How-To change mouse cursor or pointer

In the last couple of lessons we have spoken about the mouse options.  We started with right click, left click, double click, etc.

The last time in our tutorial I spoke about the mouse pointers, or computer pointers.

Today’s How-To Guide for the Computer Beginner lesson is normally asked one of these ways:

How do you change the mouse cursor?

How to change your computer cursor?

How to change the computer pointer?

As you can see people call it different things.  I normally refer to it as a computer pointer.


Today, I will start with the Windows 7 and Vista, and then Windows XP.  I have had a hard time finding good documentation on older operating systems for this.  I will update later if I found sites for you.

For Windows Vista or Windows 7 you have two ways of doing this.

Find an open space on your desktop, and right click and you will see a menu looking similar to this.   You want to move down to ‘personalize’ to open the next menu. 

We want to go down the list of options until we find ‘mouse pointers’.  Click the blue letters that say ‘mouse pointers’ to open the next menu choice.




Towards the top you will see a tab called ‘pointers’.  I have used a green arrow to point to where I’m speaking about.

The Scheme can be chosen from clicking on the drop down list.  Please see blue arrow this time.  Scroll down the list to pick a theme that you may think you will like.

You can preview what your mouse pointers or mouse cursors will look like before you make your selection.  You see the preview in the section I highlighted in yellow.

You can preview as many as you wish, but when you have settled on the one you like?  Make sure you click the ‘ok’ button at the bottom that I pointed to with a purple arrow.

If you don’t want to change anything?  Click cancel, or the red X at the top to close the menu.

That was easy wasn’t it?  You can change your theme as much as you like now!



I consider that the ‘fast way’ to change the mouse cursor or computer pointer.

The second way?  Click Start Button, and the move over to click on control panel.

In the top left hand corner of the ‘control panel’ screen make sure you are on the ‘control panel home’, and not the classic view. 

You can tell by the dot I circled in the picture.  If your dot is next to ‘classic view’ click on ‘control panel home’ white letters to change it.  This way the rest of my instructions will make sense to you.



In the control panel look for the follow sections:

Look for the ‘appearance and personalization’ section, and click on the green letters that say ‘appearance and personalization’.




Next look for the section called ‘Personalization’, and click on its green letters ‘personalization’.




You will notice the same ‘blue letter’ mouse pointer section we spoke about above is present. 

Just follow the same instructions as we spoke about above after clicking on the blue letters that say, ‘mouse pointers’

Changing the mouse cursors in XP is similar.

We will go to the start button to control panel,



and then ‘printers and other hardware’. We are NOT in the classic view for this lesson.








You will click on MOUSE, and then your mouse properties window will open.






Look for Pointers.   You may have noticed this is similar to Windows Vista or Windows 7.   You have the scheme drop down list to make your choice, and also your preview section.  The Preview you would just scroll down to see.  Make your choice, and click OK at the bottom once again.  Tech Recipes has additional comments.


At this point I really have not found any reliable information on how to do this with older operating systems.  I will update this lesson if I do find them.

That is our How-To Lesson for the Computer Beginner on how do you change the mouse cursor, computer cursor, or computer pointer.  YES take your pick as to what you want to call them!

If you have any questions or comments – or if something isn’t clear?  Please leave a comment in the section provided for you.

Lastly, don’t forget to subscribe for future lessons to be sent directly to your email box.  You can do this by typing in your email in our subscribe section below.

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Names for mouse cursors, pointers or arrows

I’m sure most have noticed some of the images pictured in the oval.  These are computer pointers.

  I have also heard it referred to as computer arrow, or computer cursor.



Today’s How-to Guide for the Computer Beginner is about

computer pointers.

This is just a standard computer pointer.  There are variety of different looks to computer pointers, and you can even download different ones online if you wish.   When you see this standard computer pointer everything would seem fine.  It normally appears on your desktop once you computer is done loading itself completely.  This pointer is what you use to select and execute files, programs, etc.

Note:  Make sure you know the dangers of downloading  pointers, and how to keep yourself safe before you do!

Question Mark Pointer

You notice the question mark next to the computer pointer?  In some screens either in a computer program or if you are searching the internet you will notice some symbols in the upper right hand screen (normally).    The question mark below would be similar to what you would see.At times it could be as obvious as a question mark, and normally it would be near the X that means close the screen.   

Other times your pointer will change to one with a question mark if the site has additional information, or goes into more detail.  Its basically prompting you that they have additional information about the subject at hand if you wish to see it.

Hour Glass Pointer

Next you may have an hourglass next to your computer pointer, at times just an hour glass, or the circle that we have pictured today.  This is called a background busy pointer or cursor.  It is telling you that the computer is running some task or job at the present time. 


You may notice this pointer when you first turn on your computer, and the machine is loading all the programs before you can do anything.  I notice I get a similar type of message when I print PDF forms online for grocery rebates.    The computer is basically asking you to wait until it done before you do anything else. 

At times YES you can do something else, but your computer maybe very slow or the program can crash (stop working).

There are certain times in which you would only see an hour glass, and you will not be able to do anything else on the computer until it has finished its job.  You can think of it as, ‘Please wait.  We only have resources for this one job right now!”

I-Beam Pointer

or Yes it almost looks like an letter I for ice cream doesn’t it? 

You may not have noticed this text pointer, but we use it all the time.  This is also called a ‘i-beam’ pointer.  Did you ever notice when you are typing a word into a search engine, or typing a web address?  You have a blinking text pointer.    I don’t notice it all that often, because its small and blinks.  It just looks like a line most of the time to me. 

You will see it on the blinking in your address bar for this blog if you place your cursor click there.



You will see if you enter your email address in our subscription box to received future lessons by email! (giggles)


The I-beam pointer indicates that text can be highlighted, inserted or changed.  To select a word with the I-beam, double-click in the middle of any word and to select an entire line of text or paragraph click the button quickly three times. To select a portion of text, click at the beginning or end of the text and while holding down the mouse button drag left, right, up, or down.

I will tell you some places are more touchy than others.  I can use certain sites to fill out the rebate forms online like I spoke of, and it’s a breeze.  There are other sites I just have to keep clicking before it moves. 

I have no idea why some sites are like that, and others are not.  My daughter's  laptop I have hard time doing this task completely.    That is when I take out a mouse, and stop using her touchpad. 

Link Pointer

Other times you may see a hand appear that seems to be pointing at something.  This is generally called a link pointer. 

You may have noticed on our blog we tend to link old tutorials to the present ones.  I have tried to break lessons down by one topic at a time. 

That way if I mention icons in a lesson, and you aren’t sure what an icon is? You can click that link to open the lesson.  The red word ‘icons’ has a link now.   If you hover over it?  You will see how your pointer or cursor changes to show you there is a link there with a hand like this one. 

Unavailable or Prohibited Pointer

There will be times in which you want to ‘click’ on something, and your mouse gives you a icon looking similar to this the red one I have pictured here.  The icon is basically telling you that what you are trying to click is unavailable.

Graphic Pointers

Computer Pointers that tend to be used for graphics, drawings, photo, etc.
The arrow icons are used when you are resizing.  The arrows point to the direction strength the image size.  You can make it taller, shorter, or increase or decrease the over size.



  This is a move pointer.  When you click the center, and hold it?  You can drag the image where you want it.
this is a precision pointer.  You would normally use this to line things up. 

These types of computer pointers would be used if you wanted to place pictures up online for lets say Photobucket, or Google’s Picasa.  I have included an introduction video about Picasa.   Don’t let the features intimidate you, because they do make them user friendly.   These programs or sites allow you to customize your photos.  The graphic pointers / cursors  are something you will see there.

Tells you about a free photo service Picasa that uses graphic pointers

Keep in mind some computer pointers, or computer cursors, computer arrows, or computer icons – whatever someone has labeled them can be similar, but not look perfectly like the ones on your computer.  If you have noticed doing a web search for these pointers?  You get tons of sites telling you that free ones are available for download.  I never felt the need personally, but it can be a fun thing to do for some.  I know my children have found some they like.

Here is a quote from a Microsoft administrator when someone asked about free pointers for download:

Some advise:
• Cursor files themselves are not inherently dangerous, so you should be able to download cursors without much fear.  As always, make sure you're running a good Anti-Malware/Anti-Virus program, such as the free Microsoft Security Essentials product.
• Cursors themselves should end with either a .ani or .cur file name, and should never require "installation" for a basic cursor.  If you're prompted to install something, be wary and proceeded carefully.
• Exception:  For more advanced cursor effects, there are installable programs such as CursorFX from a company named StarDock.  This company is reputable and has done work with and for Microsoft (example, they developed the Windows Vista DreamScene expansions).  CursorFX isn't a free product, however.  And of course, you may not want to have extra software installed just to show cursors.

Microsoft used to make themes and cursors, but they stopped doing that for more than 10 years I believe I read.

That is today’s How-To Guide for the computer beginner on Mouse pointers, cursors, arrows.  I hope we showed you how to identify them.

As always, if you have question or comment to make this lesson better?  Or just plain don’t understand something?  Please leave a comment in the section provided.

Also, leave your email in the subscription box to receive new lessons by email as they come out.

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How-To Use The Computer Mouse

Today’s How-to Guide for the computer beginner is about the computer mouse. 

 

More Specifically, how you use your computer mouse.

 

Once upon a time in computer history everything was done by keyboard, and a mouse was unheard of.  Today most people use a click of the mouse to get their tasks done quickly, and some use a combination of keyboard shortcuts and the use of the mouse.

Lets talk MOUSE MEASUREMENT!

I have to admit at first when the mouse came out I had to get used to how to MOVE it.  I don’t know about anyone else, but when I moved it I overshot my target.   Lets say, I wanted to move 3 inches to the left.  So I would move my mouse over 3 inches.  I would then look at my monitor with curiosity, because the mouse pointer was GONE!  The mouse pointer moved WAY more than 3 inches.

This is an image of a computer pointer.  Most pointers are pretty similar, and yours may look like this.  What I had to figure out is that computer’s use of measurement called, DPI.  DPI stands for dots per inch.  The mouse DPI means that, the number of points in 1 cm square which are read by mouse sensor.  Some pointers are more sensitive than others.

 

The best way to learn about your mouse?  Is practice!  I learned very quickly that I didn’t have to move my mouse anywhere NEAR 3 inches on my mouse pad to accomplish 3 inches across on the monitor itself.  Yes, then I undershot the target at times.  Believe it or not practice is the best way to get used to the measurement.  Before you know it this will be come second nature.

 

Laptops to me are even MORE sensitive in my opinion.  The mouse on the laptop is called the touchpad.  Today we will be touching on right click, left click.  When using a laptop see the picture here for where that is located.

 

Honestly?  My daughter has a laptop that I use from time to time.  (Ahem – normally when she wants me to repair something… giggles) I have never really got used the touchpad, and I normally plug in a computer mouse in a port that are normally available for you on the laptop itself.  Everyone is different, and some people are not bothered at all by the touchpad.  Its personal preference, but for myself?  I hate the stupid touchpads.  My daughter just thinks I’m strange on that aspect, but WHATEVER as the kids say today!

 

The next thing that confused me is what happens when I reach the edge of the mouse pad, and I still want to move it more in one direction?  The direction doesn’t matter.  It could be left, right, top or bottom.  What do you do when you run out of mouse pad space?  You learn to lift the mouse slightly up, and literally drop it somewhere else on the mouse pad to accommodate your task.   You will notice when you lift the mouse off the mouse pad your computer pointer doesn’t move.  Once you hit the surface of the mouse pad?  The pointer moves again.

 

The Computer Mouse Button Basics

Right click or left click?  One click or Two?

I’m sure you have notice that most of the computer mouse’s have 2 buttons, and a wheel in the center.  Click basically refers to the noise the computer mouse makes when you push the button.

 

 

Left Click means you push the left button with your index finger normally.    This is also called the ‘select button’. 

 

For example, someone asks you to select an icon on your desktop.   If you look at my icon for a Chinese Chicken Salad recipe pictured you will notice the icon was highlighted when I selected it by left clicking ONCE on the icon itself.

 

Notice with computer ‘lingo’ when someone asks you to ‘click’ it means use the left mouse button, and click it once.  If you get a request of ‘double click on (insert request)’ it means you will be executing something.  For example, if I wanted to VIEW my recipe pictured?  I would click twice very quickly on the icon, and the webpage would execute and open.   This is referred to as ‘double click’ or ‘double clicking’.

 

 

Right Click means you push the right button.  The right mouse button is also called the ‘menu’ button.

 

Lets take for example, I already have that Chinese Chicken recipe.  There is no need to keep the icon on my desktop anymore.  I want to get rid of it.    I would first ‘select’ the icon by left clicking once.  I would then right click on the highlighted chicken recipe.  A ‘menu’ of options will come up.  One of the options would be ‘delete’ as we have pictured.   You would move the mouse down (holding the right click down or moving your wheel) to the the words ‘delete’, and your selection will highlight.  You notice the word ‘delete’ is highlighted.  You will release your right click, and push your left click button once.  You will then get a message about if you are sure you want to move to your recycle bin.

 

Keep in mind MOST files, applications, programs or what have you give you a right click menu option.  Some do not. 

 

Note:  I honestly can’t think of ONE thing I have ever had to use with double click on the right button.  That is NOT to say some applications don’t have special instructions to do so.  I just never came across anything asking me to double click with your right button before.  When you are asked to double click?  Unless you are told otherwise?  Use your left button.

 

Also always assume you will use the left button, unless it is specified.  Right clicks are always pointed out in general.

Last but NOT least is your wheel.  Some people may call it your special button, or center button.  I’m not the only one that calls it wheel, but wanted to be sure you knew the other terminology.

 

When the computer mouse was brand new it didn’t come with a wheel.  You would have to push both buttons down to do specials tasks like moving up and down.  If you move your wheel now you will notice that your screen rises up towards the top, or goes down depending on the direction you twirl it.

 

The computer mouse like most things in regard to computers has come a long way.  Some mice have more than two buttons.  If have extra buttons?  You can generally google the name of your mouse (look on the bottom of it), and the manufacturer of the mouse should have instructions for you online. 

 

Nowadays?  The three options – left click, right click, or wheel are the only ones mentioned most of the time.

 

So lets summarize everything for you!

 

• A Click - Press the Left (or Right) Mouse Button once.  Right clicks will be mentioned specially.
• A Double Click - Press the Left (or Right) Mouse Button twice, quite fast, on the same spot.   Always assume left button unless mentioned to use right button.
• Placing the Mouse Pointer over an Icon and then clicking on it highlights that icon only.
• Placing the Mouse Pointer over an Icon and then double clicking on it highlights and selects that icon. The second click executes the program, or what is called LAUNCH something.
• Clicking the Right Mouse Button, whilst the mouse pointer is over a menu-item or icon, displays a Menu (if the software supports this function).
• Wheel is also called center button, special button.

 

I hope I answered your questions today with today’s How-To Guide for the Computer Beginner on how to use your computer mouse.  (YES at times its referred to as mice as well, but not as often)

 

If you have questions or comments please feel free to use our comment section below.

 

Also make sure you enter your email address in the box below to subscribe.  The lessons will come to your email automatically.

 

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What are the different types of computers?

Image via Wikipedia

What are the different types of computers?
Goodness knows there are enough of them!

As you may have guess today’s How-To Guide for the Computer Beginner is to go over the different types of computers.

I will go over various types of computers today, and show you different photos of different types of computers so it will be easier to visualize.

I will go down a little personal history lane as well to remind you how far we have come with the different types of computers!

Desktop Computer or Desktop PC

This is the type of desktop computer years ago, and you really thought you were doing great!

I remember those ugly screens, and those green letters on the monitor. 

If you look below the monitor you will see the floppy drive.   The 5 1/4 floppy disks were extremely fragile, and yet you needed to make sure you stored your important files on them.

I have to wonder if these older computers are part of the reason I wear glasses today!  When I look at the newer desktop computers today?  WOW what a difference!

YIKES have we come a long way!

PC = Personal Computer

This last picture could also be part of a work station, but we will talk about that later.

These can also be referred to as a personal computer.

Computer Tower


One of the different types of computers is something you may have already.  The computer tower I have pictured here is a bit older.  It still has the 3.5 floppy drive.  Today those drives are not even used anymore, nor do computer towers even COME with them most of the time!

The computer tower was a different type of computer than the past.  It was tall, and you could add more than one hard drive, floppy drive, CD Rom, etc.  It was the wave of the future!  If you wanted the CD rom on a computer?   You would have updated to one of these computer towers.  The early desktop computers didn’t have them from what I remember.

Today’s computer towers you don’t have your floppy drive, and at the time if you wanted to be cutting edge (with the old computer tower) you wanted different CD rom drives to lets say burn information, or make videos.   Its quite amazing now because the CD rom drives of today will even burn in image with lasers onto your DVD or CD roms instead of having the write the title on them now.

Your CD rom was great for storage of your files, and when you got your NEW computer tower?  You had a CD rom for each and every program in the past.  If you ran out of memory or hard drive space?  The towers of old – just as today – were meant to be able to expand.

Computer towers started to take over the traditional desktop you see above.   Although you do see the desktop computers they aren’t as popular as they once were.

The Technology advanced so much I’m sure we could put your entire blocks old computer tower information into ONE home personal computer today.

Laptop Computer


You also have your laptop computer. I have seen most young adults take these to college with them.

What I would have done to get my hands on THIS laptop compared to the green fonted monster pictured above from IBM.

Laptops are meant for portability, and they are not as powerful (most of the time) as desktop computers.  Everything has to be more compact.

PDA (Personal Digital Assistant)


 Most people refer to this type of computer as a PDA.

PDA Stands for Personal Digital Assistant.

Generic term for handheld devices such as Palm Pilots that are commonly used to store address and calendar information. Newer models include networking features.


Years ago I had one, and it was nice…but the battery life was awful.



I had my calendar, contacts, etc online, and I would ‘sync’ as they called it when I got home.  Basically you hooked up the device with a cable to your computer, and executed some software. 

The software would look for changes, and update both locations – the PDA and the online location.  It was nice when you placed notes in the device while you were away from the office.  You also had a copy of your most recently notes from the computer WITH YOU to make appts, notes, and update address information.

Today?  Everything is wireless, and I’m sure sync software is obsolete.  When I think of the history of the personal digital assistant?  Its really neat to think how powerful they are today.


This different type of computer is also called handheld computer.

Personally, this would drive me up a tree! I don't want to type on something this small, and because my sight isn't the best. That screen would drive me nuts! There are people that love this type of computer, but its NOT for me!

It reminds me of the new and improved cell phones doesn’t it?  Our new and improved cell phones could be considered a PDA.

Tablet PC

This image with is different looking computer isn’t it?  This is the tablet PC.

With a Tablet PC you use an electronic stylus to write on the screen, just like with a pen and paper, only your words are in digital ink.

The Tablet PC saves your work just like you wrote it (as a picture), or you can let the Hand Recognition (HR) software turn your chicken-scratches into regular text.

Yes you can also put the button with your stylus like a keyboard as well.  Its neat to look at the progress that the tablet PC has made with time.


The Computer Workstation
They refer to this as a computer work station. The workstation to me is basically the whole complete package. Monitor, tower, keyboard, mouse, etc. Workstation is also connected to a network.


When talking about PC computers, most people probably think of the desktop type, which are designed to sit on your desk.

PC stands for Personal Computer. The tower and the smaller mini-tower style cases have become popular as people started needing more room for extra drives inside – as we talked about.

The Workstation is computers that are all connected together.

A workstation that is part of a computer network and generally would be expected to have more than a regular desktop PC like memory, storage space, and speed.

If you see the picture networked means they are also connected together, and they share things like the printer or the scanner.



MainFrame Computer


This is called a mainframe computer. A main frame is the heart of a network of computers or terminals which allows hundreds of people to work at the same time on the same data.

It requires a special environment - cold and dry.

Example of Use:
Larger companies use this to hold on to information regarding your orders, contact information, etc. You may be talking to customer service but your information lands in one of these guys!   If you call one morning and speak to a representative in Illinois, and the next day call back and speak to California?  Chances are they are using the network hooked up together, and possibly on the same main frame.

In the early days of computing, mainframes were huge computers that could fill an entire room or even a whole floor! As the size of computers has diminished while the power has increased, the term mainframe has fallen out of use in favor of enterprise server. You'll still hear the term used, particularly in large companies to describe the huge machines processing millions of transactions every day.

SuperComputer

This is an example of a supercomputer. We are talking HUGE companies that use these. These are used for jobs that take massive amounts of calculating, like weather forecasting, engineering design and testing, serious decryption, economic forecasting, etc. Top 500 supercomputer site will show you these big daddies of the computer world!



The Server

When you talk about the various types of computer we shouldn’t leave out the server.

Have you ever called a company, and they told you they can't help you right now because their server went down? This is a picture of a server that might be used in smaller companies or home networks.

There are a couple of different types of servers, and here is a link to some computer definitions of server.

A computer that has been optimized to provide services to other work station computers over a network. Servers usually have powerful processors, lots of memory and large hard drives.   In this picture the brown tower would be the server.


Wearable Computers


NOW you can be ahead of some of your friends! THIS is called a wearable computer! Can you believe it?

According to Wikipedia®

Wearable computers are computers that are worn on the body. They have been applied to areas such as behavioral modeling, health monitoring systems, information technologies and media development. Wearable computers are especially useful for applications that require computational support while the user's hands, voice, eyes or attention are actively engaged with the physical environment.

One of the main features of a wearable computer is consistency. There is a constant interaction between the computer and user, ie. there is no need to turn the device on or off.

Another feature is the ability to multi-task. It is not necessary to stop what you are doing to use the device; it is augmented into all other actions. These devices can be incorporated by the user to act like a prosthetic. It can therefore be an extension of the user’s mind and/or body.  Amazing isn’t it?

Well! There you go with some of the different types of computers!   I’m sure with time we have to revised this article again.  The industry just keeps changing.

I hope you learned something today with out How-To Guide for the computer beginner lesson on ‘different types of computers’.

If you have any questions, comments, or don't understand something please use the comment section at the top of the lesson. How do you do that?? Click HERE to see how to comment on a blog!

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