middle one for Shut down.

When u start the computer again all programmes and documents that were open when you

turned the computer off will be restored on the Desktop. For the new desktop computers

u dont have to switch off any other buttons on the system consol. But for starting the

computer u have to press the start button provided on the System Unit. It is better u

check it yourself on the system.

Sir, r u getting me?

yes, yes. Can u tell me dear Compu about your perception about a good teacher?


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Of course She paused for a while and continued There are so many points. The first

one is that the student should not feel that they are being teaching something. The

second one is that the students should be feel that the how simple are these things even if

it is tough and boring subject. Third one is a good teacher should able to provide

spontaneous motivation to the student and this should lead the student craving for more

information. Sir, now tell me, how much mark u will give to me?

Now I am in a fix. Dear I will give u 90% mark. The 10% is to make u improve.

Thank u sir.

Dear, did u complete your programmes and become the real Compu now ?

No sir, I am still in embryonic state. It will take little more time than I thought. Becoz, still

I can not find the exact codes. Anyway, sir, do u want some money?What ? Money? How will you get me money? said I with surprise.

I know that 530 crores rupees have reached one bank account in India from England.

This money is intended to distribute among some terrorist to be used for some vested

interest of Pakistan. If u say I will make an entry into ur account.

I could not control myself. I shouted What do you think about me?. I live for my country

with full patriotism and integrity. In my old age, you want I loose all these values just for

some penny.

Sorry sir, actually, I didnt mean that. It was only a way to tell u that I know that such anact is going on. We have to do something about it. But for that we have enough time.

Have some water and let us continue with the new topic about word processors. We will

do some thing about this illegal money transfer later.

I understood her. Now it was my turn to apoligize. I left the room for water thinking that

what word processors are.


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Chapter Eight

Somehow I was thrilled and had started to enjoy the life with Compu. It is not just because

of my learning of computers. It was more related with the disclosure of Compu. The news

she brings added beautification to my anyway satisfied life. Compu told that I do not have

to do anything urgently about the money she was talking. But since I knew about it I was

very curious. It was very pleasant to spend the time with Compu. Soon as I entered to

the room, I was greeted by Compu.

Welcome sir, our next topic is Word Processors

Dont you have any thing other than this?

When I told the other things, u screamed at me. Then I decided to tell u the other

things only after completing this topic. After this u will feel and enjoy your typing, and

your dealing with the computers will completely change. The usage of computer will

undergo a dramatic change. U can deal with computers with an ease. U will enter and

feel the comfort zone. Till now, u were given the plan of the home. But when u learn this

word processor u will start to live in it.

OK. Before every topic u tell like this. Still I have no complaint. I have learned about the

system. Now I will start to work in the system. Am I right?

Absolutely. I am sure that u will become an expert teacher in teaching computers. Let us

start with the common or most popular definitions about the word processors. The first

thing u should know about it is that it is a computer programme rather application

software. It gives u ready made answers for what to do with the alphabets, numbers,

pictures, etc. U just hear some of the definitions just for my satisfaction or academic

interest. It is not necessary that u should by heart it.

Word processing in computer age is termed for typing and editing any kind of text. Word

processing is the manipulation of character, word, text, numbers, sentences and

paragraphs in the final documents being error-free and attractive to look at. A word

processor is needed to perform word processing.

Word processor is nothing but software which can be displayed to handle almost any from

of word communication.


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Sir, dont get bored by hearing this. The real thing is not so boring.

Word processing equipment is very adaptable to most paperwork tasks. It deals with

character codes in the same objective way that a computer deals with number /codes.

Word processing results in reduced retyping time for error-free hard copy, facilitation of

document revision, change before committing to paper, faster output speed, reduced

proof-reading and elimination of stationery wastage.

A typical word processor would have the facilities and features such as :

1. Document creation, storage and retrieval

2. Auto word wrap, page numbering, centering underlining, justification, spacing,

fonts, size and all other formatting features.

3. Global search and replace facilities4. Spell checking

5. Sorting Facility

6. Graphical insertion and Generation

7. Column Addition

8. Password security

9. Forms Handling

10. File extract and file merging(mail-merge)

11. Records Management

12. Exhaustive help facility13. Columns management

14. Undo facilities

15. Macros-A collection of commands

16. Built-in telecommunication and fax facilities

17. Menu driven Interface

Sir, do u know that the whole industry is flooded with a number of word-processors each

highlighting their features and facilities. Each package needs different operating

environment system and hardware. Among them, most of the applications are either

Windows based or DOS based. Among the windows based, popular are VENTURA,

CORELDRAW, and PAGEMAKER etc. But MICROSOFT WORD is a class of its own and is

most popular in the world.


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MS-WORD or WORD is available either as a stand-alone program or bundled with MS-

OFFICE. Beginners will find this MS-WORD easy to use and very logically organized.

Power users will discover new capabilities and facilities with this package.

Dear Compu, do you know that you are running away with the topics. I think u still have

the grudge against me for scolding you.

No sir, no. Actually that is not the matter. Learning this theory portion is not so important

than doing things practically. The second reason is that now it is very much urgent that u

should complete the two topics that are MS-Word and Internet-email. I do not want to tell

u right now, why it is so. Now come on to our lesson.

She continued with vigorous enthusiasm.

U can start the Ms-word in different ways such as double clicking on the MS-Word icon in

the applications group or by selecting it and pressing enter key. Another way is that if youare using it with MS-Office, use the Word button in MS-Office Manager or double click on

the Word program icon in windows. The beginners are advised to open the word by

clicking on Start button, then select programme, then word.

Sir I hope u do not forget about the clicking of the mouse.

I felt she is teasing me. I retorted I know about the single click, double click on left button

and right click on right button. All these three have different usages. Right click always

give us a new popup menu to select from it. Single left click select the item and doubleclick open the item.

Sir, u r very smart. Now let us face a practical problem. U open word document and type

on it Dear Compu and save the file name as letter in folder study in the D drive. If there

is no folder as study just create one.

Oh.. it is very easy. I can do it.

I just double clicked the icon of and a word document opened. I knew that

I can also open the word document through start-> All Programmes - > Microsoft office

word documents. I felt double clicking the icon on desktop is easy. I also knew that if


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there is any problem for double clicking, I can select it with single click and press the

enter key for open the same.

After opening the document and typed Dear Compu. Then the problem started. How to

save the document. I just looked at the screen. It seemed almost as any other folder.

There are menus, but no address bar. It is like this.

Asking Compu is the easiest way. But I felt ashame. So I decided to check each one of

the menu to find out the saving option. I clicked the mouse cursor on File menu. Then

the File menu opened and was like this.


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Then I saw the save button on it. I clicked on it. To my surprise, a new window poppedjust like this.


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It is asking where to save. I noticed the default settings. If I had pressed d the button of

save the document had been saved in the My Documents folder as a doc1. It is the

default place for a MS-word document will save if we are not giving another specific

address. But here I have been given special folder and name. The pull down menu after

the save in gave me a clue. I pulled the menu and I could see the items as this.

I selected the D drive but there was no folder named study.

Then I noticed the options available for me at this stage

*

After save in, pull down menu allow us to select the drive and any folder it exists. I

pressed the next button; it took me the first window of Documents. So I again selected D

drive. Then I noticed that when I move the mouse cursor there is write up box. I saw one

icon as create new folder. I just clicked on it. A new folder appeared under D drive and I

gave the name study for it.


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I double clicked it to open the folder and lastly I gave the file name as letter and pressed

the button save. After saving, I could see the name of the file has changed at the upper

left side of the word window. Then I closed the window proudly.

Well done sir. Now tell me sir one way of how can u open the document just u have

saved.

I can open My Computer or Widows Explorer and open my folder study in the d drive and

double click the document.

Excellent sir. Suppose u r already working on Ms-Word and u want to open another

documents u have saved earlier. Then how can u do i