Epiphany: This is a Computer I am Using

Published on February 5, 2005 By TaBoo Tenente In Personal Computing

I am not rewriting metaphysical treatises on existentialism or empathizing with Joycean characters neglected by Dublin, Ireland. But time parted for me and I held the universe in my palm for an endless segment of reality.

This took place as the New Year began. Slumped back into this hairy, soggy desk chair as usual, typing into an article my half-formed thoughts, I suddenly understood a simple, yet profound truth: I am using a computer.

I admit that I am no genius. I feel comfortable placing that failure in clear view for the jury to witness. My girlfriend will give damning testimony to the fact that I tend toward oblivious observation, witnessing little and remembering nothing. I reveal these startling character flaws with courage, and I maintain faith in social empathy that my slow evolution will find resonance amongst the masses.

I understand, so to speak, that I am using a computer. Nevertheless, I have no idea what I am using. Inspecting my XP through Explorer, I nod and smile at folders that appear. I wink to demonstrate my awareness when I spy the ".exe" or ".doc" rounding off some unusual file name. Somewhat bashfully, I admit that I understand the topical significance of ".jpg" and ".gif", and off the record, I could give accounting (should it prove necessary) for where these particular files were found.

However, my computer has an organization, a code language, and what appears to be a free-mason clanary to which I am no participant. Some Entity blacklisted me from the beginning. No self-respecting operating system will give me the time of day.

I discovered HTML: comprehension lapped at the heels of my epiphany, and I developed a general conception of the World Wide Web. I discovered the "View Source" command and I entered a new life.

Of course, that places me soundly at square number one, goo-gooing at the world like an infant. I want to ask the masters a simple question: Where do I begin? If I spoke to a cleric of any stripe, a solemn finger would point toward Genesis. If I spoke to a Professor of Philosophy, the finger would point toward Greece. But where to begin, when what I want to learn about is my computer?

Shall I begin with the Operating System? Hardware? Software? Files? C+ or HTML or Java or. . . come on, now. There must be a place to begin. Who will help me? Copyright ©2004, ©2005, ©2006 Joshua Suchman. All rights reserved.
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Comments

kingbee

on Feb 05, 2005

Where do I begin?

this would very likely be easy to answer...if we hadda computer

i'm notta programmer, an engineer, i'm sorta seriously mechanically challenged and i've never studied electronics. i've assembled all the windows systems ive owned (the first of which consisted entirely of discarded and scrounged components) and i've learned all i know by doing things all the many wrong ways first before finally arriving at a solution soley by benefit of having exhausted all the other possibilities.

with that outta the way, i came to understand the basics of binary thanks to a book called 'soul of a brand new machine' which has very little else in the way of relevance because technology has moved on. my knowledge of how components interact inside the case comes mostly from studying mainboard user manuals (an exercise similar to using the rosetta stone to interpret the us tax code due to the vagaries of translation of generic technical documents) and conversations with other blindfolded persons offering opinions as to what an elephant is like.

the best i can offer is this: be cautious but not undaunted by all the layers of complexity and, if youre compelled by curiousity to find out for yourself what would happen if...only make one change at a time. oh and remember to unplug the thing before you start. if nothing happens when you try to power up after youve done whatever you feel needs doing, don't freak til you check to make sure you've plugged it back in.

TaBoo Tenente

on Feb 05, 2005

so you suggest dissecting an old computer, then identifying and tinkering with the components? it actually sounds kind of fun. but what about understanding, say, windows organization? is there a site or manual that will start me on the path to understanding file extensions? and i have played around with html lesson sites for the last month or so. it seems to help, but what to do about java and xml stuff?

probably my biggest problem is that im not thinking from the ground up. maybe i should take your advice and start with the pieces.

kingbee

on Feb 05, 2005

what about understanding, say, windows organization?

sorry i didnt mean to suggest that was the best way of approaching things. more of a warning that i know even less than i should hahahahaha.

as you prolly know there are basically three elements involved: hardware, software and an operating system.

there's tons of online information about windows, linux and mac operating systems--what theyre intended to do, how they do it (conceptually and in practice), how to tweak em to do stuff differently, etc--with most focusing on windows cuz it's most widely used in 'personal' computers (as opposed to unix, etc).

you can also find full-on tuturials and courses about all three elements online. try searching in about.com for some of those.

software (with the notable exception of cross-platform/cross os stuff like java) is written to accomodate or take advantage of a specific operating system or os family's functions.

file exension protocols--like a lotta other stuff--arent universally cross-platform or cross-os, but pretty much so and fortunately there are no horrible conflicts of which im aware. theres a couple pretty good sites (google for -- file extension followed by the extension with the dot in front inside quotes so it looks like this without the brackets: [ file exension ".pdf" ]. if you browse around them, youll find some extensions that are used for 2 different file types (fortunately again, usually file types that are rarely encountered by anyone with good sense hahahah) the extension enables association with applications that are capable of handling the specific data contained.

html and xml are somewhat similar in function rather than method. both are intended to enable browsers or similar applications to act as an interface to render data in a visually accessible format for users. once again, tons and tons of introductions to theory and use are available online.

java is sorta a hybrid programming language/rendering engine also with lots of documentation online.

as i said earlier, i have no formal training in any of this so i may be innaccurately describing/defining some of this stuff

ill browse thru my bookmarks and try to point you to sites ive found helpful.

TaBoo Tenente

on Feb 06, 2005

thank you very much for all of this, kingbee. i have printed out your entire response, and am proceeding to bookmark everything you pointed toward. i also really like the idea of tinkering with a computer--i may actually have something that my girlfriend wont destroy me for destroying.

im sure i will be trying to track you down for some more tips as i get a clue or two. you have been very helpful, kb. thanks again.

tbt

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