| Kind of Machine | ||
| OLD | --> | NEW |
| Mechanical | --> | Electronic |
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This book does not teach you how to use the internet. You see many books today that try to teach you how to do things with your computer. Unfortunately, for many people who try to read these books - they don't understand even the basic things these books are talking about. You are probably one of these people. So, is this a problem? Well, not completely. You can still live a life today without having to directly use computers. But, your life would probably be more inconvenient if you did not use computers because more and more things in the world do use computers. For example, a computer is not simply a metal box connected with a line to a TV-like screen anymore. There are small computers inside many common machines that we use everyday such as our TV, VCR, DVD player, cell phone, digital camera, etc. Because you're reading this book I will assume that you are interested in learning something about computers and the machines I have just mentioned. Thus, I will call all of these things "modern machines."
So, have you ever tried reading one of those computer books before? Maybe you have tried to read the instruction manual as well. Or perhaps someone - your child, a relative, a friend, a teacher - tried to teach you how to use computers before. But, no matter how they explained things, perhaps you still not understand what they were talking about. If so, let me tell you - you are definitely not alone. There are many many people today in the same situation.
So, you might be wondering, why has it always been so difficult for you to learn how to use a modern machines (computer, TV, VCR, DVD player, cell phone, digital camera, etc.)? The problem is that computers and other modern machines are very different from machines in the past. Modern machines do many more things now and do them in sometimes very different ways than machines in the past. Also, because modern machines are so different than past machines, the manufacturers have had to invent new words to describe what these machines do - new words to describe how you use these machines - and also new words for all the new parts found on these machines. Many times the manufacturers will also take an already existing word and give it a new meaning to match these modern machines.
This is the problem. The books that teach how to use modern machines - the instruction manuals for modern machines - and the words your friends and relatives use to describe how to use modern machines - all assume that you already know these new words that they use to talk about modern machines. This is what I plan to teach in this book - that is, the words used by most modern machines that you need to know and understand before you can learn how to use modern machines. You will see that most modern machines use similar, basic words to describe how to use them and what they do. Thus, fortunately, once you learn a basic set of these commonly used words, it will be much easier for you to be able to understand how to use most any modern machine - for example, your computer, TV, VCR, DVD player, cell phone, digital camera, etc. After learning these basic words, the computer books, the instruction manuals, and the directions from your friends and relatives will begin to make some sense to you.Before we continue I want to point out that even though I mention "modern machines" and "words" a lot, these are not really the most accurate words to describe things. But, the goal of this book is to help you, the general consumer. Thus, I don't want to confuse you with more complicated words in the beginning. But, later on we will learn other words that are more specific.
I mentioned earlier that modern machines are very different from machines in the past and that they do many more things now and do them in sometimes very different ways than machines in the past.
In fact, it could be said that each modern machine contains several other "machines" inside it.
What I mean is, for example, you used to use a telephone if you wanted to make calls, you used to use a calculator to make calculations, and you used to need a camera to take pictures. Today, many modern cell phones have a little phone inside them that can be used to make phone calls, have a little calculator inside them to perform calculations, and have a little digital camera inside them to take pictures with. That is, many modern machines now have several other "machines" inside them.
Another example of how modern machines are different now, is that, because modern machines are more complex, the manufacturers have developed new words - new nouns, new verbs, etc. to describe and talk about the new ways these machines work and the new things you can do with them. These new ways and things did not exist before, so a new vocabulary was created to describe them.
The electronics manufacturers made machines for us with many uses and with the intention of "allowing" us to use them in a very easy-to-use manner. The problem that they don't tell you is that their "easy-to-use" manner is often more complicated than anything before. Why? Because it requires you to learn and understand many new words in order to understand what it is that they are talking about. Also, they often use words that already exist but they give new meanings or definitions to them.
So, there has been a big "jump" in the things you need to know to understand the modern machines being sold today? Did everyone suddenly have this new knowledge overnight? Definitely not. This is obvious because so many people to this day are still so confused by the instruction manuals of modern machines. But, unortunately, many instruction manuals do not explain in great detail the meaning of a lot of these new words. They assume that you already know a lot of these before you bought their product.
For example, many modern machines use the word "menu" a lot. A menu is usually a list of foods that you can order at a restaurant. But, in modern machines, menu means a list of things that the machine can do. But, this new definition of "menu" is not fully explained to you in many instruction manuals. The manufacturers automatically assume that in today's world you already understand the "modern" meanining of "menu" in their instruction manuals because all the other manufacturers are using this word.Right now you might be thinking, if these machines have other machines inside them and are so complicated, then why don't I hear anything moving inside them? Well, the thing is that, there are are things moving inside - in fact more things than were moving in older machines. It is just the things that are moving have become much smaller than before. Also, the movement is that of electricity instead of gears and levers, etc.
For example, with an earlier machine such as a typewriter, you would press a button, and that button would be connected to an arm that was connected to another arm that was connected to a metal head shaped like a letter that was then kicked towards the paper and between the metal head and the paper was a ribbon with blank ink so that when the metal head made contact with the ribbon, an imprint of black ink in the shape of the letter was left on the paper. This kind of older style machine I would call a "mechanical" machine. I call it mechanical because it relies mostly on the movements of parts to perform the work that it does (typing letters onto paper).
But today, if you are typing, you usually are doing your typing on a computer. You may have typed on a computer before seen that what you typed appeared on something that looks like a TV screen (what is actually called a computer screen or computer monitor). You press the button and the letter seems to magically appear on the the screen. There is movement in the machine, but most of the movements are now movements of electricity - not the actual movement of parts like before in a typewriter. This kind of modern machine, I would call an "electronic" machine. I call it electronic because it relies mostly on the movement of electricity to perform the work that it does (making letters appear on a computer screen).
Thus, we can say that machines in the past were mostly mechanical machines and that modern machines are mostly electronic machines:
Kind of Machine OLD --> NEW Mechanical --> Electronic
Also, keep in mind that a computer is a kind of Electronic machine.
As you can see, modern machines work differently than machines in the past. As I had mentioned earlier, because of this difference, the manufacturers have had to invent new words to describe what these machines do - new words to describe how you use these machines - and also new words for all the new parts found on these machines. Many times the manufacturers will also take an already existing word and give it a new meaning to match these modern machines.
[PICTURE HERE] For example, many modern machines have something called a menu. This is not a list of foods you can order at a restaurant. The manufacturers have taken the the word menu and given it a new meaning when talking about modern machines. In a modern machine, a menu is a list of other machines that are contained inside this machine. For example, in a cell phone, you will often see a menu on the cell phone screen (the screen is a like a little window or a little TV screen on the cell phone). The menu looks like a list. As I had mentioned before, many modern cell phones have a little phone inside them that can be used to make phone calls, have a little calculator inside them to perform calculations, and have a little digital camera inside them to take pictures with. That is, many modern cell phones now have several other "machines" inside them. Each of these machines - the cell phone, the calculator, the digital camera - are listed on the menu. To use any of these machines, you simply "choose" it from the menu (I will explain how to "choose" later in the book).
Remember as you learn today that most of what you are learning applies to most modern machines. So, once you learn the words they use, the ways to use the machine, keep remembering that what you have learned can be used for a tv, a vcr, a dvd player, a cell phone, a computer, and many other modern machines. I just talked about the idea of a menu - well you will find menus in all of the above machines. Once you learn one machine, it is much easier to figure out all the other machines. Why? Because most of them use similar words (though not always the exact same words) - and you control them in similar ways. Remember that.
Now, lets start learning some words used with modern machines. In this section I will give you a general definition of some common words used with most modern machines. Also, I explain some related things you need to know in order to understand these words and how they are are used. Please note that for some words I list several words, separated by a slash (/). I do this because some things use several words to mean the same thing. That is, for example, in the first word, button, some machines will call a button a key. That is why I wrote button/key.
Take note of these now - you probably won't remember all of them, but don't worry, we will repeat and re-introduce them throughout later examples.
This is the part of the machine that looks like a TV screen. It is usually called a screen. But, with some computers, the screen is separate from the computer, connected to the computer by a line or cable. Those types of screens are usually called monitors and the actual glass in the front part of it (the part that looks like a TV screen) is called the screen.
The screen is how the modern machine communicates with you - the modern machine shows and tells you things by showing you things on the screen. For example, a screen might show you a message that says "Please type your name." Also, things that you tell the modern machine to do will appear on the screen as well. For example, you type the letters "Ron" and the letters "R," "o," and "n" will appear on the screen. So, you could say that the screen shows shows you what the machine is doing now and that the machine also uses the screen to show you that it has received your message about what you wanted the machine to do (that is, the letters you just typed).
This is something you press down with your finger or fingers. They are usually made of plastic and are usually round shaped, square, or rectangular. All modern machines use buttons (some times called keys - these are not like keys to your house - they are more similar to the idea of keys on a piano keyboard). Modern machines need you to tell them what you want them to do (e.g. do you want the machine to make a phone call? do you want the machine to make a letter or some words appear on your screen?). Most modern machines ask you to press buttons to tell the machine what you want it to do. Buttons usually have a letter or symbol drawn on the outside of the button that show you generally what this button will tell the machine to do if you press it. For example, there might be a button that says "On" or this symbol ({|}). Pressing this button would tell the machine to turn on. So, instead of a light switch (like the one on your wall to turn on your lights) you would use a button to turn on your machine instead.
Some buttons have a letter or number printed on the outside. You will see this on a cell phone. On a cell phone, you will see a set of 12 buttons that look just like the 12 buttons you would see on a touchtone telephone. You press these buttons just like you would on a regular telephone - that is to tell the cell phone which phone number to call.
Sometimes the machine will tell you on the screen what happens if you press the button. For example, there might be three buttons, 1,2, and 3 and the screen might tell you "press 1 to continue," "press 2 to cancel," "press 3 to exit." That is, the machine is giving you three choices to make and you press the button that matches the choice you want to make.
When using a computer you will also see a set of buttons that looks like your typewriter keys. These buttons each have a letter printed on the outside of them. Actually, for computers, they usually call these kinds of buttons "keys." You use these buttons just like you would on your typewriter - that is, you press them to tell the computer what to type on your screen.
Anytime you see a word with the word "pad" in it, it means anything flat that you put your hand or fingers on. In this case, a keypad is a set of keys, all grouped into one place. The keys with the numbers printed on them that you find on your cell phone is sometimes called a keypad for example.
Similar to keypad, but this word is usually used to describe the keys that you use for your computer. These keys are grouped onto a long, flat plastic piece. The group of keys will look very similar to the keys on a typewriter, but will also have several extra keys that did not exist on typewriters.
You will see many instructions in modern machines that tell you to press a button or key. When they say "press" a button or key they mean they want you to take your finger (any finger), place it on the side of the button or key the is widest and has a letter, symbol, or word printed on it and then use your finger to push the button or key. Then, lift your finger off of the button or key.
When you are pressing the button or key how long do you need to keep it pressed before lifting your finger off of it? For most buttons or keys you don't need to keep it pressed for too long. Unfortunately, there is no standard for this. That is, each machine made by each manufacturer has different time requirements as for how long you need to keep a button or key pressed. You usually need to a keep a button or key pressed until you see some happen. For example, in a keyboard on a computer, once you press a key on the keyboard, you will see the letter that is printed on the outside of that key instantly appear on the computer screen. Therefore, your pressed the key on the computer keyboard and then on the computer screen you saw a change happen (a letter appeared). Once you see that the change has happened, you know that the computer has recognized that you pressed the key. Once you have seen that computer has recognized that you pressed the key, you can now lift your finger off of the key.
Another example is a cell phone. Say for example, you cell phone is completely turned off (power is off). Many cell phones have a button somewhere (on the side of the cell phone and sometimes directly on the keypad of the cell phone) that is the power button. When you take your finger and press this button, you usually need to keep the button pressed for 3 or 4 seconds. After 3 or 4 seconds, you will see the screen on your cell phone light up, telling you that your cell phone is turned on now. Therefore, you pressed the power button on your cell phone and kept it pressed for a few seconds until you saw a change happen on your cell phone screen. Once you see that the change has happened, you know that the cell phone has recognized that you are pressing the power button. Once you have seen that the cell phone has recognized that you are pressing the power button, you can now lift your finger off the button. Note that power buttons on cell phones usually do require that you keep them pressed for a few seconds before your cell phone will turn on. Why? The manufacturers design it this way to help prevent you from accidentally turning on your cell phone when you did not mean to (for example, if you keep your cell phone in your pants pocket you don't want some small accidental movement in your pocket to press the power button and turn your cell phone on).
Just like in a typewriter, this is when you press buttons or keys to make words and sentences. But, for modern machines, these words and sentences do not appear on paper as you type them. Instead, they appear on the screen of the machine. Type in many situations has the same meaning as the above Press/Hit definition.
This is a tool used by you to tell a computer to do things. This is not the small animal mouse that you might think it is. A mouse is slightly smaller than your hand and usually made of plastic. It is usually oval shaped and rounded on the top. You are supposed to rest your hand on top of it and hold it slightly. You will see that there are 2 or 3 flat buttons right underneath your fingers when your hand is resting on top of the mouse. There sometimes is a wheel like thing in the center of the top of the mouse. You will see a line coming out of one end of the mouse and connected to your computer. The line will come out of the same side where the buttons are on the mouse (that is, the front side, the side your fingers are on - the side that faces away from you). It is called a mouse because some people thing it kind of looks like a mouse.
When you tell a modern machine what to do, often there will be a screen which shows you a list of things you can choose to do. Also, you can tell the machine what to do by using a keypad or keyboard to type letters and words that will appear on the screen. The things you type will tell the ' machine what to do. When you type letters or words, where on the screen will the letters or words appear? You will often see a small line that stands upright like this: or a small square or rectangle that looks like this. This line or square or rectangle will be slowly flashing - that is, it will disappear and then appear once or twice each second. This is a cursor. A cursor shows you exactly where the center of "attention" is on the screen - that is, for example, if you are typing, the cursor shows you exactly where the next letter you type will appear. You can (usually) use the keys on your keypad or keyboard to move your cursor to other places on the screen if you want to type in different places.
This is another kind of cursor similar to the cursor mentioned above, except it usually looks like a small arrow on your screen. Also, it is controlled by the above mentioned mouse. That is, whichever direction your push or pull your mouse, the mouse cursor will move in that direction on the screen. Sometimes you need to use the mouse curor to select choices on your screen - sometimes you will need to use the "regular" cursor mentioned above. Sometimes it is not clear which type of cursor you need to use, so you will have to try both to see which one is supposed to be used. Note that if you use a mouse cursor, you "select" choices on your screen by moving your mouse cursor until it is on top of your choice and then you actually select your choice by pressing down the left side mouse button with your finger(s) and then letting go of the button so that the button naturally comes back up. This action has a name. It is called a "Mouse Click" or just "Click" and is both a verb and a noun.
On a keypad or keyboard, you will see 4 keys (or sometimes one key with 4 sides you can press) that have little arrows drawn on them. There will be one arrow pointing to the right side, one pointing to the left side, one pointing up, and one pointing down. When you use your finger to press any of these keys, the cursor will move in the direction of the arrow. For example, if you press the key with the up arrow, the cursor on the screen will move up.
This is both a verb and a noun. As a verb, sometimes modern machines will tell you to "enter" something onto the screen. In this situation the machine means that it wants you to "type" something into the machine using your keypad or keyboard (and what you type will then appear on the screen).
Enter is sometimes also a noun. Sometimes the machine will tell you to press "Enter." In this situation the machine wants you to press the "Enter" key. On most modern computer keyboards (and also the on the keypad of some other modern machines), there is a key or button that has the word "Enter" printed on the outside of it. This is called the "Enter" key. Thus, when the machine tells you to press enter, they want you to take your finger and press down on the "Enter" key. Take note that on modern computer keyboards, there are sometimes 2 "Enter" keys. They both do the same thing. So, if your computer tells you to press enter, you can press either "Enter" key.
Some computers will ask you to press "Return" instead of press "Enter." Just take note that the meaning is the same. Unfortunately, there is no "Return' key on a modern computer keyboard, so if the cmoputer asks you to press "Return", press the "Enter" key instead.
Modern machines use the color red to mean several things. The most common meanings of the color red are stop, cancel, emergency, attention, or off. For example, you might see a choice on your screen, colored in red. That choice usually will say something like stop or cancel or it might be a message telling you that there is something wrong or that you need to pay attention to an important choice that you will need to make. So, when you see anything colored red, take notice. Think of the color red in a traffic light. It is important to stop your car when you see that the traffic light is red, right? Also, think of the flashing red colors of police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks. This light is usually only used in times of emergencies, right?
Also, you will sometimes see red to indicate "off." When I say "off" this can mean that the power is off (that is, the machine is turned off) but it can also mean that one of the other machines inside your machine is off as well.
Note that you will also see red used as a color that appears on the outside of certain keys and buttons on modern machines.
Modern machines use the color green to mean several things. The most common meanings of the color green are go, enter, OK, or accept, or on. For example, you might see a choice on your screen, colored in green. That choice usually will say something like go or enter (see definition of "enter" above) or it might be a message reminding you that you have accepted a particular choice on the sreen. Think of the color green in a traffic light. When you see green in a traffic light, this means you can drive your car, that is, you can go ahead, continue, things are OK now to proceeed.
Also, you will sometimes see green to indicate "on." When I say "on" this can mean that the power is on (that is, the machine is turned on) but it can also mean that on of the other machines inside your machine is on as well.
Note that you will also see green used as a color that appears on the outside of certain keys and buttons on modern machines.
In addition to red, you will also see the letter "X" used by modern machines to mean stop, cancel, emergency, attention, or off. That is, "X" usually has the same meaning as the color red. In fact, you will often see things on your screen like the letter "X" surrounded by the color red. Or you might see a button on a keypad that has the letter "X" printed on it and the "X" itself is red colored.
Take note that if you see the letter "X" and it is not surrounded by red or is not red itself, then this "X" might not mean stop, cancel, emergency, attention, or off. It might have another meaning.
In addition to green, you will also see the letter "O" used by modern machines to mean OK, go, enter, or accept. That is, "O" usually has the same meaning as the color green. In fact, you will often see things on your screen like the letter "O" surrounded by the color green. Or you might see a button on a keypad that has the letter "O" printed on it and the "O" itself is green colored.
Take note that if you see the letter "O" and it is not surrounded by green or is not green itself, then this "O" might not mean OK, go, enter, or accept. It might have another meaning.
The traditional meaning of menu is a list of foods you can order in a restaurant. The meaning of menu when used with modern machines is a list of features or functions that a machine can perform - or the choices of "on of the other machines" that you can use inside this machine.
In the past, with a typewriter, you pressed a key to tell the typewriter to type out a letter onto your paper. This is the same with modern machines - that is, you also need to tell modern machines what you want them to do. But, modern machines can do many more things than a typewriter or other machines in the past. Also, to list all these choices of things the modern machine can do is a little difficult. You might think that it would be easiest have a button or key for each of the things that the machine can do. The only problem is that modern machines usually can do so many things, you would have to have many many buttons of keys in order to represent all the choices. Thus, modern machines list all these choices in menus.
Menus are a list of choices that appear on your screen. But, because menus are sometimes very large, you do not want them to appear on your screen all the time (otherwise, it would block you from seeing other things on your screen). Thus, menus are usually designed to be "hidden" most of the time. That is, most times you cannot see the menu on your screen. You usually have to press a certain button to "show" the menu on your screen - that is, to make the menu appear. After you have made your choice in the menu, by pressing a button or key or by pointing to a menu choice with your mouse cursor and clicking your mouse button to choose that menu item, the menu will usually automatically hide itself again.
Note that, if you make a menu "show" itself - but change your mind and do not want to select any of the choices on the menu - each modern machine usually gives you a way to exit or "hide" the menu again. For example, on a computer, you can exit or "hide" a menu by pressing an "Esc" (stands for "escape") key on your keyboard. In other machines, look for a red colored button, a menu or home button, an exit button, esc (escape) button, a back button, or simply press the button that you pressed to make the menu appear (that is, pressing this button again often will make the menu "hide" itself).
Features or functions are another name for the other machines contained inside the machine. Each of these machines can be called a feature or function. So, in our earlier example with a cell phone, a cell phone can contain a phone, a calculator, and a digital camera. Thus, you could say that this cell phone's features - or functions - are phone, calculator, and digital camera.
As we know, a modern machine can contain several other machines inside it. Also, we know that many modern machines have a screen. The screen shows us messages that the machine wants to tell you and also when you press any button on the keypad or keyboard the things your pressed or typed appear on the screen as well. But, if you have ever seen a screen, you will notice that it is sometimes small, especially on smaller machines like a cell phone. So, how can you control all the other machines inside the machine using just one screen? The answer is that you can only control each machine one at a time. That is, the screen will only show you one machine at any time. So, if you want to use another machine in your machine, you need to make that machine "appear" on the screen. This switching between machines is called switching "modes." That is, a mode is when a machine you want to use appears on your screen. You can also think of a mode as a doorway or gateway to a machine you want to use. That is, the mode is on your screen so now you can "go inside" that machine and use it.
For example, with a cell phone, when you turn it on, you will see a screen that shows the time and maybe a message welcoming you to your cell phone. If you want to make a phone call, you need to dial the phone number you want to call. So, you press the buttons on your keypad that have numbers printed on the outside of them. You press the buttons that match the phone number you want to dial. You will notice that as you press the buttons, the numbers begin appearing on your screen and some of the things you first saw on your screen will have disappeared (welcome message, etc.). Whether you know if or not, your screen is now in "telephone mode." That is, you are trying to control the telephone machine in your cell phone, so your screen changes to the telephone mode. The screen shows you messages related to making your phone call. So, for many situations, mode has a similar meaning to "machine" (that is, one of the other machines contained inside the machine). Also, note that mode has a similar meaning to features/function (see definition above). The situations where these words have different meanings are too complicated to explain right now, so for the time being, assume that they mean the same thing.
A cell phone's main purpose is to be a telephone, so telephone mode is designed to automatically appear on your screen when you press any of the buttons that have numbers printed on the outside of them. For other machines in your cell phone, you will have to tell the cell phone to switch to the mode for that machine. For example, if you want to use the calculator, how do you tell the cell phone to switch to the calculator mode? You need to go to the menu and select the calculator choice from the menu. How do you make the menu appear on your screen? Sometimes there is a button on your cell phone that has the word "menu" printed on the outside of it. Press that button and the menu of modes (list of modes) will appear on your screen.
When the menu of modes appears on your screen, you will see a choice in the menu that says "calculator" or you might see a small picture or symbol that looks like a calculator or maybe a small picture or symbol that looks like a + (plus) or minus (-) or multiplication (x) sign or equal (=) sign next to each other. Any of these mean "calculator." You might wonder, why does a picture or drawing that looks like "+-x=" mean calculator? Well, if you ever noticed, when you go to a bathroom in a restaurant, many times, on the outside of the bathroom door, they don't say "Men" or "Women" and instead use a small picture or drawing that looks like a man or woman. This small picture or drawing is used to represent either "Men" or "Women." Modern machines also use pictures and drawings to represent words or ideas. So, when confused by a new picuture or drawing on a menu, slow down, relax, take a moment to think what this picture or drawing is trying to represent and most times you will figure it out, most times you will be able to guess correctly.
Let's talk about the menu again. When you see a menu on your cell phone screen how do you choose a choice on the menu? Many cell phones have a 4 sided button with 4 small arrows, one for each side, printed on it. You will notice that one arrow points towards the right, another points to the left, another points upwards and another points downwards. You use this 4 sided button to move the cursor on your cell phone screen, that is you use the cursor to choose which menu item you want. So, if you use your finger and press for example, on the side of the button that has the upward pointing arrow printed on it, the cursor on your screen will move up. If you use your finger and press on the side of the button that has the downward pointing arrow printed on it, the cursor on your screen will move down. The cursor will move one step in the direction of the arrow that you press, each time you press. So, for example if you are looking at the menu and the cursor is on top of the first choice on the menu and you want to choose the third choice down on the menu. You would press the the side of the 4 sided button that has the downward arrow printed on it. Once you have pressed this side of the button once, you will see the curor move down one place and that the cursor now appears on the second choice down. Press the side of the 4 sided button that has the downward arrow printed on it one more time and you will see the cursor move down one more place again and that the cursor now appears on the third choice down. If you want to choose this third choice, look to see if, in the center of the 4 sided button there is an additional button. If so, this is the button you press to choose or select whatever choice your cursor is on on your screen. If there is not a center button, look on your cell phone keypad for any key that says "Enter" of "Go" or has green colored letters or a green colored drawing (for example the O symbol) on it. This would be the button you press to choose or select whatever choice your cursor is on on your screen. Whichever button it is (center button or a green colored button), press it. You will see that your screen will look a little different now. You have now changed to a new mode. That is, you have now changed to the screen of a new machine.
You will see that there are choices on your screen that are related to the mode you have just chosen, that is, related to the machine you have just chosen. For example, if the menu item you chose was "Calculator", you should now see some things on your screen that look like things you find in a calculator. You will see a number cursor (usually showing zero in the beginning) where you can type numbers. You might also see some drawings of a plus (+), minus (-), times (x), or divide ( ) sign and these might be each drawn on one side of a 4 sided figure (which would mean that pressing the matching side of the 4 sided button on your keypad will choose that particular choice. That is, if the plus(+) is drawn on top, if you press the top of your 4 sided button, a plus (+) sign will appear on your screen). This is how modern machines show mode, show new machines on your screen for you.
Note that in our example above, this is just an example. This does not mean that the third choice on every cell phone menu is "Calculator." I just used this example to help show you how to use the directional button on your cell phone, how to show and use menus, how to select menu items, and how to change modes.
[PICTURE HERE] The 4 sided button I have been talking about above can be called a directional button, an arrow button, a cursor button or any other name that the manufacturer wants to call it. But, regardless of what it is called by the manufacturer, they usually look about the same (four sides with an arrow printed on each side). Note though that some cell phones do not have a 4 sided button, but instead they will use 4 different buttons, each with an arrow printed on the outside of it, and found near each other. Sometimes these buttons with the arrow printed on the outside of it will be the same as the buttons you press to dial the numbers in a phone number, that is you might see that 4 of your number buttons have at least two things printed on the outside of them - that is, a number and an arrow. Don't be confused by that - it simply means that when you are in telephone mode, pressing this button will make this number appear on your screen, but when you have a menu showing on your screen, pressing this button will move the cursor throughout the menu, in the direction of the arrow. You might be wondering how does the cell phone know whether you want a number to appear on the screen or that you want the cursor to move on the screen when you press this button. Don't worry, the cell phone knows because it can see what mode you are in (that is, either telephone mode or that you have a menu being shown on your screen). Because it knows what mode you are in, it knows what to do when you press that button - that is, make a number appear on your screen when in telephone mode - and to move a cursor when there is a menu being shown on your screen.
Also, note that I use a cell phone as an example here to teach you what mode means. But, the idea of mode is used in most modern machines. But, the way that each machine allows you to choose or switch modes might be different than what I have described here. That is, for example, on some machines, the 4 sided button you use to control the cursor sometimes does not have arrows printed on the outside of it. Sometimes it has 4 small triangles printed on the outside of it instead. Also, on some machines, this 4 sided button might not have anything printed on the outside of it at all. It might just look like a "central" button that is wide enough so that your finder can press each of the 4 sides. Also, this button might not even be square - it could be round or some other shape. Sometimes there is no 4 sided - nor any 4 separate buttons - to control the cursor. On some cell phones, this is replaced with a short little stick or nugget called a joystick or directional stick. You put your finger or thumb on top of this stick and push it to the right to make the cursor move to the right, push it to the left to make the cursor move to the left, push it up to make the cursor move up, and push it up to make the cursor move up.
My point is that, for everything that I talk about in this book, when you look at any modern machine you own, you might find that your machine is slightly different. What you need to do is take the ideas that you learn here and look for similar things in your machine. Unfortnuately, there is no worldwide standard used by every manufacturer when building these machines - they make them each their own way. There is no standard that says there must always be a 4 sided button to control the cursor. Some manufacturers might choose to use 4 separate buttons to control the cursor. Other manufacturers might choose to use a joystick to control the curor. Thus, I cannot show you exactly what something will look like on the particular machine that you own. Therefore, you have to always do some detective work when learning to use a modern machine because they are all manufactured slighty different from each other. But, the ideas I am talking about in this book are used by most modern machines. Therefore, in this example, if you look at your own cell phone and want to look to see how to change mode, you should begin by thinking "looking at my cell phone right now, what things do I see (buttons, etc.) that I can press and that look like they would control a cursor to move in 4 different directions?"
In our everyday life, an exit is often a door you use to leave a store or leave a building. In moden machines, an exit is a way to leave a mode, a menu, and also some others things we will be learning later. So, how do you actually exit in a modern machine? Sometimes, there is a choice on your screen that says "Exit." You need to choose that choice with your cursor or mouse cursor and then select it. Sometimes "Exit" is a choice on a menu that needs to be selected in order to exit. Other times, you can exit by simply pressing again the same button that you pressed to enter into the mode, the menu, etc. For example, say you pressed a menu button (that is, a button that has the word "Menu" printed on the outside of it) to make a menu show up on your screen. On many machines, if you press that same menu button again, the menu will hide itself. That is, pressing the same menu button again lets you "exit" from the menu. Thus, we can think of that menu button as a kind of on/off switch for the menu. But, remember that this is just an example of one way to exit something. You will see that your machine may have other ways to exit things.
Notice that the word "Exit" seems similar to some other words you can imagine. For example, "Exit" seems similar in meaning to close, hide, go away, disappear, get out of, etc. You might not see any button or any key or any choice that says "Exit" on your machine. But, you might see buttons or keys or some choices that say something similar in meaning to "Exit." For example, you might see a button that has the word "Close" printed on the outside of it or you might see a choice on the screen that says "Hide." If you see such buttons, keys, or choices, you should ask yourself "is this similar to something I have learned before or seen before in another machine?" You should then realize that the words "Close" and "Hide" seem very similar to "Exit." You will probably want to assume that the "Close" button or "Hide" choice on your machine probably does mean "Exit." As I mentioned before, there is no standard or rules that each manufacturer follows when making these machines. Thus, they can print any word they want on the outside of buttons or keys - they can make any choices they want appear on their screens. Thus, you need to understand this and be prepared for this. That is, you always need to do some thinking - some detective work - when trying to figure out how to use a new machine. You need to relax, look at the buttons, keys, and choices that this new machine has and then try to think if the words printed on the outside of any of these buttons and keys - or the choices on your screen - can be "translated" to - or have similar meanings to - things you have learned before or used before. You need to think this way whenever you try to learn a new modern machine. Not every machine will have an "Exit" button, key, or choice - but they may have some other button, key, or choice that uses a word with the exact same meaning (or a very similar meaning). You need to train yourself to look for these clues.
The way I describe above of looking at and thinking about a new machine to figure out how to use it has to be used for anything you are trying to figure out on your machine - not just when you are trying to figure out where the "Exit" button, key, or choice is. Whenever I show you a way to better understand your machine, I mean that you need to use these ways for anything you are trying to understand or figure out in your machine. I do not mean that this way is only used to find one particular thing like an "Exit" button, key, or choice. You should be using the same way of looking and thinking to figure out anything in your machine. Everytime you try to figure out anything in your new machine, you should take a look at what is printed on the outside of all the buttons and keys, and take a look at what choices are on your screen. Then, you should think "do any of these words have a similar meaning to something I have learned before?" If so, then chances are that button, key, or choice does do what you think it will do - that is, it is the same as whatever word you learned before.
Note that sometimes you will see a choice on your screen that says "Back." Usually this has a similar meaning to "Exit." But usually choosing the "Back" choice will simply take you "back" to the last menu you were just at. That is, it will bring back the last menu you had most recently visited and show that on your screen. "Exit" on the other hand will usually take you completely out of the machine, function, or mode that you are currently in.
Properties, Settings, and Options are extra details or choices related to a mode (see mode above). You have to usually press a button or key or select a properties, settings, or options choice from a menu in order for properties, settings, and options to appear on your screen. For example, say you have a cell phone and you feel that whenever someone calls you that ringing sound is too loud. You can adjust how loud your cell phone will ring. This would be considered a setting of your cell phone. Say you make the menu for your cell phone appear. You might see a choice on the menu that says "Settings." If you select the "Settings" choice, you may see another menu appear with more choices. One of the choices might say something like "Tone Settings." If you select this menu item, you might see another menu appear with even more choices. One of the choices might say something like "Ringing volume." ("volume" is a word used to describe how loud a sound is - I will talk more about that later). If you select this menu item, you will see on your screen either a number that shows how loud your cell phone will ring or a row of bars or stripes that shows how loud your cell phone will ring. If you see a number, usually it is a number from 1 to 10. In this situation, 1 means that your phone will ring the quitest volume (sound). 10 means that your phone will ring the loudest volume (sound). If you don't want your cell phone to ring either the quietest or the loudest volume (sound), any other number that is between 1 and 10 means that your phone will ring somewhere in between. For example, a number of 5 means that your cell phone will ring at middle volume (sound). A number of 7 means that your cell phone will ring at a volume (sound) that is louder than middle volume (5), but not as loud as the loudest volume (10). If you do not see any numbers and you see a row of bars or stripes instead, the idea is the same. For example, say there is enough room on your screen for 10 bars or stripes to appear. If you see 1 bar or stripe, this means that your cell phone will ring at the quietest volume (sound). If you see 10 bars or stripes, this means that your cell phone will ring at the loudest volume (sound). If you don't want your cell phone to ring either the quietest or the loudest volume (sound), any other number of bars or stripes that is between 1 bars or stripes and 10 bars or stripes means that your phone will ring somewhere in between. For example, 5 bars or stripes means that your cell phone will ring at middle volume (sound). 7 bars or stipes means that your cell phone will ring at a volume (sound) that is louder than middle volume (5 bars or stipes), but not as loud as the loudest volume (10 bars or stripes).
So, in the example above, how can you adjust the number - or number of bars or stripes? That is, how can you adjust the volume that your cell phone will ring? There will usually be 2 buttons or keys on your cell phone keyboard that you can use to make you cell phone ring louder or quieter. In other words, we will be adjusting the volume to be higher (louder) or lower (quieter). In other words, we will be adjusting the volume up or down. Notice how I say "up" or "down." When you see anything in a modern machine that needs to be adjusted "up" or "down," there will usually be 2 buttons or keys somewhere on the machine where one button or key is placed on top of the other button or key (and both buttons or keys are very close to each other). This means that every time you press the the top button or key, the thing you are trying to adjust (cell phone ring volume in our example) will go higher. Each time you press the bottom button or key, the thing you are trying to adjust (cell phone ring volume in our example) will go lower.
Before I continue, I want to point out, that when I say that one button or key will be "on top" of the other button or key, I mean that, for example, if you hold your cell phone in your hand, the "top" of the cell phone will be the end that will be closest to your thumb and index finger. The "bottom" of the cell phone is the end that will be closest to your wrist and your pinky finger. So, in the example we are describing where there are 2 buttons or keys you use to adjust cell phone ring volume, the button or key on "top" will be the button or key closer to the "top" of the cell phone. The button or key on "bottom" will be the button or key closer to the "bottom" of the cell phone. So, when I say one is on top of another, I do not mean that you have to lift up and remove one button or key to see the other button or key.
So, in our example, if you see numbers on you cell phone screen, and say for example, the number says 5. If you press the top volume button or key twice, you will see the number on your screen turn into 7. This means that the ring volume on your cell phone is now a bit higher (louder). If you then press the bottom volume button or key once, you will see the number on your screen turn to 6. This means that the ring volume on your cell phone is now a bit lower (quieter) than 7, but still lower than the original number 5. If you see bars or stripes on your cell phone screen, each time you press the top volume button or key, one more bar or stripe will appear on your screen, meaning that the cell phone ring volume in now higher (louder). Each time you press the bottom volume button or key, one bar or stripe will disappear from your screen, meaning that the cell phone ring volume is now lower (quieter).
All of what I have described above is one example of a property/setting/option. Please notice though, that, like all examples I have mentioned already, that this is only an example. Your cell phone may not have the same exact setting or it may not be in the same exact menu item. As I mentioned before, there is no standard for modern machines. Each manufacturer makes modern machines differently. So, each different cell phone model from each different manufacturer might have a slightly different way to adjust the ring volume. I use these examples to help you think. That is, I use these examples to help you figure out the question "how can I do this?" whenever you have to use a new modern machine that you have never used before. So, the next time you have to use a cell phone and want to adjust the ring volume, look at the cell phone and think of these questions to help you figure out how to adjust the cell phone volume:
1.) Are there 4 buttons or keys placed near each other that looks like it can be used to move a cursor in a menu? If so, see if there is an extra button or key in the center. If so, press it, and see if a menu appears on your screen. If you don't see 4 buttons or keys near each other, then look for one "central" looking button or key. If you find one "central" looking button or key, press the center of that button or key and see if a menu appears on your screen. If none of the above exist, see if there is any button of key on your cell phone that has the word "Menu" printed on the outside of it - or has a green colored symbol printed on the outside of it. If so, press that button of key and see if the menu appears on your screen. If you do not see any of the above kinds of buttons or keys, start pressing different buttons or keys on your cell phone to make a menu appear on the screen - do not worry - it is very difficult to break a cell phone by pressing buttons and keys (the manufacturers have designed cell phones to be very difficult to break by pressing buttons and keys).
2.) Once you have the menu appear on your screen, use the buttons or keys that you found above that look like they can be used to move a cursor. If you did not find any buttons of keys, then start pressing different buttons or keys on your cell phone. You should be able to find which buttons of keys are used to control the menu cursor. Once you have found them, move the cursor through the menu and looking for any choice related to "Settings" or "Tone Settings." You might have to first select the "Settings" menu item and then another menu may appear that has a choice of "Tone Settings." You also might find that your cell phone has no menu items that say "Settings" or "Tone Settings." In that case, look for a menu item that says "Ring Volume" or "Volume." If you don't find that either, look for any menu item that you think might have a similar meaning to "Settings," "Tone Settings," "Ring Volume," or "Volume." You might have to select/try out several menu items before you find the screen where you can control the ring volume of your cell phone.
[PICTURE HERE] 3.) Once you have found the screen where you can control the ring volume of your cell phone, use the buttons of keys you used to control the menu cursor to adjust the ring volume (either increase or decrease the number on your screen - or increase or decrease the number of bars and stripes on your screen).
4.) Note that, because adjusting ring volume on a cell phone is a common thing that people do with you their cell phones, sometimes a cell phone will have two buttons or keys - one on top the other that allow you to adjust the volume without having to first use the menu to get the the adjust cell phone ring volume screen. You just press these buttons or keys and they will directly adjust the cell phone ring volume for you. That is, each time you press the top button or key, the cell phone ring volume will become louder - and each time you press the bottom button or key, the cell phone ring volume will become quieter.
5.) Also note that some modern machines do not use any buttons or keys anymore. Instead, they will show you choices on a screen and you directly press these choices with you finger. The machine will know exactly where you pressed on the screen - and thus - which choice you selected.
In the above example, we used the word "Adjust" a lot when talking about changing Properties/Settings/Options. In modern machines, the word "Set" can also be used to mean "Adjust."
The word "Save" usually has a meaning of holding on to some thing. For example, you save money by keeping it and not spending it. In modern machines, the word "Save" has a similar, but sligthly different meaning. As we mentioned before you can press buttons or keys on your machine (for example, the keyboard of a computer or the keypad on a cell phone) and you will see number and letters appear on your screen. For example if you are using a cell phone, say you press the keys on the cell phone keypad to make the number you want to dial appear on the cell phone screen. After pressing all the number keys you see the phone number you want to dial on your cell phone screen. Note that there is another machine - another feature/function - in a cell phone that we haven't mentioned before. This other machine - this other feature/function - is the address book. The address book is just like a regular address book you might use to keep the phone numbers and addresses of your friends, family, and associates. Note though, you can't use a pen to write in the address book in your cell phone. So, you might be wondering, then how do I write anything to the address book in my cell phone? The answer is, you use your keypad. Instead of using a pen, you press the keys on your keypad to "write" for you - that is, you use the keypad to type in (like a typewriter) whatever it is that you want to put in your address book. So, in our example, you have just typed in a phone number. Say you want to add this to the address book in your cell phone. How do you do this? On many cell phones, after you have typed in a phone number (and the phone number appears on your screen), there will be choice on your screen that says "Save." Using the button of key that you have used in earlier examples to choose menu selections, press that button or key. You will see that you now enter address book mode. That is, there will be choices on your screen related to an address book (name, phone number, etc.). Here, you also use your keypad to type in details about this phone number (for example, the name of the person whose phone number this is, etc.).
So far, we have only typed numbers into a cell phone. You might be asking yourself, how do we type in letters? If you look on the keypad of your cell phone, for most of the buttons or keys that have numbers printed on the outside of them, there are also small letters printed under those keys. For example, the button or key that has the number "2" printed on it also has the letters "abc" printed under the "2." What does this mean? This means that this same button or key that you use to make a number "2" appear on your cell phone screen is also used to make either the letters "a," "b," or "c" appear on your screen as well. Now, you might be asking yourself "well if I press that button or key, how does the cell phone know if I want a "2" to appear on the screen of if I want an "a," "b," or "c" to appear on the screen? The way the cell phone knows depends how many times you press the button or key. That is, if you press it once, a "2" will appear on the screen. If you press the button or key twice a "a" will appear on the screen. If you press the button or key three times a "b" will appear on the screen. If you press the button or key four times a "c" will appear on your screen. But, you have to remember two things. First, if you need to press the button or key more than one time (that is, to make "a," "b," or "c" appear on the screen) you cannot wait too long between each press. If you need press the button or key more than one time, you cannot wait more than about 1/2 second between presses. Otherwise, the cell phone assumes that you have finished choosing the number of letter you want and then will automatically move the cursor on your screen to the next place, waiting for you to press the next number or letter. Once you try this out, you wil see what I mean. Also, there will be some modes (see definition for "Mode" above if you forgot what this means) in your cell phone where pressing a button or key will only make a number appear on the screen - that is, you cannot make a letter appear in those modes by pressing buttons or keys. Usually, this happens in the first mode - the telephone mode. Telephone mode is a mode where pressing buttons or keys will only make numbers appear on your screen. Why? Because telephone mode is only for calling phone numbers. Thus, typing letters in telephone mode would not make sense (that is, how can a cell phone call a phone number that has letters in it?). The manufacturers have designed the cell phone to make sure that letters never appear on your screen when you press a button of key in telephone mode (only numbers will appear).
When you are done typing in all the details you want for this phone number, you will probably see a choice on your screen that says "OK" or "Save." Use the button or key that you have used in earlier examples to choose menu selections and press that button or key. This person and the phone number you have entered for them are now "saved" into the address book of your cell phone. In the future, when you want to dial this person's phone number on your cell phone, you will not need to type in their phone number again into your cell phone. You just need to use your menu to find the address book in your cell phone. When the address book appears on your screen, you will see the names in your address book listed on your screen. Then, you simply use the buttons or keys you used in earlier examples to move your cursor and then find - and choose - the name of the person you want to call.
So, this is what "Save" is. It saves the things you type into your machine - and saves these things inside your machine.
Note, that I have used several words in the above example that have similar or the same meanings. You will need to get used to that when reading instructions on how to use modern machines because that is the modern language used in instructional manuals for modern machines. The manufacturers assume that you understand this modern language, so they write their instructional manuals using this language. So, for example, if I say press a button or key, I can - and usually do mean - press one button or one key. If I say press buttons or keys, I usually mean press several buttons or keys in a row - usually when you are trying to make a phone number, a word, or more than one word appear on your screen. Instead of saying press buttons and keys, I might also say "type" the phone number, word, or words using your keypad (or keyboard if it is a computer). Even if you forget the exact definition of what "press" or "type" means, look at the situation and you can usually make a good guess (and your guess will probably be correct) as to what "press" or "type" means. That is, for example, in this situation we talking about make a phone number appear on your cell phone screen. If you think back about what you have learned so far, if I ask you to "type in the phone number into your cell phone" - even if you are not sure what "type" means, just looking at the situation you can probably tell that I am asking you to make telephone number appear on your cell phone screen. So, if you had to figure out to make a telephone number appear on your cell phone screen, what do you think you would try to do? Would you take your cell phone and shake it up and down? No, I don't think so because we did not see any examples earlier where shaking a cell phone would make a phone number appear on the screen. Would you turn your phone upside down? No, we haven't seen any example earlier where that would make a phone number appear on your screen either. Would you press the buttons or keys on your cell phone that have numbers printed on the outside of them? Yes, you would probably do that because we have seen some examples earlier where you could make a letters and numbers appear on your cell phone screen by pressing buttons or keys that have letters or numbers printed on the outside of them. So, even if you did not know the definition of the word "type" - you could probably figure out - from the situation (we are trying to make a phone number appear on your cell phone screen and you have a cell phone in your hand that has several buttons or keys with numbers printed on the outside of them) - and from earlier examples of how to do various things - what I mean when I ask you to "type in the phone number." This is the kind of thinking you need to use whenever you try to learn anything - or solve anything - about modern machines. You need to:
A.) Think about what you are trying to accomplish and what the situation is.
B.) Think about things that you learned before that seem to be related to this situation or that can be used for this situation
C.) Do not consider any ideas or solutions that don't seem to be related at all to the situation
D.) Try out a few of the ideas from step B above
E.) If things still don't work for you, keep in mind step A and step B and try pressing other buttons or keys that you think might be the solution to the problem - in other words, keep on repeating the above steps until you find the solution
So, if we follow this plan - this way of thinking - and look again at the problem in our example, our plan could look like this:
A.) We are trying to make a phone number appear on the cell phone screen. The situation is that we are in telephone mode. We have a cell phone with several buttons and keys, some of which have numbers printed on the outside of them.
B.) We learned before, in earlier examples that, on a cell phone, if you press buttons or keys with numbers printed on the outside of them, a number can appear on the cell phone screen.
C.) Shaking the cell phone or turning it upside down does not seem related to any example we learned before where we tried to make a number appear on the cell phone screen.
D.) We press some of the buttons or keys that have numbers printed on the outside of them and the numbers appear on the cell phone screen - SUCCESS - PROBLEM SOLVED.
E.) Does not apply to this example - problem solved already in step D above.Also, always keep in mind - don't be afraid to explore, don't be afraid to experiment, don't be afraid to try. Remember, you own the machine - you paid money for it and it is there for you to use - and you can use it any way you want. If you press the wrong button no one is going to jump out of a closet and slap you in the head for pressing the wrong button. Also, keep in mind that modern machines are very difficult to break by just pressing the wrong buttons and keys. The manufacturers have specially designed these machines so that you can press just about any key or button. It is very very rare to be able to break a machine by simply pressing buttons and keys. So, don't be afraid - press anything you want - explore, experiment, try things out. If you think that a button or key just might be the solution to the problem you are trying to solve - then go ahead and press it - see if you are right.
Lastly, remember again that all of the examples I have shown you are examples - your specific cell phone - your specific machine - may not have the exact same buttons or keys in the exact same places I mention, etc. You always need to need follow the above steps A-E to figure out what works for the exact machine that you own. Remember, each manufacturer makes their machines slightly different from the other manufacturers.
In our above explanation of "Save," we saw how we could save a person's phone number in a machine. In this case, this machine was a cell phone, but it could have been any modern machine. There is another name for things that you save to a machine. Things you save to a machine can also be called "Information" or "Data." When you save things to a computer (for example a PC computer or laptop), these things can also be called "Information" or "Data." But, when you save things to a computer, often times you can call these things a "File" or a "Document."
The phrase "Perform an Action" is a phrase that means "to do something" in a modern machine. "Perform" means "to do." That "something" you do is called an "Action." So, in the explanations and examples above, whenever I asked you to do something, you could also say that I was asking you to "peform an action." You will see this word used occasionally in instruction manuals for modern machines, so be aware of it's meaning.
In our above explanation of "Save," we saw how to save the information (look at explanation for Information/Data/File/Document above) for someone (telephone number, name, etc.) into a machine (in this example, the machine was a cell phone). What happens if we ever need to change or update that information? For example, what happens if this person's phone number changes in the future or if their name changes? When you need to change or update information, this action (look at explanation for "Perform an Action" above) is called "to Edit." Thus, if you need to change or update address book information in your cell phone for example, you would "edit the address book" or "edit a name (and/or phone number) in the address book."
So, how do you actually edit a name or phone number in your cell phone address book? You just into the address book mode on your cell phone (like we did in the "Save" example above) and you perform your edit there. You should be able to type directly over the name or phone number that was saved before into your address book or there might be a menu choice that says "Edit" that you need to choose first. Also, you will probably have to choose menu choice "Save" after you have finished editing so that the address book saves your edit.
Before, I explained what a "Screen" is on a modern machine (the part that looks like a TV screen). I also explained what "Mode" means in a modern machine (a doorway or gateway to a machine). Now that you have already learned several words related to modern machines, I need to let you know that the word "Screen" is often used to mean "Mode." You will see that, in instruction manuals for modern machines, when you have a have specific mode on your screen, they will call this situation a "Screen" as well. For example, you might see an instruction in your cell phone instruction manual that says "go to the Address Book screen." What that means is "make the Address Book mode appear on your screen." So, in other words, the word "Screen" can mean the situation where a mode for a specific machine is on your screen. If you see an instruction in your cell phone instruction manual that says "use a dry soft cotton cloth to wipe your screen..." then you know that when they say "Screen" here they mean the part of your cell phone that looks like a TV screen. So, in other words, you need to look at the situation that the word "Screen" is being used in order to understand if they mean "Screen" to mean "Mode" or if they mean "Screen" to mean the part that looks like a TV screen.
"Record" can be a verb and it can also be a noun when used with modern machines. When it is used as a verb, it is pronounced "REE-cord" where the "RE" part of the word is emphasized/accented. When it is used as a noun, it is pronounced "rek-ERD" where the "ERD" part of the word is emphasized/accented. We will explain the use of "Record" as a noun here. We will explain the use of "Record" as a verb later. When "Record" is used as a noun, it is used to describe one piece of information (see definition of Information/Data/File/Document above) or one piece of data that you saved into your machine. So, in our cell phone address book example, when you saved the name and phone number of a person to your address book, this name and phone number is considered one record. Each time you save more names and phone numbers into your cell phone address book, each of these name and phone number pairs is called a record. So, a record is a piece of information. There are some other names for records that you might see in instructional manuals for modern machines. You might also see "Entry" used to mean "Record" (for example "save your new entry into your cell phone address book..."). Note also, that the verb "Add" is often used together with the word "Record" (and also with "Entry" as well). So, you might see in instruction manuals for modern machines an instruction that says "add a new record to the cell phone address book..." This means type in a new record and then save it. Thus, when you see the word "Add" in instructional manuals for modern machines - if it does not look like the instructional manual is telling you to do math here - then assume that they want you to type in something and save it.
"Delete" means to erase a record (see definition of "Record" above), information, data, file, or document from your machine. That is, if you saved something to your machine before and want to get rid of it later, you would "Delete" it. Delete will usually be a menu choice.
To turn on and turn off a modern machine, the instruction manuals for modern machines tell you to "Power it On" or "Power it Off." Many times there is a separate button on your machine that is the "power switch" but note that it will usually not look like other earlier power switches you are used to seeing. That is, it will usually not look like say, the light switch on your wall. Also, see above in my explanation of "Press/Hit" above and you will see that sometimes you need to press and hold down (keep pressed down) the button for a few seconds before the machine will turn off. In some modern machines you can also turn off the power by choosing a "Power Off" menu choice on your screen. But, even for those modern machines where you can power off the machine by choosing a menu choice, there is usually also an actual power switch somewhere on the machine as well (sometimes hidden on the back of the machine) in case there is a problem with your machine and the menu on the screen does not work (that is, you can still use the actual power switch to turn off the machine).
"Values" is a word that means "what you set a Property/Setting/Option to." For example, in our cell phone ring volume example from earlier, if we set the volume to "5," you could say that we "set the cell phone ring volume setting to a value of 5." So, "5" would be the "Value" that you set the cell phone ring volume (setting) to. "Levels" is another word that you will see and has the same meaning as "Values" in most situations.
"Default" is a word that means "the value that the Property/Setting/Option was origially set to" That is, when you go to the a screen where you can set a Property/Setting/Option, the values that you see on this screen the first time you see it (that is, assuming that you never adjusted this Property/Setting/Option before) are called the "Default Values." In other words, default values are the values that the manufacturer originally sets up for you in your machine when you buy the machine.
When you are in a screen where you can save something to your machine - if you change your mind and decide that you don't want to save whatever you just typed in (and you haven't chosen "Save" yet), you can choose "Cancel." Choosing "Cancel" will not save what you just typed in and also will usually take you back to the menu or screen that you were at just before you came to this menu or screen.
"Reset" is a word that means "to change the Property/Setting/Option back to the previous values." It is usually a menu choice, where, if you choose it, whatever Property/Setting/Option values you have typed into your machine will change back automatically to the values that were there before you started typing. Sometimes you will see choosing "Reset" used together with "Default." That is, you might see a choice that says "Reset to Default" where if you choose this choice, the Property/Setting/Option values will change back to the default values.
So far, we have been using the word "Press" to mean what you do to a button or key. So far, we have been using the word "Choose" to mean things that you choose using a cursor (or mouse cursor). Be aware that many instructional manuals for modern machines use these words to mean the same thing. You will also see the words "Click" and "Select" used for the same (or similar) meaning as well. You will see these words used whether you are using a pressing a button or key with your finger, using a cursor, a mouse cursor, or using your finger to press a choice on the actual screen itself (yes, there are modern machines where you can actually press choices directly on the screen and the machine will know what you have chosen). "Click" is usually used to mean choices made using a mouse (mouse cursor), but this is also a rule that is nota always followed by manufacturers.
When we watch a TV show, we see things on the TV screen (actors, scenes, etc.) and we hear things (what the actors are saying, music, sounds, etc.). Modern machines calls these things that you see "Video." Modern machines calls these things that you hear "Audio." These might seem like very strange words for something that seems so basic, but that is just what these things are called by the manufacturers. You might be wondering why modern machines have separate definitions for what you see and what you hear. One of the reasons that modern machines are called "modern" is because they give you more control over things. For example, on a TV, you can adjust the brightness of the screen (video) so that your TV show does not look too bright nor too dark. You can also adjust on a TV how loud (audio) the sound is when you watch your TV show. But, if you go to a movie theater to watch a movie, you don't have any control over the brightness of what you see on the screen or the loudness of what you hear. Thus, modern machines give you more control over things. But, the problem is that often, the choices are too many. Therefore, modern machines can get complicated.
Just remember that "Video" means the things you see and "Audio" means the things you hear. You will see these "Video" and "Audio" choices in many modern machines aside from TVs. For example, you will see these choices in computers if you watch a movie on your computer for example.
Many people who see the word "Cable" will immediately think of "Cable TV." The word "Cable" is often a short way of saying "Cable TV." But, what does "Cable" itself mean? To find the answer, ask yourself, what is the difference between regular TV and cable TV? Regular TV uses an antenna (a piece of metal that you put on the top of your TV or on the roof of your house - and connect it to your TV) to get the TV channels you see. Regular TV "gets" the TV channels like a radio gets radio stations - that is they both use an antenna. Cable TV on the other hand uses a "Cable" to get the TV channels you see. So, that line that you see connected to the back of your TV - and connecting it to either your VCR, DVD player, or the wall - is called a cable. A cable is a line that looks like it is made of plastic or rubber. You cannot see it, but inside is a metal wire line. A cable is used to connect things together and to move things from one place to another. In the situation with you TV set, the cable moves the TV shows from your cable company to your TV set so that you can watch them.
Note though, that there are different cables made today that can move different things - not all of them move only TV shows. If you have a computer, you will see a few different sized cables connected to the back of your computer. One cable might be black colored and is used to move electricity or power to your computer. Another cable might be the "tail" of your computer mouse and moves instructions from your mouse to your computer (that is, instructions about movement - such as "move mouse cursor to the right," "move mouse cursor up," etc.). Another cable might connect your keyboard to your computer and moves instructions from your keyboard to your computer (for example, "ENTER key on the keyboard just pressed," "'C' key on the keyboard just pressed," etc.).
Another general word for "Cable" is "Line."
"Plug" can be noun and can be a verb when talking about modern machines. When it is a noun, it means the end of a cable. A cable has two ends. Sometimes one end is a permanent part of something such as the end of the computer mouse cable that is attached to the mouse. But, a cable will have at least one "free" end - that is, one end that is not connected to anything yet. This "free" end will have a plastic or rubber thing on it, that is a little bit wider than the cable itself. Usually, this plastic or rubbber thing is designed to be small, but easy (kind of) to grab with your index finger and thumb. This thing is called a "Plug." A cable that has 2 "free" ends will have 2 plugs (one on each end). Note that there are many kinds of plugs (as well as many kinds of cables) used with modern machines. Each type of plug will only fit into one type of jack or socket (see explanation below of what a jack or socket is). You can usually tell if a plug will fit into a jack or socket if you turn the open end of the plug towards your face and look to see what things are sticking out of it and what shape these things are and what pattern they are arranged in on the plug. Next, look at the jack or socket that you want to stick the plug into and see if the shape and pattern of the jack or socket (where you want to stick the plug into) is similar to what you just saw on the plug. If they are similar, then this plug (and the cable it is connected to) is probably designed to fit into this jack/socket.
As a verb, "Plug" means to stick a plug into a jack or socket.
A "Jack" or "Socket" is a place that you stick a plug (see explanation above) into. It is a "seat" for your plug. You see jacks and sockets every day in your house. On the walls of your home, there are places where there are 2 or 3 holes and you plug the power line of your lights, TV, and other appliances into these 2 or 3 hole places. These are power sockets - a type of socket.
Please understand that a jack or socket is simply a type of connection. It expects you to connect (stick) a plug into it. After you have connected a plug to a socket, what you have done is actually made a connection between the cable and whatever the jack or socket is connected to. What you have actually done is made a connection between the the machine the cable is connected to and whatever the jack or socket is connected to. For example, if you have a computer, look at your computer mouse. The computer mouse is connected to a cable that has a plug that connects to a socket in the back of your computer. So, when you connect the computer mouse cable jack into the matching computer mouse socket in the back of your computer, what you have actually done is connect your computer mouse to your computer. That is, now that you have made this connection, whatever movements you make with your computer mouse will get sent to you computer. That is, whenever you move your computer mouse now, your computer knows that it has moved - knows which direction it has moved - and knows how far it has moved. The computer will take this information and move the mouse cursor on your computer screen in the same direction and will move the mouse cursor for a similar distance.
It's like morse code. You have probably seen the word "Digital" in many places in recent years. It seems that almost every modern machine calls itself digital in some way. But, what in fact, does digital mean? Have you ever heard about or seen morse code? If so, you might remember that morse code is a way of spelling words using dots (•) and dashes (—) to represent each letter. You could use a machine to type morse code. The machine would make a sound each time you pressed a button. If you pressed the button very quickly, you would hear a short sound (which meant the dot (•)). If you pressed the button a little bit longer, you would hear a longer sound (which meant the dash (—)). How could these short sounds (dots) and long sounds (dashes) represent letters in a word? In morse code, each letter in the alphabet was represented by a certain set of dots and dashes. For example, three dots meant the letter "S" - that is dot dot dot (• • •). Three dashes mean the letter "O" (— — —). So, for example, to type the word "SOS," you would press the morse code machine button to make the following sounds
• • • — — — • • •
If someone was listening and knew morse code, they would understand that the • • • — — — • • • sounds you made with the morse code machine meant
S O S
This is basically what digital is. Digital is language that modern machines use to communicate with each other. Instead of dots and dashes, modern machines use 1 and 0. Also, modern machines can also nuse "power off" and "power on" to communicate using the digital language. Basically, digital is a language with only two parts to it - and both parts are different from each other (for example, 0 and 1 or off and on or black and white, etc.). As long as you have two things that are different from each other, you can communicate using the digital language. As we mentioned earlier, three dots (• • •) means the letter "S" in morse code. In the digital language, 10001001 means the letter "S" - or if you are using power off and power on, then ON OFF OFF OFF ON OFF OFF ON means the letter "S."
You might think this is very simple - and it is in many ways. Then if it is so simple, then why do most modern machines use the digital language to communicate? The reason is because it is an efficient way to communicate. So, if modern machines use the digital language to communicate, then what did old machines use before? Simply put, many older machines before used magnetic waves to communicate. For example, the cassette tape in your tape player was a ribbon that could hold a magnetic message. The magnetic message on you cassette tape was "shaped" in the shape of the song that was recorded on it. So, when you played your cassette tape in your tape player, your tape player would read the magnetic "message" on the tape as the tape moved through the tape player - and based on the message would make sounds come out of your speakers that matched the message. Today, in a modern machine, to listen to music, we sometimes use a CD (compact disc). The CD is different from a tape because the CD is digital. What does that mean? What it means is that the music on the CD is not a magnetic message anymore. Instead, there are many many very very very little 0 and 1 pictures printed on your CD. That is, the music on your CD is recorded as as a long long string of very very very little 0 and 1 pictures, arranged in a many circles on your CD (kind of like a an old LP record). As the CD turns in the CD player, the CD player reads the 0 and 1 pictures and makes sounds come out of your speakers that match the message on your CD. So, why is digital better than the old way of doing things (the old way is called "Analog")? It would take much more explaining to explain ever reason, but simply put, the digital message on the CD is more precise, reliable, and complete than the magnetic (analog) message on the cassette tape. So, basically, digital is usually a better way to communicate than analog. I can't explain too much about this without taking up too much time, so just remember that digital is the modern way of communicating.
OLD way for machines to communicate NEW way for machines to communicate Analog --> Digital
We have learned a lot so far about many words that you will see used with modern machines. But, I have only taught you some things that you will encounter when using modern machines. I can't teach you everything in one book. The rest you have to learn yourself by trying, experimenting, and doing exercises. Remember though - the machine is very difficult to break no matter what buttons you press on it. Also, remember that you own the machine - you paid for it so you can control it as you wish. Earlier, I mentioned some ways you should think whenever you are trying to figure out how to use a modern machine. Thinking and reasoning is probably the largest part of learning how to use a modern machine. Just, always rememeber the way you should think whenever you try to learn anything - or solve anything - about modern machines. You need to:
A.) Think about what you are trying to accomplish and what the situation is
B.) Think about things that you learned before that seem to be related to this situation or that can be used for this situation
C.) Do not consider any ideas or solutions that don't seem to be related at all to the situation
D.) Try out a few of the ideas from step B above
E.) If things still don't work for you, keep in mind step A and step B and try pressing other buttons or keys that you think might be the solution to the problem - in other words, keep on repeating the above steps until you find the solution
While I can't teach you everything I can teach you enough so that you feel comfortable and more confident around modern machines. Modern machines are found everywhere in our modern world so, I hope to be able to make you feel more in touch, more connected, and feel more in control over today's modern world.
Many people have TVs. It is a very common modern machine found in your house. TVs used to be more simple. Before, you connected the power line (the line that plugs into the electrical socket on your wall - this line moves electricity from the electrical socket on your wall to your TV) of the TV to a wall socket, then connected the antenna line (the line that collects the TV channels in the air (like how a radio collects radio channels) and moves them to your TV - often connected to an antenna on the top of your TV or a larger antenna on the roof of your house), and then pressed a power (on/off) button on your TV and you could suddenly watch TV. If you wanted to change channels, you went to your TV and turned the channel knob to the channel you wanted to see. It was that simple.
In many parts of the world, you can still watch TV like this. But, even the simple TV has changed in recent years. If you have a TV, you might not use an antenna anymore. Instead your TV might collect its TV channels from a cable TV line or from a line connected to a satellite dish outside your house. If you are using a cable TV line (said as "have cable" or "have cable TV" - for example "I have cable at my house" or "I have cable TV at my house") you might even be using a new kind of cable TV called "digital cable" translates tv channels into digital code before moving them to your TV. Also, even the shape of your TV might have changed. Before, TVs were like a box - where the thickness was about the same as the width. Now, many people are buying TVs that are very thin and very wide. They often call these widescreen TVs, HDTVs, plasma TVs, LCD TVs, etc.
[PICTURE HERE] Also, most people do not turn a channel knob on the TV to change channels anymore. Nowadays, most people use a small machine you hold in your hand called a remote control. This is a small machine that you hold in your hand and press buttons on it to control the TV. For example, you press buttons on the remote control to change channels on your TV and each time you press a button on the remote control, the remote control turns a small light on and off on the front of the remote control (you will see a small window or small light bulb on the front of your remote control - this is where the light comes out). Note that this light is sometimes infrared light - that is, it is a type of light that humans cannot see (but it is there). The TV has a very small window on the front of the TV and catches the light code from the remote control and then the TV knows that you want to turn channels, which channel you want to turn to, etc. and will then automatically turn the channel for you. But, note that you have to point the front of the remote control towards the TV or else the TV will not be able to catch the light code that your remote control sends. Also, note you cannot have anything non-see-through (a glass or see-through plastic window is ok - a wooden door is not ok) standing in between the remote control and the TV or else the TV will not be able to see/catch the light code from the remote control. Also, note that the remote control uses batteries (which are kept in a small place on the back of the remote control which has a sliding door that you need to press firmly down on the bumpy part of the door with your thumb and - at the same time - slide the door downwards to remove the door and change your batteries). For example, if you are trying to change channels on your TV using your remote control and the TV does not seem to be changing channels - and you are pointing the front of the remote control towards the TV - and there is nothing non-see-through blocking the front of your remote control and the small window on the front of the TV - then the batteries in your remote control are probably weak or dead and need to be replaced. Remote controls usually use AA or AAA type batteries and these can be bought at any electronics stored, drug store, grocery store, supermarket, convenience store, etc. The battery type (AA or AAA) is usually printed on the outside of the battery. If it is not - or if you don't have the batteries - the battery type your remote control needs is also usually printed on the back wall of the small place of your remote control where you place the batteries (or also printed on the back for the door for this small place). If it is not, then read the instruction book for the TV to find out what type of batteries you need to buy. If you do not have the instruction book, then take the remote control to the store where you plan to buy your batteries and ask the salesperson to help you find out what type of batteries your remote control needs. Take note that when you put batteries into your remote control, you have to put them in facing the correct direction. If you look at an AA or AAA type battery (which look pretty much the same except the AA battery is larger), you will see that the two ends of the battery are different. One end has a bump on it - and the other end is more or less flat. If you look inside the small space in your remote control where you place the batteries, you will see that, for each place that holds a battery, there are two metal pieces, one on each end. One end will be somewhat flat - and the other end will have a spring or coil looking piece of metal. For AA or AAA type batteries, you have to place them so that the bump end of the AA or AAA type battery touches the flat side of the place for the battery - and the flat end of the battery touches the spring/coil end of the place for the battery. This is the correct direction when placing AA or AAA type batteries. This way of placing AA or AAA type batteries is the same for all modern machines.
If you look at a remote control for a modern TV, you will see buttons with numbers printed on the outside of them. You can use these buttons to tell the TV what channel you want to watch. You have to know though that, today, there are many more channels available than before - especially if you have cable TV or satellite TV. There are hundreds of channels available now, so the TV manufacturers have also designed their TVs to allow you to turn to channels past 99 and above. For example, say you want to watch channel 7. In the past, you just went over to your TV set and turned the channel knob to 7. Now, using a remote control to turn the channel, you press the 7 button. You will see on the screen the number 7 appear. Your TV may turn to channel 7 as well. I say "may" turn because some TVs, because they can turn to channels past 99 (for example, channel 107, channel 207, etc.) require that you "fill in" the extra numbers. What I mean is, for example, you want to watch channel 7. Your TV might require you to press the 0 button twice and then the 7 button once - that is, enter "007." That is, for every channel you want to watch, you have to enter 3 numbers - and use 0 for any numbers that are not needed. In other words, what is channel 7 if you are required to enter 3 numbers? It is 007. What is channel 11 if you are required to enter 3 numbers? It is 011. Some TVs are smarter and only require you to enter 2 numbers each time. For those kinds of TVs, if you want to watch channel 7, you would enter 07. Some TVs are even smarter and if you enter just 7 - and don't press any more number buttons - the TV will automatically turn to channel 7. You have to try out your TV to see exactly how many numbers you need to enter each time to turn the channel.
Notice that on your remote control, there is a set of two buttons - or one button with two sides - that has the word "CH" or "Channel" printed next to it. If you press this/these button(s) you can turn the channel on your TV up or down. This is another way of turning channels on your TV. Also, notice on your remote control that there is another two buttons - or one button with two sides - that has the word "VOL" or "Volume" printed next to it. If your press this/these button(s) you can turn the volume (loudness of the sound) on your TV up or down. Try it out. There might also be a button that has he word "Mute" printed on it or next to it. When you press this button, the sound turns off completely. When you want to sound to turn back on again, you simply press the mute button one more time. There is also a button on your remote control that says "On/Off" "Power" or is green or red colored. This is the power button. You press this button to turn your TV on or off. If your TV is currently turned off, pressing this button will turn the TV on. If your TV is currently turned on, pressing this button will turn the TV off.
THE MAGIC CHANNEL 3 (OR 4):
If you have cable TV and the cable TV uses a cable TV box that sits on top, below, or next to your TV - or if you use satellite TV - or if you have a DVD player or VCR connected to your TV, you need to know about the magic channel 3 (or 4). Why do I call this a "magic" channel? Because you need to turn your TV to channel 3 (and if channel 3 doesn't work, try channel 4) in order to watch cable TV (if you use a cable TV box - if there is not separate cable TV box - and you have a modern TV - you don't need to turn to channel 3 or 4 to watch cable TV), satellite TV, a DVD, or a VCR tape. The manufacturers have designed channel 3 (and sometimes 4) to be a kind of doorway to your cable TV box, satellite TV, DVD player, and VCR player. That is, you have to turn to channel 3 or 4 before you can watch these things. But, if you see that your TV remote control (or on your TV itself) has a button that has the word "Input" printed on the outside of it or next to it - you might not have to turn to channel 3 (or 4).
THE INPUT BUTTON:
The Input button is a button that lets you watch other machines connected to your TV. For example, say you have a DVD player. If you look in the back of the TV, you will see that there are several sockets. You will see that there are colors on them and that they are grouped into sets of red, white, and yellow. You might have one set of red, white, and yellow sockets - you might have several sets of these. Also, you might see another socket that says "S-Video" as well. These sockets are there so that you can plug your DVD player or VCR to your TV. The red and white sockets are where you would plug in the lines with red and white plugs from the DVD or VCR. These two sockets are for audio (left side audio and right side audio - they split the audio into 2 sides so that your TV can give you "stereo" sound if possible). The yellow socket is where you would plug in the line with the yellow plug from your DVD or VCR. The yellow socket is for video. I mentioned that there might also be an "S-Video" socket. This is a modern type of socket that is for video and you can use this instead of the yellow socket if your DVD player or VCR has a line that uses an S-Video plug. On the newest TVs you may also see an HDMI socket. This is a type of video socket that is even newer than the S-Video socket. If you have an HDTV (will describe later) and an HDTV cable or satellite box, then you will be need to plug in the lines with HDMI plugs into these sockets.
[PICTURE HERE] Each of the machines you plug into your TV can also be called an "Input" ("Input" is the word used in the instruction manuals for TVs and also the word that is printed on the outside - or next to - a button either on your TV or on the TV remote control). If you press the Input button, you can watch your satellite TV, DVD player, or VCR. Most modern TVs have 3 inputs you can use. That is, you can connect up to 3 other machines to your TV - for example, a satellite TV box, a DVD player, and a VCR. If you look in the back of your TV you will see sets of sockets for each input - and each set of sockets will be labeled "Input 1, "Input 2," "Input 3," etc. That is, say, for the Input 1 set, you will see a red socket, a white socket (red and white sockets are for audio (sound)), a yellow socket (video (picture)), maybe an S-video socket (better quality video than the yellow socket), and maybe an HDMI socket (HD audio and video all in one cable). You simply need to choose which input you want a machine "to be" when connected to your TV and then plug in the lines from the machine into the same input socket set in the back of your TV. Which line plugs into which socket in the back of your TV? Simply match the color and/or shape of the line plug to the color and/or shape of the socket in the back of your TV. So, for example, say you want to connect a DVD player to your TV and have the DVD player "be" Input 1 (that is, whenever you press the Input button on your TV remote control and choose Input 1, your TV will show your DVD player). Say, your DVD player has lines that have red, white, and yellow plugs. So, you would simply need to connect the DVD player's red line to the red socket in the Input 1 set in the back of your TV, connect the DVD player's white line to the white socket in the Input 1 set in the back of your TV, and connect the DVD player's yellow line to the the yellow socket in the Input 1 set in the back of your TV. Now, to watch your DVD player, I simply need to turn the DVD player on, turn the TV on, and press the Input button on your TV remote control enough times to select "Input 1," and now you can watch your DVD player. Note that at that point, you will use your DVD player's remote control to control the DVD player.
ANTENNA IN/CABLE IN:
In the back of your TV, you will also see one socket that is labeled "Antenna In" or "Cable In." This socket is where you would plug in the line from the TV antenna on top of the roof of your house or on top of your TV. If you are not using an antenna and are using cable or satellite TV, then this is the socket where you would plug in the line for your cable or satellite TV. The cable TV line might come out directly from the cable TV line in your wall, or it might come from a separate cable TV box (where the cable TV box is connected to the cable TV line in your wall). Most satellite TV always has a separate satellite TV box. Note that you (probably need to turn your TV to channel 3 or 4 and) turn on your cable or satellite TV box whenever you want to watch cable or satellite TV - and also use the cable or satellite TV box remote control to change cable or satellite TV channels.
Note that your TV does not have the Antenna In/Cable In socket labeled as an "Input." The reason for this is that the main purpose of a TV is to watch TV - whether you get you TV from an antenna - or if you watch cable TV or satellite TV. The manufacturers assume that when you turn on your TV, you want to watch regular, cable, or satellite TV - and that you don't want to have to select an Input first in order to watch. Thus, the manufacturers do not label Antenna In/Cable In as an "Input."
[PICTURE HERE] NO INPUTS/NO "ANTENNA IN" SOCKET:
If you have an older TV that does not have any of the sockets I mentioned above and only has two pairs of sockets that look like screws and are labeled "VHF" and "UHF", then you have a few choices you can make. To watch TV channels 2-13, using a regular set top box or roof antenna, the antenna line might have two letter "U" shaped forks at the end of the line. You can put these "U" shaped forks under the screw heads in the VHF set of screws (put one fork under each screw head). Then, take a screw driver and tighten the 2 VHF screws down so that the forks stay in contact with the VHF screws. If you want to watch TV channels 14 and higher, you will need another antenna. If you have another antenna, do the same thing as you did for the VHF set, but instead do it for the UHF set of screws.
If you want to watch cable or satellite TV, you need to go to an electronics store and buy a "coaxial to VHF/UHF" splitter. This is a little piece that has a socket on one side that you can screw or plug a cable or satellite TV cable into - and on the other side there will be two small lines with letter "U" shaped forks that you will attach to the VHF set of screws. You can also use this same method to connect a VCR to your TV. But, if you want to connect a DVD player to your TV, you cannot. You will have to buy a more modern TV.
DIGITAL/HDTV/WIDESCREEN:
In some countries, like Japan and the U.S. the TV channels that you can collect using an antenna are now all digital. That is, the TV channels use the digital language now - and this is a different language than was used before (analog was the language that was used before). So, if you still using an older TV - and using an antenna to watch TV - your TV will not understand the channels that your antenna catches and thus, you will not be able to watch TV. If you want to still watch TV using an antenna, you have 2 choices:
1.) Buy a digital converter box that you attach between the antenna line and your TV. This box will translate the TV channels' digital language into the analog language that your TV can understand.
2.) Buy a new TV. These are usually called "HDTVs." "HD" means "High Definition" and it is a type of digital TV that can give you a clearer picture than you used to get before. The idea of switching TV channels from an anolog system to a digital system was to be able to allow you to see a clearer picture. The digital language makes this possible.[PICTURE HERE] If you do choose to buy a new TV, you will see that the shape of the TV is different from older TVs. The new TVs are thinner than older TVs. Also, the rectangular shape of the screen is different as well. The shape of the screen on older TVs was close to the shape of a square. The shape of the screen on new TVs is much more wide and rectangular looking. The shape of your screen is called the screen ratio. A ratio is a way of describing how wide the width of something is compared to how high the height is. In older TVs the screen ratio is 4:3. What does 4:3 mean? Well, first, whenever you see screen ratios, they write it as one number, then a colon (:) and then another number. The first number represents the width of your screen. The second number represents the height of your screen. How do you understand a ratio? Well, let's use inches as an example. In a 4:3 screen ratio, it means that if your screen is 4 inches wide, then it will be 3 inches high. Now, I understand that there are not many TVs that have screens that are only 4 inches wide, but the purpose of the screen ratio is to describe to you the shape of screen that will always exist no matter how small or how large the TV is. You can think of the 4:3 screen ratio. Have you ever read a recipe in a cookbook that tells you something like "... add 4 cups of flour for every 3 cups of sugar..."? That is the same idea as the 4:3 screen ratio except instead of representing how much flour and sugar to add to your recipe, the 4:3 screen ratio represents how wide the width will be and how high the height will be on a TV screen. That is, say, for example, your TV screen is 4 foot wide, then it will also be 3 feet high. What about if your TV screen is 24 inches wide? How high will the TV screen be if the TV is designed using the 4:3 screen ratio? The height will be 18 inches high. How did we figure that out? If we know the width is 24, we need to figure out how many times 4 (the "4" part of the 4:3 screen ratio which represents width) can fit into 24. The answer is 6 times (that is, 24/4 = 6 or 24 = 4 x 6). So, we now take 3 (which is the height part of the 4:3 screen ratio) and multiply it by 6 to find the height, which is 18 inches (3 x 6 = 18). So, you can use the 4:3 screen ration to figure out the width or height of any TV that has a 4:3 sreen ratio if you know either the width or height. When you see a TV screen that is 4:3 screen ratio you can see that it is a rectangle, that looks close to being a square (that is, it is only a little bit more wide that it is high). This is the shape of TV screens that most people are used to and the shape that was used on all TVs until recently.
Now, most new TVs are sold as "widescreen TVs." The meaning of widescreen is that the screen ratio is now 16:9. Why did the TV manufacturers do this? Well, maybe you never knew before, but when you go to a movie theater, the movie screen in movie theaters is similar to a 16:9 screen ratio. That is, the screen is wider than the shape of your traditional TV screen. Actually, with older TVs, when you watch movies on your TV, the TV company "cuts off" a little bit of the left and right side of the picture so that movie fits on your TV screen. That is, when you watch a movie on your old TV screen, you don't see the full width of the picture as you would if you were watching the movie in a movie theater. So now, the TV manufacturers sell most new TVs as widescreen TVs. That is, most new TVs now have a 16:9 screen ratio. Why did the TV manufacturers do this? Because even though TV stations cut off the left and right parts of movies, DVDs do not. So, if you watch a DVD on your widescreen TV you can see the entire picture as you would see if you were watching the movie in a movie theater.
What is a VCR? A VCR is a "Video Cassette Recorder." This is a machine that connects to your TV and lets you watch movies, TV programs - and other things recorded (contained) in a videocassette (also known as videotapes, tapes, VHS tapes, etc.) - on your TV. You can also use a VCR to record TV programs (TV shows, movies on TV, etc.) onto a videocassette that you can play again on your VCR at a later date. The things recorded onto a videocassette (that you watch on your TV) can be generally called "videos." When VCRs started being produced there were several different types of videocassettes on the market - for example VHS and Betamax. Now, most of the world uses VHS videocassettes. Note though, that to watch VHS videocassettes, you need a VCR that can play VHS videocassettes. Most VCRs used today play VHS videocassettes.
Note that a VCR has sockets in the back of it, like a TV does. This is where you attach lines that connect the VCR to your TV. Also, because the VCR was designed to also record TV programs, there is a socket in the back of your VCR where you can plug in the antenna, cable, or satellite TV line (this is an "input" socket - that is the TV channels from your antenna, cable, or satellite TV line go "in" to your VCR using this socket). Then there is another socket where you plug in a line to connect your VCR to the Antenna In/Cable In socket on the back of your TV (this is an "output" socket - that is the TV channels go "out" of the VCR - then then to your TV). So, in other words, the TV channels will first go from the antenna or cable or sattelite TV line through your VCR before it gets to your TV. Why? Because the VCR needs to be inbetween the line connection between - your antenna, cable or sattelite TV - and your TV if you want to be able to record TV programs.
Note also, that for most machines you connect to your TV, that machine will have its own power line. You need to plug this power line into an electrical socket (like the one on your wall, into an extension cord, or into a power strip - if you do not know what these are, go to your local electronics or hardware store and they will be able to show you what these are and what they do).
The VCR has a remote control just like a modern TV. In addition to a power button, you will also see a button that says "TV/VCR." Pressing this button allows you to switch your TV from showing your videocassette to showing TV - and back again. That is, for example, you are currently watching a videovassette and you want to watch your TV for a little bit. You press the TV/VCR button once and you will see TV shows on your screen. Say you want to switch back to watching your videocassette again. You then simply press the TV/VCR button again and whatever you were watching on your videocassette will appear on your TV screen.
[PICTURE HERE] Your remote control may also have a button that has a single triangle symbol (with a flat side on the left side and the pointy side pointing to the right side) printed on the outside of it. This is the "Play" button. When you press this button, your videocassette will start "playing." "Playing" means "to show." So, when you play a videocassette, the VCR will make whatever videos are on the videocassette appear on your TV screen. Note, that whenever you see this triangle symbol (with a flat side on the left side and the pointy side pointing to the right side) in a modern machine, it always means "Play."
[PICTURE HERE] Your remote control may also have a button that has a symbol of two small lines standing up and next to each other printed on the outside of it. This is the "Pause" button. If you are playing a videocassette and press the pause button, the videocassette will stop - but you will still see the picture on your TV screen. If you want to continue playing, you simply press the play button to continue. Note, that whenever you see this symbol in a modern machine, it always means "Pause."
[PICTURE HERE] Note also, that many VCR manufacturers combine the play and pause button into one button. That is, instead of having a play button and a pause button, they only have button on the remote control that can play and pause. If that is the case, the play/pause button on your remote control will have the triangle symbol (play) - a backslash (diagonal line)- and then the two small lines standing up and next to each other symbol printed on the outside of the button. If you are playing a videocassette and you press the play/pause button, your videocassette will pause. If you press the play/pause button again, your video will play again. If you press the play/pause button again, your video will pause again, and so forth. Note, that whenever you see this symbol in a modern machine, it always means "Play/Pause."
[PICTURE HERE] Your remote control may also have a button that has a symbol of a square printed on the outside of it. This is the "stop" button. If you are playing a video and press the stop button, the video will stop and the picture will disappear from the TV screen. This is different than the pause button. Remember that the pause button will make the video stop - but that you will still see the picture on the TV screen. Pressing the stop button maks the video stop AND will make the picture disappear from the TV screen. Note, that whenever you see this symbol in a modern machine, it always means "stop."
[PICTURE HERE] Your remote control may also have a button that has two triangle symbols (with the flat side of both triangles on the left side and the pointy side pointing to the right side) printed on the outside of it. This button may also have the letters "FF" printed on the outside of it as well. This is the "fast forward" button. If you are currently playing a video, pressing this button will make the video play faster. You can press the play button when you want the video to play at normal speed again. If you have pressed the stop button and there is currently no picture on your TV screen, pressing the fast forward button will make your video go forward (but you will not see the picture on the TV screen) but will make it go foward very quickly - much quicker than if you pressed the fast forward button while you were playing the video. You press the fast forward button after you have pressed the stop button when you want to make your video go foward a lot - and very quickly. You can press the stop button to stop the video from going forward - or you can press the play button to make start playing the video at normal speed. Note, that whenever you see this symbol in a modern machine, it always means "fast forward."
[PICTURE HERE] Your remote control may also have a button that has two triangle symbols (with the flat side of both triangles on the right side and the pointy side pointing to the left side) printed on the outside of it. This button may also have the letters "REW" printed on the outside of it as well. This is the "rewind" button. If you are currently playing a video, pressing this button will make the video play backwards - and quickly. Note that making a video "going backwards" is called "rewinding" a video. You can press the play button when you want the video to play forward - and at normal speed - again. If you have pressed the stop button and there is currently no picture on your TV screen, pressing the rewind button will make your video go backwards (but you will not see the picture on the TV screen) but will make it go backwards very quickly - much quicker than if you pressed the rewind button while you were playing the video. You press the rewind button after you have pressed the stop button when you want to make your video go backwards a lot - and very quickly. You can press the stop button to stop the video from going backwards - or you can press the play button to make start playing the video at normal speed. Note, that whenever you see this symbol in a modern machine, it always means "rewind."
[PICTURE HERE] Your remote control may also have a button that has a triangle symbol with two small lines underneath the triangle. This is the "eject" button. If you press this button - and you have a videocassette inside your VCR, your VCR will make the videocassette come out. When a machine makes something come out of it, this is called "ejecting." If your remote control does not have this button, look on the VCR itself. You should see a similar button somewhere directly on the VCR itself.
Your remote control may also have a button that has a red dot printed on the outside of it. This is the "record" button. Sometimes the letters "REC" are printed on the outside of the button. If you have a videocassette in your VCR - and if the videocassette is able to record TV programs (see how you can tell below) - then pressing the record button will start recording whatever is on currently your TV screen. When you want to stop recording, press the stop button on your remote control.
[PICTURE HERE] If you want to watch a videocassette, look for a hole (sometimes called a "slot") in the front of your VCR. When you find it, you simply push your videocassette into the hole. Some VCRs have a door or basket on the top of the VCR. You usually have press the eject button to make it open - and when it does - you place your videocassette into the door or basket and then close the door or basket with your hand. If you find that you are having difficulty placing your videocassette into the VCR, turn the videocassette around and try it again - you might be holding the videocassette in the wrong direction. A VCR will only accept a videocassette if it is turned in the correct direction.
[PICTURE HERE] If you have recorded a TV program onto a videocassette that you do not want to erase in the future, you can adjust the videocassette so that that videocassette will not be recorded over (that is, your TV program will not be erased). On the long thin side of the videocassette that does not have a hinge (that is, there is one long thin side that is like a door - and another long thing side that is not), you will see something that looks like a square hole, about the size of a dime. This hole will have a small plastic cover in front of it. If you do not want this videocassette to be able to be recorded again, use your finger or a pen and push the small plastic cover that covers the square hole until the small plastic cover breaks and falls off. This small square hole is something the VCR feels each time you put a videocassette in your VCR. If the VCR feels that there is no hole (that is, there is a cover that fills the hole) then the VCR will allow the videocassette to be able to be recorded. If the VCR feels that the small square hole is uncovered, then the VCR will not let this videocassette be recorded on (if you press the record button nothingg will happen). If, you remove the small plastic cover from a videocassette but later in the future, you decide that you want to be able to record again on this videocassette, you can simply take a small piece of transparent tape (or any kind of tape) and tape over the small square hole - that is, use tape to cover it. The VCR will then think that the small plastic cover exists and allow you to record again on this videocassette.
Your remote control may also have a button on it that has the letters "EP/LP/SP" printed outside of it - or it may have something like "quality" or "speed" printed on the outside of it. When you record TV programs onto a videocassette the VCR gives you 3 choices as to the quality/speed that you want the TV program recorded. "EP" is one choice and this choice will allow your to record the most (timewise) TV programs onto a videocassette possible. The problem with "EP" is that the picture quality of your recording may not look so great when you watch it later on your VCR. "Picture quality" means "how clear the picture looks on your TV screen." So, we are talking about how good (or bad) the TV programs that you recorded on your videocassette will look when you play them (watch them) later again on your TV. "LP" is another choice and this choice allows you to record a good amount (timewise) of TV programs onto your videocassette. The picture quality of "LP" is generally good - better than "EP." "SP" is a choice that will not let you record a large amount (timewise) of TV programs onto your videocassette, but the picture quality of "SP" is the best. You press the EP/LP/SP button repeatedly until the quality/speed (EP, LP, or SP) you want shows up either on your TV screen or on the little screen in the front of your VCR. Then, the next time you press the record button, the TV program you are recording will be recorded at the quality/speed you had selected above. Many times when you buy a blank (nothing recorded on it) videocassette at the store, on the outside of the videocassette box, it will tell you how you can record (timewise) on that videocassetter. For example, the videocassette may say something like:
SP: 2 hours
LP: 4 hours
EP: 8 hoursRemember that if your remote control doesn't seem to work, be sure that you are pointing the small window or small light bulb on the front of your remote control towards the VCR or else the VCR will not be able to catch the light code that your remote control sends. Also, note you cannot have anything non-see-through (a glass or see-through plastic window is ok - a wooden door is not ok) standing in between the remote control and the VCR or else the VCR will not be able to see/catch the light code from the remote control. Also, note that the remote control uses batteries (which are kept in a small place on the back of the remote control which has a sliding door that you need to press firmly down on the bumpy part of the door with your thumb and - at the same time - slide the door downwards to remove the door and change your batteries). For example, if you are trying to press play on your VCR using your remote control and the VCR does not seem to be play - and you are pointing the front of the remote control towards the VCR - and there is nothing non-see-through blocking the front of your remote control and the small window on the front of the VCR - then the batteries in your remote control are probably weak or dead and need to be replaced.
What is a DVD player? This is a machine that connects to your TV and lets you watch movies, TV programs - and other things recorded (contained) in a DVD (also known as a DVD disc) - on your TV. DVDs are flat round things that are very shiny on at least one side. They look like a small record except it is usually shiny silver color instead of black. A DVD can contain movies, TV programs, and other things recorded onto it. A DVD player is very much like a VCR except the DVD player uses DVDs instead of videocassettes. Also, the things recorded on a DVD are all in digital language (whereas the things recorded on a videocassette are in the older, analog language). Because DVDs use the digital language, things recorded on a DVD can look clearer than things recorded on a videocassette when you watch them on your TV screen. The things recorded onto a DVD (that you watch on your TV) can be generally called "videos."
Note that the way you connect a DVD player to a TV is the same as a VCR except that your DVD player may not have an input socket for a an antenna, cable, or satellite TV line - it will only have an output socket to connect a line to your TV. The reason for this is that a DVD player only plays DVDs - it does not record - thus, it does not need to have an antenna, cable, or satellite line plugged into it. You can buy DVD recorders though that can record on DVDs, but most people currently still buy DVD players. For an explanation on how to connect your DVD player to your TV, see be above explanation about VCRs.
If you look at the remote control for a DVD player, you will see that it has many of the same buttons as a VCR. That is because both machines do almost the same thing - they let you watch movies, TV programs, and other recorded things contained on a DVD (DVD player) or a videocassette (VCR). To understand what each button means, see the above explanation about VCRs. I will only describe the remote control buttons that DVD players have that VCRs do not have.
[PICTURE HERE] Your remote control will have 2 buttons that each have a triangle symbol (the triangle for one of the buttons will have the flat side on the right side and the pointy side pointing to the left side with a small line standing next to it on the left - the triangle for the other button will be the opposite - it will have the flat side on the left side and the pointy side pointing to the right side with a small line standing next to on the right) printed on the outside of the buttons. These 2 buttons may also have the words "Previous (Track)" and "Next (Track)" printed on the outside of them as well. These are the "Skip Track" buttons. Videos on a DVD player are arranged as separate "tracks." For example, say you have a 2 hour long movie on your DVD. The company that made the DVD probably divided that movie into several tracks. For example, say the company that made your DVD took the 120 minute (2 hours) movie on that DVD and divided it into 15 minute tracks. That means the movie on your DVD is divided into 8 tracks (8 x 15 minutes = 120 minutes = 2 hours). Tracks are like "chapters" in a book (except in this case, this we are talking about a movie). The DVD companies created tracks so that it would be easier and quicker for you to skip to certain parts of your DVD (instead of like a VCR where you sometimes have to let fast forward or rewind run for a few minutes to get to certain parts of your videocassette). So, pressing either skip track buttons (the one button with the symbol pointing to the left will skip to the previous track - the button with the symbol pointing to the right will skip to the next track - or if you are already at the last track, will skip all the way back to the first track) allow you to skip 15 minutes each time you press the button.
[PICTURE HERE] Your remote control will also have a button that has the word "Menu" or "Disc Menu" printed on the outside of it. This is the "Menu" button. Many DVDs (especially those with movies recorded on them) have their own menu that is included on the DVD itself. Pressing the menu button will take you to a menu that will appear on your TV screen. Your remote control will also have 4 keys (or sometimes one key with 4 sides you can press) that have little arrows drawn on them. These are the arrow keys and you use them to move the cursor on the menu that appears on your TV screen. You will be able to see where your cursor is because the choice the cursor is currently on will have a slightly different color than the other choices on your screen. When your cursor is on the choice you want, press the button in the middle of your arrow keys (that has the word "OK" printed on the outside of it) to choose your choice. The menus on many DVDs include choices such as what subtitles you want to appear on your screen when watching the DVD (subtitles are the words that the characters in the movie are saying - thus, you can read what the characters are saying instead of just listening to what they are saying), what language you want the audio to be in (some DVD movies allow you to hear the movie translated into different languages), and also which track you want to skip to (many movie DVDs will show you a small picture reminder of what you will see at each track just in case you are not sure which track you want to skip to), etc.
We have already covered a lot about cell phones in the examples when we were learning vocabulary words earlier in the book. Thus, I will just mention a few important things about cell phones that haven't been explained already. First, cell phones today come in a few different styles (but all generally do the same thing). Some of the most common styles you will see are the "Candybar" phone, the "Slider" phone, and the "Clamshell"/"Flip" phone. A candybar phone is where the phone is one piece, ready to use. You do not need to slide anything open of flip/unfold anything open in order to use the phone. A slider phone is a phone made up of 2 parts connected together with one part lying flat on top of the other part. When you want to use a slider phone, you pull or push apart both parts so that the phone becomes longer and you can see the screen and keyboard. When you are finished using the phone, you just push the 2 parts towards each other and the phone will "close" itself. The slider phone is designed to save space when you are not using the phone (when the 2 parts are pushed closed on top of each other, the phone is shorter than when the phone is open) and also to protect the screen from getting accidentally scratched and the keyboard buttons from getting accidentally pressed when you are not using the phone. A clamshell/flip phone is also made of 2 parts, but these 2 parts are connected by a hinge (unlike the slider where you slide the 2 parts across each other). When you want to use the phone you just pull the two parts apart and the two parts will open up like the shell of a clam. When you are finished using the phone, you just pust the 2 parts towards each other and the phone will "close" itself. The clamshell/flip phone is also designed to save space when you are not using the phone as well as protect the screen from getting accidentally scratched and the keyboard buttons from getting accidentally pressed when you are not using the phone.
[PICTURE HERE] Note that a cell phone uses its own "special" battery. This battery is special because it is not a battery you usually might see in a store. That is, it is not an AA, AAA, C, or D battery that you see sold in many stores. Most cell phone manufacturers make a special battery for use only with their company's cell phones. Don't worry if you don't know where to buy a replacement battery when the power in your current battery runs out of power because all cell phones use "rechargeable" batteries. A rechargeable battery is a battery that you can use again and again. That is, when a rechargeable battery runs out of power, you just need to "recharge" (can also say "charge") it with electricity from an electrical socket in your wall. Cell phones come with a recharger (also called a battery charger). It is usually a small black colored plastic piece with 2 lines coming out of it. One of the lines you plug into the electrical socket in your wall. The other line you plug into your cell phone when the power in your cell phone battery runs out of power (you will see something on your cell phone screen telling you that your cell phone battery is low on power or out of power (also, your cell phone will probably automatically beep a few times to tell you that the battery is about to run out of power). When the recharger is plugged into the electrical socket in your wall - and to your cell phone - your battery is recharging. Read the instruction manual for your cell phone and they will tell you how long you need to recharge your cell phone battery until it is considered "fully charged" ("fully charged" means that "when the battery has 100% power again). When your battery is fully charged, simply disconnect the battery recharger line from your cell phone and you can now use it again.
One more thing about cell phones. Note that they do not have any lines or cables plugged into the wall when you want to make a call. They are not like regular telephones you find in your house or office that have a line plugged into the wall. A cell phone works kind of like a radio in some ways. All cell phones have an antenna. If you do not see an antenna on the outside of a cell phone, then the antenna is built into the inside of the cell phone. But, either way a cell phone does have an antenna like a radio. The phone calls you receive and make on your cell phone are sent like radio is. Have you ever taken a radio to the basement or to some indoor place with no windows and only walls? If so, you might have noticed that you are not able to hear some radio stations whenever you go somewhere underground or into some indoor place that does not have windows. A cell phone works the same way. That is, many times you will not be able to receive or make calls if you are in the basement or somewhere indoors where there are no windows. There is something on your cell phone screen that will show you how easy - or how difficult - it would be to receive and make cell phone calls from your cell phone standing right where you are. This measurement is called "signal strength" - so, your cell phone screen will tell you how strong the cell phone signal is where you are standing. You will usually see a line of small blocks or dots in a row on your cell phone screen next to a symbol that looks like an antenna. This is the signal strength meter. When it is easy to receive and make cell phone calls where you are standing, the signal strength meter will show all the small blocks (this means you have a "strong signal" standing where you are). When it is difficult to receive or make a phone call where you are standing, the signal strength meter will show one or none of the small blocks (this means you have a "weak signal" standing where you are). Any other signal strength in between strong and week will show the appropriate number of small blocks on your cell phone screen to indicate the signal strength. So, if you are trying to receive or make a cell phone call but you can't because you have a weak signal, walk to another room where there are more windows (or better yet, go outside) and try again.
Sometimes you will see dashes ("-") in the middle of a phone number. For example, the phone number 1-800-555-1212. Please understand that the dashes don't mean anything. There is no dash button on your telephone that you need to press when you are trying to dial a phone number. People add dashes in a phone number just so it is easier to read. Someone a long time ago thought that the phone number 18005551212, when written with dashes as 1-800-555-1212 is easier to read. For example, if someone asked you to read out loud the phone number when written like this: 18005551212 - do you think it would be difficult to read out loud? Probably a little bit. But, when the same phone number is written as 1-800-555-1212 - it would probably be a little bit eaier to read out loud.
But, when you see parentheses ("(" and ")")in phone numbers - this means something completely different. Numbers that you see "inside" parentheses, such as (212) 666-6868 are usually codes that represent where this phone number is located. We can generally call them "location codes." For example, in the United States, if you see a number like (212) 666-6868 - you know that this is a phone number in New York City. How do you know that? In the United States, 212 is the "area code" for New York City. How do you know that? Many phone books in the United States have a list of area codes for the United States where they list the area code and also what part of the United States that area code represents. Other countries might not use an "area code" system. Other countries might have a "city code" system where the number in parentheses indicates what city the phone number is located in. Each country has their own have rules about whether or not you need to dial these location code numbers each time you make a phone call or not. Also, some countries have rules where you are required to dial a certain number or certain numbers before you dial the location code. For example, in the United States, you need to always dial a 1 before you dial the area code in a phone number. So, in the United States, if someone asked you to dial the phone number (212) 666-6868, you would have to press these numbers on your phone: 1 212 666 6868. Each country has their own rules about location codes and what (if any) additional numbers need to be dialed first. Check with your friends, relatives, coworkers, or anyone else who can help you with this to make sure you know what numbers need to be dialed each time you make a phone call.
In English speaking countries, you may see some phone numbers in advertisements that have letters in the phone number. For example, you might see an advertisement for an airline company and their phone number is FLY-1234. You might be wondering - how can I dial this phone number? F, L, and Y are not numbers - how can I dial them - which keys do I press? We had mentioned this earlier when talking about how to save someones information in your cell phone address book, but when dialing a phone number it is a little bit different. If you look at the number keys on your cell phone, you will see small letters printed below some of the numbers. For example, under the number 3 you will see "DEF" printed on the outside of the the number 3 key. Under the number 5 you will see "JKL" printed on the outside of the the number 5 key. Under the number 9 you will see "XYZ" printed on the outside of the the number 9 key. So, to dial the phone number we just mentioned, you would dial 3 5 9 1234. Why? Because any time you see the letters "D," "E," or "F" in a phone number, that means, press the number 3 key. Any time you see the letters "J," "K," or "L" in a phone number, that means, press the number 5 key. Lastly, any time you see the letters "W," "X," "Y," or "Z" in a phone number, that means, press the number 9 key. You might stil be confused. You might be thinking to yourself "well how does my phone know that when I press the number 3 key that I mean "F" and when I press the number 5 key that I mean "L" and that when I press the number 9 key that I mean "Y"?" Think of it like this - the phone number in our example, FLY-1234 - what is this phone number for? It is the phone number for an airline. It is also a type of marketing and advertisement for the airline? How is it marketing and advertising? They use the word "FLY" in as part of their phone number. The word "fly" is related to flying - and what do airlines do? They fly airplanes. So, the phone number is designed by the airline company so that it is "easy" for you to remember their phone number. So, if you keep in mind that this type of phone number is a type of marketing and advertising, then also think about this: the company itself purposely designed this phone number. What happened is this. The airline company had an idea that they wanted the word "FLY" in their phone number, so they asked the phone company if the number 359-1234 is available for them to buy. The phone company said yes and the airline company bought the phone number. Then, the airline company printed their phone number as FLY-1234 (359-1234) in advertisements, knowing that when you see the phone number, you would dial 359-1234. In other words, for example, when you press the number 3 key, your phone doesn't know if you mean to press "F" (and it doesn't care either). The airline company has already planned and figured this out for you. The airline wants you to press 359-1234 when dialing their number.
Well, we have come to the end of the book and I hope that you have gained some better knowledge of how modern machines are designed - how to use modern machines - and also how to figure out how to use modern machines you don't know how to use by using the knowledge you have learned from using other modern machines (and this book) to find clues and similar patterns to help you find your answer.
Note, that there are some modern machines that are very popular now that I haven't talked about. This would include computers, digital cameras, and mp3 players. I did not talk about computers because there are already many good books on the market that teach you how to use computers. My books teaches things you need to know even before you can understand what those books are talking about. Digital cameras and mp3 players can have many features - more than I can list here in this one book. But, using the knowledge you have learned here, you should be able to understand the instruction manuals for these machines to learn how to use them.
Just, always rememeber the way you should think whenever you try to learn anything - or solve anything - about modern machines. You need to:
A.) Think about what you are trying to accomplish and what the situation is.
B.) Think about things that you learned before that seem to be related to this situation or that can be used for this situation
C.) Do not consider any ideas or solutions that don't seem to be related at all to the situation
D.) Try out a few of the ideas from step B above
E.) If things still don't work for you, keep in mind step A and step B and try pressing other buttons or keys that you think might be the solution to the problem - in other words, keep on repeating the above steps until you find the solution
Also, I want to emphasize that modern machines are always changing and new products come on the market each year - each with new features. If you are interested in knowing what is current now - go to the electronics stores - look at the new products - ask your friends, relatives, and co-workers about what new machines are coming out soon. Also, read newspapers, electronics, or computer magazines for more information - or if know how to use computers and the internet - read technology news articles for the latest information. Above all, ask questions if you don't know something - but want to know. Don't feel shy or embarassed to ask things. You are only trying to improve your knowledge - and if someone makes you feel uncomfortable when you ask them questions - find someone else - or some other way - to get your answers. Do not accept ignorance. I hope that I have taught you enough now so that you know what questions to ask people when you have questions about modern machines (where maybe you did not know how to express your curiousity about modern machines). I hope thgat you feel comfortable and more confident around modern machines now. Modern machines are found everywhere in our modern world so, I hope I have been able to make you feel more in touch, more connected, and feel more in control over today's modern world.