Jargon Busting: OSs, GUIs and Shells

What is an Operating System?

An operating system, or OS, is software that enables you to operate the computer. It manages the opening of files, the monitor display, printing, access to networks, and so on. The chances are you are using a version of Windows as your operating system, but this is not the only OS available. Others include the various versions of linux (such as Ubuntu) which are generally available for free, and OSX, which is the latest operating system for Apple Macs. The various operating systems will tend to look different from one another, they will store files in different ways, and will also run different programs. So, a program written for Windows will not work on Linux unless it is run through an emulator or another piece of software that acts like a translator, such as WINE.


What on Earth is a GUI?

GUI (pronounced 'gooey') stands for Graphical User Interface, and this refers to all the visual elements of an operating system, all the windows, icons, menus, buttons, tick boxes, etc. The user can interact with each of these elements using a mouse or other pointing device, which helped to make computers more accessible and in some ways kicked off the PC revolution.

A graphical user interface can be contrasted with old fashioned command line interfaces (CLIs) like MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System). If you are interested, you can have a glance at the past by running the command prompt which shows what a command line interface looked like: open a Run dialog ('Run' on the start menu or Windows key & R) and type 'cmd' and press OK. You will then see something like this:


In the days before windows this is what most operating systems looked like. You can relive these bygone ages by typing 'edit' and pressing Enter, this will open the old DOS text editor: a sort of low-tech 'Notepad'. Hold down the Alt key and press the first letter of a menu title to open the associated menu, e.g. Alt & E opens the edit menu. You can even switch to full screen mode by holding down Alt and pressing Enter for that complete retro experience, do the same again to return to Windows.


And shell?

Both GUIs and CLIs are shells. That is, they provide an interface with which the user can manipulate the operating system. On Windows machines the shell is called 'Windows Explorer' although there are alternative shells available for Windows such as the LiteStep GUI.

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Mouse stopped working: how to reinstall

The first thing to do when your mouse stops working is to check the cable connection. There is no point reinstalling the mouse if it isn't plugged in.

The next thing to try is to reboot the PC. I have written instructions on how to reboot a PC using the keyboard.

If after checking the cables and restarting the PC, the mouse still does not work you should try reinstalling the mouse. To do this you need to open the Device Manager, which can be accessed from the System Properties dialog box.

To open the System Properties dialog box hold down a Windows key (the ones with the Windows logo on) and press the Pause/Break key (on most keyboards this will be in a set of three keys to the right of the function keys).

Alternatively you can minimise all windows by holding down the Windows key and pressing D, then use the cursor key to highlight 'My Computer' and press the Application key to open up a menu, from this menu select 'Properties' using the cursor keys and press Enter.

The System Properties dialog will look something like this:


Use the right cursor key to move to the 'Hardware' page. Use the Tab key to move the focus to the 'Device Manager' button and press Enter. If you make a mistake at any time you can press the Escape key to close the System Properties dialog and start again.


This will open up the Device Manager program. To reinstall the mouse do the following:

· Press the Tab key to highlight the computer icon at the top of the list.
· Press the down cursor key repeatedly until 'Mice and other pointing devices' is highlighted (if · you go too far use the up cursor to go back).
· Press the right cursor key to open the sub-list.
· Press the down cursor key to select the mouse.
· Press the Application key to open up a context menu
· Use the down cursor key to move to highlight 'Uninstall' and press Enter.
· You will be asked to confirm this, press Enter.
· Wait for a while and then hold down Alt and press A.
· Continue waiting until the 'Action' menu opens.
· Use the down cursor to select 'Scan for hardware changes' and press Enter.
· Wait for a while, after which Windows should detect the mouse and reinstall it.

I have included a video of this process in action, so that you know what you should be seeing as you follow the instructions.

If your mouse still isn't working after this, plug in different mouse to see if that works on your PC. If it does, plug the problem mouse into another PC, if it doesn't work you know there is a hardware problem with your mouse. If a different mouse doesn't work on your PC, something fundamental is wrong with it and you should seek expert technical advice.

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How to reboot Windows using the keyboard

I was writing a post on how to reinstall the mouse using the keyboard when I realised that rebooting the PC using the keyboard would be a required step in the process. So I decided to dedicate a whole post to that topic. I will give a few examples of how this can be done.

Using the Start Menu

· Press a Windows key (the ones with the Windows symbol on as shown right), this will open up the Start Menu.
· Use the cursor keys (the ones with arrows on) to highlight 'Turn off Computer' and press Enter to select it
· A dialog box will open. Use the cursor keys to to highlight 'Shutdown computer', 'Turn off' or whatever your version of Windows says, and press Enter again.

Using the 'three finger salute'

Hold down Ctrl and Alt, and press Delete.

Windows 2000 and XP Home Edition users will be presented with a dialog box with buttons on:
· Use the cursor keys to select the 'Shut Down' button and use Enter to select it.
· Select 'Shut down' from the list using the cursor keys and press Enter one more time.

In other versions of Windows the Task Manager will open:
· Hold down Alt and press U to open the 'Shut Down' menu.
· Use the cursor keys to highlight 'Turn Off' and press Enter.

Hit Alt F4 'till you can't any more

The final method of shutting down that I will explain here is to hold down the Alt key and press F4 repeatedly. This will close every application that is open on Windows and eventually will close Windows itself. You may be asked if you want to save files by some programs, if so use the cursor keys and Enter to get past these dialog boxes.

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How to rename multiple files

Whenever you want to rename multiple files with the same piece of text and an individual number for each file, as in photo1.jpg, photo2.jpg and so on, you usually either have to do this manually or use a batch rename program. Yet, Windows has the facility to do this, albeit in a rough-and-ready way.

To rename multiple files, select all the files you wish to rename (in a previous post I looked at various ways of selecting multiple files). Then either right-click on any of the files and select Rename from the context menu (this method is demonstrated in the following video), or press F2. Type in the new name of the file - including the file extension if it is visible (eg. .doc, .jpg, etc) - and press Enter. All the other selected files will be renamed with an individual number in brackets. So, if you type in photo.jpg, the next file will be called photo (1).jpg, the next photo (2).jpg and so on.

If you think this is a little messy, you can type in the (1) yourself. For example, if you rename the selected file to photo (1).jpg, the next file will be called photo (2).jpg etc.

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Keyboard shortcut of the week: don`t bin it, delete it

Whenever you delete a file it will be sent to the Recycle Bin so that it can be restored if you change you mind (unless the file is too large for the recycle bin).

Sometimes, however, you may want to bypass the Recycle Bin and delete a file completely(ish), to do this highlight the files you wish to delete, hold down the Shift key and press Delete. As with a normal deletion you will be asked to confirm the action.

These files can still be restored by using appropriate software, as I have explained in a previous post, unless the drive they were deleted from is defragmented - even then it may be possible to restore the files, although this requires sophisticated techniques beyond the reach of most users.

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Jargon busting: software

In a new regular feature I will try to translate a few technical terms into plain English. In the first post I will look at some terms about software that you may have seen.

Freeware
Software that the authors retain the copyright for, which is free to use for an unlimited period. The term has come to refer to any free software, such as public domain and open source.

Shareware
Software that can be used for free for a limited period, after which the user will have to pay to continue using it.

Public Domain
Any software that is free to use, which the authors do not retain copyright over.

Adware
Software - free or otherwise - that displays advertisements to generate income for the authors. This type of software often contains spyware.

Proprietary
Technically, any software for which the creator retains copyright or has a patent etc. Generally it used to refer to any software which can only be used with limitations.

Source Code
The actual code authored in a programming language (such as Visual Basic or C++).

Compile/Compiled/Compilation
In order for a program to be used by a computer it has to be compiled from the source code into machine code which the computer can understand.

Executable
A computer program, which is compiled from source code. On Windows these files generally have the extension .exe.

Open Source
Software for which the source code is made available along with the compiled executable.

Some of these are legal terms, others may have meanings that are in dispute. I have tried to give a simple explanation for them to help the non-computer-initiate and as such I have avoided any controversies. Nevertheless, feel free to comment on any of the terms used.

For more technical descriptions of these terms try searching for them on Wikipedia or Google.

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Carnival of Computer Help and Advice

I have decided to start a blog carnival to provide a monthly digest of the best blog articles that offer computer help and advice, preferably those that are written in novice-friendly language.

This carnival will be published on the 27th of each month.

The submission deadline for new articles is the 20th of each month.

Like all blog carnivals, this is a community effort. If you wish to host a carnival you can leave a comment on this article or click here, and if you wish to submit an article for inclusion please click here. The carnival's website can be found here.

[Edit 03/02/08]
As with other blog carnivals the host each month will choose which articles to include.

To be clear, this is not a general technology blog carnival, nor is it a carnival of blogging tips. It is a collection of articles offering help and advice for using computers, which may include articles about free applications but not commercial software.
[End edit]

So without further ado, may I present...

The First Carnival of Computer Help and Advice

To get the ball rolling I have trawled the web for some useful blog articles as examples of what would be suitable for future carnivals.

Jim at Simple PC Talk provides some good advice on How to Update to Office 2007. Speaking of installing software, on the IT Guys blog, CodeWizard has posted a fix for those of you getting Error code 2738 When Installing iTunes + Quicktime on Windows Vista.

Alex Jose's blog offers Tips And Tricks For A Healthy PC, as well as other advice such as how to Remove Security Alerts From System Tray and save us from annoying messages. Nothing is more annoying than a slow PC, Ajith offers advice on making to changes to Windows so that it runs faster at Tweaking Made Easy, such as Stopping Unneeded Startup Services and Making XP boot faster!

Lastly this month, a quality freeware product found by nicky81 at Tips, Tricks & Practice: a freeware Audio Ripper and Converter application that will let you convert audio files using all the most popular formats.

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