5.5 DESKTOP
In most modern computers, you can see the desktop which is a part of Graphical User
Interface (GUI). A desktop is a place which holds icons, files, folders etc. Desktop is a
visible image which covers the entire screen. The desktop environment provides GUI to
the Personal Computer users. On the desktop you can find several small images called as
icons. These Icons may also be found on the toolbars and in the menus of computer
application software such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel etc . Icons are more user friendly compare to text-based commands.
(A desktop is a
place which holds
icons, files, folders
etc.)
Desktop is the background area on our computer screen. We can customize our desktop
in several ways. We can add background picture, background color etc. on a desktop.
Icons on a desktop are small graphical images which represents various items found on a
desktop such as my computer, recycle bin, my documents etc. We can also rename an
icon by right-clicking on it.
Some of the commonly used items found on a Desktop are:
My Computer
My Documents
Recycle Bin
Task Bar
5.5.1 My Computer
This icon displays the main components of your computer. You can open any of the
items in this window to further examine the components of your computer by clicking on
my computer icon. It displays different drives/disks attached with the computer.
5.5.2 My Documents
It is the default space where all the files are stored unless we specifically instruct the
computer to save at a specified location. It is a special folder where the system stores
user’s files, pictures, music, download etc.
5.5.3 Recycle Bin
In Windows Operating System, Recycle Bin is a temporary folder which holds files and
folders before it is permanently deleted from the storage devices. The Recycle Bin only
stores, files deleted from hard drives, not from removable media, such as memory cards
and pen drive/ flash drives. It also doesn't store files deleted from network drives. We can
also restore the files from the recycle bin to its original location.
It is also possible that you can bypass the recycle bin and the files deleted will be directly
removed from the computer without moving it to the recycle bin. For this you keep
holding the SHIFT key and delete the desired files.
Sometimes it might happen that we need to restore the files which has been deleted
accidentally. You can restore the deleted files from recycle bin. For this follow these
steps :
- Double click the icon of recycle bin on your desktop
- Choose a file which you want to restore back and right-click on it and then click restore .
- To restore all the files in the recycle bin click on restore all items.
5.5.4 Taskbar
The taskbar is the long horizontal bar at the bottom of your screen. It is used to launch
and monitor running applications. It has four main sections:
- The Start button which opens the start menu.
- The quick launch toolbar which allows you to open programs with a single click..
- The middle section allows you to see the documents and programs which you have opened and to switch between them.
- The notification area, which includes a clock and icons which shows the status of certain programs and computer settings.
5.6 INTERNET ON A PC
Internet is the backbone of modern communication system. In today’s life, we are
dependent on the internet for almost everything from information collection to carry out
various activities such as reservation, online shopping and education. Internet is a
collection of computers world over connected together to share various resources.
There are various ways to connect an internet. Generally dial-up connection and
broadband connection are the two types of internet connections which are used
commonly.
5.6.1 Dial-up Internet Connection
It is a way to connect to the internet in which public switched telephone network
(PSTN) is used to make a Internet connection via telephone lines to an internet
service provider (ISP). In dial-up connection telephone network is of prime
importance. Since dial-up connection requires telephone lines which have limited
capacity. Its transmission speed is limited and it is slow. Generally dialup operate
at speeds of 14.4Kbit, 28.8Kbit, or 56Kbit. Dialup speeds vary by the quality of
the phone line and the many different user configurations. A MODEM is required
for dial-up internet connection. MODEM is short form of modulator-demodulator.
A modem is a hardware device or a software application program that is used in a
computer to transmit data/ information over a network such as a telephone or
cable lines. In computer information is stored in digital form whereas information
transmitted over telephone lines is transmitted in the form of analog signal. A
modem is used to convert between these two forms of analog to digital and vice
versa. Now-a-days, dial-up connections are gradually being replaced by Broadband
connections.
5.6.2 Broadband Internet Connection
Broadband Connection is a high data rate connection as compared to dial-up connection.
Broadband has very high rate of data transmission. In contrast to dialup connection, it is a
permanent connection, which can be set up over a high-speed communication links.
Generally, an internet connection of 256 kbps (kilo byte per second) or more is
considered as broadband Internet connection. Multimedia applications such as video and
computer games, can be downloaded very quickly and easily with broadband connection
which was not possible, as fast in dial-up connection.
Webcasting is nothing but broadcasting on the internet. This facility is possible only due to high speed internet connection such as broadband connection. When we distribute
same media files over the internet to different users using streaming media technology, it
is called as webcast. Now-a-days, online web media is a great source of information and
it is being successfully used in different sectors such as education, entertainment,
technology etc. Online education is one of the most important field which is using this
facility. You can find several webcast academic classes on the internet by experts. Even
you can find the web lecturers on web link: https://deepakmaury.blogspot.com/
5.6.3 Proxy Server
Proxy server is used in a computer network. Proxy server is a server which acts as an
intermediary between the client application and the Web server. Proxy server is used to
improve performance and for filtering purposes. In an organization, proxy server can be
used to prevent its employee to access certain types of website. It provides security and
check to the overall system. It can also improve the performance of the network. Suppose
two users access the web through proxy server. If user X requests a webpage, say page 1.
Sometime later if user Y requests the same page then this request will not forwarded to
the web server. Proxy server simply returns the same page which it has access for user X,
thus saving lot of time.
Proxy server is a server which acts as an intermediary between the client application and the Web server
1. On the Tools menu in Internet Explorer, you click Internet Options, click the
Connections tab, and then click LAN Settings.
2. Under Proxy server, click to select the Use a proxy server for your LAN chec box.
In the Address box, type the IP address of the proxy server.
3. In the Port box, type the port number that is used by the proxy server for client
connections. The port number by default is 8080.
4. You can click to select the Bypass proxy server for local addresses check box if you
do not want the proxy server computer to be used when you connect to a computer on the local network (this may speed up performance).
5. Click OK to close the LAN Settings dialog box.
6. Click OK again to close the Internet Options dialog box.
You will learn in more details about computer networks and Internet in Block 3 of this course.
👉Check Your Progress-3
1. True/False
(a) A Desktop is a storage area for software and programs.
(b) Recycle bin is the default space where all the files are stored unless we
specifically instruct the computer to save at a specified location.
(c) Direct connection and dial-up connection are two main methods to connect to
Internet.
(d) For dial up connection to the Internet, you need to have an account on an ISP.
2. Fill in blanks
(i) …………… is a temporary folder which holds files and folders before it is
permanently deleted from the storage devices. Recycle bin
(ii) The most common desktop environment on Personal Computer is ……………
(iii) A ………….. is an area which holds windows, menus, icons etc. desktop
3. What is desktop on a computer? What are different items found on desktop?
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
4. What are the different methods for accessing the internet? Explain methods.
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
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