When you think of a computer imagine a machine made of two parts. The first part is the computer hardware, the physical parts of the computer that you can actually touch. Some examples of hardware are disks, monitors, boards, chips, etc. Hardware does all of the physical work of the computer, from memory storage to display.

The second part, what we call “computer software”, acts as the brain of the computer, telling the hardware what to do and when and how to do it.

Think of a computer as a living being — in this example, the hardware would be the body, the eyes, the limbs, the lungs, etc. Computer software would be the mind, interpreting sounds we hear with our ears into recognizable symbols. The “software” in our brain would tell our other body parts how to behave. Both parts are crucial for the survival of the body.

Computer hardware, any single part of a larger machine, is only ever on or off. There are no other states of being for the hardware, and computer hardware operates on a system called “binary”. Computer software uses this binary code to tell the computer hardware what to do. Computer software translates our human input (clicking a mouse or loading a disk into a drive) into a language that the computer hardware can use to actually perform a function. As such, computer software depends on hardware to survive just as much as hardware depends on software.

Where Does Computer Software Come From?

Computer software is usually created by computer programmers using a programming language. The programmer “learns” a programming language that the computer can use to command the hardware to perform a task.

The computer programmer (or software engineer) writes commands in a given programming language tha the computer understands. These “languages” are not totally like languages you speak, but many of them use our language in a way that makes sense to the programmer. Common commands in programming languages are things like “if / then” or “type” or “function”. These individual commands are called “code”.

Another piece of software called a “compiler” takes the source code writen by a software engineer and translates it into the language that the computer understands. What starts as a series of translations results in activity at the software and hardware level of a computer known as a computer “program”. This is just another word for software.

Different Types of Computer Software

Though there are any number of subsets of computer software, most of it falls into two main categories: “system software” and “application software”.

System software means that a piece of software commands a piece of hardware to run so that the computer functions. Application software is what we call programs that do anything besides the basic operation of the hardware.

While there are other “types” of software, most of them can be considered one of the above.

Computer software is vital to the operation of your computer and to the everyday things you do with it. Without computer software your computer would be a very expensive paperweight. The next time you send an email or play solitaire take a moment to thank a software engineer.

This article is part of a series we’re doing on computer basics. The other posts in this series are:

• What Is Wireless Internet Access?
• What Is a Hard Drive?
• What Is a Software Patch?

A hard drive is a crucial element of our modern computer systems. The hard drive is the aprt of the computer where all of your programs and files are stored. Think of it as the file folder of your computer. A hard drive is also known as a hard disk drive.

The hard drive is so crucial to the computer that If the drive is somehow damaged, you will lose everything you have stored on your computer.

How Does a Hard Drive Work?

Strangely enough, a hard drive uses memory storage similar to VHS tapes or cassettes.

Where a VHS tape or a cassette uses long strips of black tape infused with a magnetic material to store information, hard drives contain little round mirrors covered in magnetic material that is able to record data. Looking at a hard drive next to a VHS tape, you wouldn’t think the two were at all similar. But just as your VCR reads data from a VHS tape, a piece inside your hard drive reads and writes data on the little mirror looking platters. If you were looking at a hard drive, you’d see a tiny arm attached to the memory platters — this arm moves back and forth over the memory, doing its work nearly silently.

Most hard disk drives these days contain multiple memory platters stacked one on top of the other something like a layer cake. There is a tiny space between each layer which gives the drive room to move around and move the arms back and forth to write and rewrite data. When you turn your computer on, the memory platters start spinning. If the vent fan on your computer isn’t running, you can hear the steady but quiet hum of the memory platters at work. You can hear them because they’re moving really fast — about 7,200 rotations per minute for a desktop or about 5,500 rpm for a laptop computer.

No matter if your computer is writing or searching for memory or not, the hard disk is always spinning. It is the arm that we talked about earlier that jumps into action whenever you run a progrem, open a file, alter, save, or delete a file, or a few other minor actions. That little arm is a fast bugger — it can move back and forth over the surface of the platter up to 50 times per second, so fast that if you could watch it in action, the arm would just look like a little blur.

Remember that everything in your hard disk drive moves very fast, so the arm and the drive head never actually touch the memory platters. They skip over the surface of the platter like a hovercraft, supported by a bit of fast-moving air created by the spinning of the platter. Most people are really surprised to learn how much work their computer is doing when they save a file — there’s so much kinetic energy in there its no wonder that we need heat sinks and fans.

What Can Cause a Hard Drive Crash?

Electrical problems with the logic board can cause a hard drive to crash, as can simple shock to drives that are made of glass or other weak material. Luckily, most manufacturers have switched to a material that is not as easily broken.

Another common hard drive failure happens when there are tiny imperfections on the magnetic media on the platters. If a single sector on the hard disk fails to hold alignment, the data will become inaccessible to the user. Most hard drives have these tiny flaws, but the manufacturer marks them in such a way as to prevent the computer from accessing them. You can have your flawed platters fixed in a similar way after-market, but that process will wipe your memory.

The most dramatic example of a hard drive crash is called a “head crash”. This happens when the rapidly moving paltters cause the “heads” holding the arms to literally crash into the memory platters. This is usually caused by dirt or dust in your hard drive that settles on the platters and causes them to bounce and wobble. Remember that the recording medium on the platters is really fragile and is usually totally ruined when the heads crash into it.

This article is part of a series we’re doing on computer basics. The other posts in this series are:

• What Is Wireless Internet Access?
• What Is a Software Patch?

A software patch is a piece of code designed to fix glitches, bugs, or compatibility issues between the software and commonly used hardware or operating systems.

When a piece of software is released to the general public, it gets put through its paces. People with all different computer systems and hardware start to use that piece of software and discover little problems that the programmers missed. Even though software developers test software over and over to be sure their creation is completely glitch-free, even the most skilled engineers can’t design a perfect tool.

Another common use of a software patch is to make old software compatibile with new hardware, new operating systems, or other pieces of new software. When this happens, a software programmer will create a software patch in order to increase the market for their invention and boost sales. It is difficult to make money on the millions of people who now own iPhones if your software isn’t compatibile with the iPhone OS.

How Do I Find a Software Patch?

When you notice a problem that keeps popping up with a piece of software it may be time to find a software patch. It is likely that you’re not the first to notice this issue.

Luckily, it is easy to look for software patches using the Internet. Use a Google search for “software patch” and the name of the program, such as “Windows XP”.

Software patches are usually free to download right to your computer.

Installing a Software Patch

Installing a software patch is easier now than it has ever been. Gone are the days when you had to manually type in pages of commands and other instructions just to get your patch to work properly. Most of the time after downloading the software patch these days you just click the downloaded icon and a few minutes later your software is patched.

Software Patch Tips

Be careful when downloading a software patch that doesn’t come from the developer. Lots of computer games have dedicated fans who create software patches to intensify or change the game play, but a badly written software patch could create all new problems with the software.

Not all software patches are called “patches”. If you’re looking for a download that makes big changes to a piece of software, this is called a software “update”.

Some software patches may not be free — this is most common with games. When a game developer wants to expand a game (or expand their profit) they release what are called “extension packs” or just “packs”.

If you are fan of a particular piece of software that you can’t find a patch for — such as a patch to update the software to make it compatible with new hardware — you can usually request that a software patch be developed. Software programmers are thrilled to find out that you love their work and most are happy to develop something for you. To do this, contact the software developer and make your request.

This article is part of a series we’re doing on computer basics. The other post in this series is:

• What Is Wireless Internet Access?

Put simply, a secured loan is any loan that is backed up by an asset or a piece of collateral.

Secured loans are the easiest way for consumers to get big loans without waiting too long. A lender won’t usually loan a big amount of money without something to back it up — in this case, your word is not good as gold. For the consumer, the secured loan can act as a guarantee that you will pay back the loan. For people who have trouble paying back debts, putting their house or another piece of collateral on the line is incentive to pay off the loan in a timely fashion.

What Kind of Collateral Do You Need?

An interesting tweak in the secured loan system is that the item being purchased (for which the secured loan is necessary) can be used as collateral. Most secured loans are taken out to buy a home or a car, and a lien can be placed on the item. This lien means that your bank or finance company will own the title or deed until the loan has been paid off, including any appilcable fees and interest.

If you don’t want to risk your home or your car on a secured loan, you can put up financial commodities like stocks or bonds as collateral, or a valuable piece of personal property.

What Other Types of Secured Loans Exist?

Not all secured loans are taken out to pay for new property. You can use a secured loan as a home equity loan or a new line of credit paid on your home’s equity. Some people are using secured loans as second mortgages as well. Secured loans not used for new purchases are based on the amount of equity in the home — this equity being the value of your home minus the amount still owed. In this case, your home is used as collateral. Be careful using a secured loan based on your home equity — if you don’t make payments on time you could lose your home.

There are still other types of secured loans, like debt consolidation loans. In this case, you use your home or another piece of property as collateral. The reason debt consolidation loans work — instead of paying off several high interest debts each month, a large chunk of money is loaned to you in order to pay off the original lenders, and you only have to pay back the one big secured loan. Interest rates for secured loans are almost always lower than the interest rate on your debt, and your monthly payments on your secured loan are likely lower than the payments made toward your debt. A secured loan used as debt consolidation loan will save you money as well as time mailing bills each month.

The secured loan is the opposite of the unsecured loan. An unsecured loan is a loan made without collateral. Your line of credit with a credit card, student loans, and even bank notes are generally unsecured loans. The difference? An unsecured loan has a much higher interest rate than a secured loan, because unsecured loans are not backed by collateral.

If you are looking for a loan and can’t seem to get a line of credit, a secured loan could be your ticket to the cash you need. If you own a piece of property with a high value to use as collateral, or if the item you’re trying to purchase can be used as collateral and placed under a lien, you could be on your way to the loan you need.

The ability to access the Internet wirelessly is provided by a local area network, or LAN. This network allows Internet access using radio waves rather than wires. Traditionally, the Internet was accessible only through phone lines or cable — but wireless Internet access is fast becoming the standard.

Wireless Internet access starts with a central hub that contains a hard-wired Internet connection. This hub, usually found attached to the main computer system or server in a network, broadcasts radio waves that bring the Internet to specific computers which are part of the same wireless network. How do you become part of a wirelss network? If you are in range of the LAN’s radio waves and your computer is equipped with a wireless card, you can access the Internet wirelessly. Generally, these networks are password protected.

Wireless Internet Access in the Home

In a residential setting, wireless Internet will broadcast anywhere from 100 to 250 feet around the central hub. This means that anyone in the home (even on the front porch or upstairs) with a laptop or desktop and a wireless card can connect to the Internet using the home’s wireless network. Sometimes, your close neighbors can access your LAN and use your wireless connection — wireless Internet technology is improving and the size of wireless networks is expanding. This is a big reason why your wireless LAN should be set up with a password. You don’t want people outside your home using your wireless to do something unwholesome.

Wireless Internet Access at Work

Millions of people enjoy the convenience of wireless Internet at home, but wireless Internet is a big part of the commercial world as well. An old school wired network is difficult and expensive to install all over your building, and your office setup is set in stone once you’ve hard-wired offices for the Internet. It is difficult to rearrange an office when your Internet access is limited to one spot. Don’t forget that installing new Internet access points with Ethernet cables means tearing up the walls, celings, and floors of the office space you’re in. The reasons many businesses were hesitant to switch to wireless Internet are the same reasons most people were hesitant — Ethernet cables provided a graeter level of security and faster data speeds. Once wireless technology caught up with (and then began to outperform) traditional wired access, commercial properties began using wireless connections. They’re simply cheaper, more convenient, more secure, and faster.

Wireless LANs can be installed in a few minutes by anyone with a bare minimum of computer savvy. Compared to Ethernet LANs, wireless networks using WPA2 encryption are far more secure than Ethernet connection. All traffic on a wireless network secured by WPA2 is encrypted, not just “sensitive” traffic like that to financial partners or email accounts.

Wireless LAN Technology is still improving. When installing  a new wireless network, be sure to purchase tools that support the latest protocols and security features for wireless networks — buy network cards, hubs, and wireless modems that are built to the highest standard.

An MP3 player is a wonderful piece of technology that’s taken over the world of personal music players — the next generation of the LP, the cassette, and the CD. An MP3 Player, put simply, is a device that plays files called “mp3″ files.

What Is an MP3 File?

An MP3 is a form of digital audio file that is compressed into a portable and easy-to-handle size using a specific audio recording standard. These standards are defined by the Motion Pictures Experts Group, known as MPEG. Where does the name come from? These files are technically called “MPEG-1, Layer 3″, hence the shortened version, “MP3″. These files use only about 10% of the storage requirements of the popular CD format, meaning you can squeeze more music onto a smaller space using MP3 files.

MP3 Player Specifics

MP3 players come in all different sizes, colors, shapes, and capabilities. The smallest and highest-end MP3 players use a specific kind of memory known as “flash” — unlike conventional memory you might have on your desktop or laptop computer, “flash” memory does not lose stored information when the power source is removed or turned off.

Flash memory is crucial to these devices — it takes up little space, uses little power, and lets designers of MP3 devices create really small devices that have extended battery lives. Both important features when designing a personalized music playing system.

The major benefit of an MP3 player is that a consumer can hold a huge chunk of their music collection in their hand rather than lugging around bulky boxes or cases of CDs. Also, MP3 users can create endless amounts of personalized music lists and carry thousands of songs, videos, and even mini games in their pocket wherever they go.

All of that stored music and the MP3 player itself fit into a device that, in some cases, weighs less than one ounce. Portability is a large factor in the popularity of the MP3, considering the ease of transportation in comparison to a CD player and CD storage case. In addition, some devices provide additional technology, like video and photo viewing, alarm and calendar functions, and even cell phone and Internet service.

Downside of MP3 Players

The major case against flash memory based MP3 players is their limited storage capacity. If you have a huge music collection, you’re never going to get everything onto a flash based MP3 player — you’ll need a hard drive backup or a larger hard disk based MP3 device. Some of the larger MP3 devices can store tens of thousands of songs (some companies claiming storage of over 100,000 songs) but you lose the small size and portability features of the flash-based MP3 players. The cost is different as well — flash-based MP3 players are cheaper.

If you are a music fan and you don’t own an MP3 player, you are behind the curve. You shouldn’t upgrade to an MP3 player system just because it is the hot new technology — do it because CDs are on the way out, and all music could one day exist digitally, rather than on a hard disc.

A savings account is any bank account used to hold money and draw interest. It differs from a checking account in that a savings account can not be drawn on by checks, debit cards, or any other personal financial tool — the other crucial difference is that a checking account doesn’t draw interest.

Savings Account Basics

I don’t want to steer your wrong — not just banks offer savings accounts. You can open savings accounts at credit unions,or open a money market fund through an investment company. There are lots of ways to open a savings account, so if you don’t want to do business with a bank, you’re in luck.

Unlike a 401k or an IRA account, savings account funds are easy to get access to if you need to — simply transfer funds from your savings account to your checking account or even withdraw money directly at your bank, but every savings account is a little different, so your bank may in fact charge for withdrawing money out of your savings account. For the most part, bank members have the ability to freely withdraw money from their savings account, as long as your bank is open or you can get to one of your bank’s ATMs.

One good reason to open a savings account — earning interest on your money. There are other reasons — your savings account is a secure place to store your cash, far better than zipping it up in a plastic bag and burying it in the garden. Even better than a checking account, which we all know earns us exactly nothing.

Savings Account Insurance

Savings accounts are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC. When you open a savings account, the FDIC insures your money up to $250,000.

This means if the bank goes bankrupt or fails for some other reason, the FDIC will protect your investment up to a certain amount.

Be sure to check that the savings account you’re opening is FDIC insured — there’s no reason to open an unsecured account — they’re everywhere. Almost every bank, credit union or investment company offers this insurance. Don’t go without it.

How To Pick A Savings Account

Do some shopping — look for a savings account that offers a high interest rate. While it is no longer true that banks offer better interest than credit unions, you should compare a series of both banks and credit unions in order to find a competitive interest rate. Money market funds offer the widest variety of rates, but interest rates will always fluctuate based on the stock market and other financial markets — you may find awesome interest rates one year and the next year be stunned by how low your interest rate offers are. This is why it pays to do your homework.

Because there are so many places to find a savings account, the competition for your money is heavy. You should use this to your advantage.

Some banks offer their customers incentives, everything from cash ($50 deposited to your account at opening) to high interest rates for a year or even cheesy giveaways like cars and vacations. Though these gimmicks are just what they sound like — cheap tactics to get customers — you can use them to your advantage. Make the banks compete for you, and let your money start making you money.

Currency trading is a kind of commodities exchange much like stock or futures markets only the trading occurs between the values of different currencies. Since one country’s currency is always a different value relative to another currency, the difference that exists becomes a trade-worthy commodity.

Currency Trading Basics

Despite the fact that it is a volatile market (with high possibility of financial loss) currency trading is the largest financial market on the planet. Depending on whose estimate you believe, there is about $2 trillion traded in the currency market every day. We think of the New York Stock Exchange as a large financial market, but when compared to the currency market, the $50 billion traded on Wall Street seems like pocket change. The currency market is simply enormous, partially because it involves traders from all over the world and partially because its only commodity is cash.

The currency market is commonly referred to as “foreign exchange”, FOREX, or just FX. You’ll see all three names in use in different settings.

All currency has a value that changes relative to the world’s other currencies, and traders on the foreign exchange market buy and sell large chunks of currency to make “leverage” against the ups and downs in that relative value — the goal is to buy one currency when its value is low and sell it again when that value reaches a profitable level. Yep, the old “buy low sell high” principle is at work again.

Why Does Currency Change Value?

Two main reasons — the most common reason is international commerce. When people from one country want to invest or purchase an item or product from another country, their money’s value must be weighed against the value of currency in the market in which they’re shopping. The same process works in reverse — when money leaves or enters a country, that money’s value must be known before it can be converted for commercial use. Basically — when money changes hands or crosses borders, its value must be known.

The second reason for the change in currency’s value turns out to be the foreign exchange market itself. The forces of “speculation” in the currency market actually affect the currency being traded.

It happens like this — an investor makes a speculation about the value of a given currency based on current events or some other inside information. That investor then either purchases sells a currency based on that notion. On a small scale, these kinds of decisions don’t have much impact, but when a speculation turns into a trend, it can have major consequences on given currency, and even on a country’s economy in the big picture.

For example, a financial crisis in Asia in 1997 was seen as a chance for investors to turn global economic downturn into profit. Financial market speculators used FOREX to buy currency low and sell high. This had a negative impact in the long run, as most economists credit the financial market with extending the downward financial trend in East Asia that year.

Why Currency Trading?

There are plenty of benefits to currency trading when considered against any kind of market equity trading. Because the “spreads” between different currencies are low, an investor can make a low initial investment. Besides low cost, there is the chance for making huge amounts of cash in very little time. Returns as high as 500 : 1 are often reported by members of the FOREX community, as compared to similar high boasts of ratios like 100 : 1 on the NYSE.

This last feature — high potential gain — is cut by a serious chance of loss. Amateur investors or people who don’t understand the financial market, stand a good chance of losing their shirt. Remember that gambles for big gain often mean gambles for big loss.

In researching the post, our writer contacted various police and law enforcement agencies to provide our readers with the best information. This is typical for us — we don’t weigh in on an issue without doing our homework.

Our research indicated two facts –

1. There is no specific law restricting the operation of a motor vehicle without shoes in any of the fifty states or the District of Columbia

and

2. Every state’s department of public safety has a recommendation that drivers wear shoes, either to avoid reckless driving charges (a very real possibility) or injury during an accident.

If AskDeb.com provided bad or misinformation, we apologize and formally correct that error.

Still, we stand behind our writer’s original advice — driving barefoot can get you ticketed for reckless driving (or any number of other statutes) and can cause severe injury in the case of an accident.

While you will not be ticketed specifically for “driving barefoot”, your state’s DPS can ticket you for any number of driving offenses related to barefoot driving.

Thanks for your responses, and we hope that you will continue to come to AskDeb.com for all your questions . . . even ones which we sometimes have difficulty answering.

Online banking is a system by which a banking customer can conduct bank transactions using the Internet. The movement of banking into the online world was inevitable — as soon as the Internet became ubiquitous it was only a matter of time before we handled everything (even our personal finances) on the Internet.

Online banking means we have one less reason to leave the house. With online banking, you can do everything you would normally do at your bank from the comfort of your computer. Make deposits, transfer funds, and even pay bills using your Internet connection. About the only thing you can’t do with online banking is make a withdrawal — it’d be nice if our printers could spit out money, but the technology’s just not there yet.

Benefits of Online Banking

The main purpose of online banking is to create convenience for bank customers. Rather than waiting for a bank statement to come in the mail, you can access all of your bank statement information right in your web browser. You can check your account balances 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In general, your bank will provide you with login details (username and password) and the URL you should use to log on.

Another big convenience factor with online banking — security. You can catch any banking discrepancies on your various accounts right away and deal with them well before you could if you were relying on paper statements. You don’t even need to be at home on your own computer — safety features allow you to access your account from any computer in the world. If you have Internet access, you have access to your bank.

If you choose to pay your bills online through your bank, you will find yourself writing far fewer checks. Not just paper checks, but the cost of postage stamps and the pain of walking down to the mailbox are all gone. Online bill pay is one of the most convenient aspects of online banking — simply enter the amount of the bill to be paid and the funds will be automatically deducted from the bank account of your choice. Even better news — the cost to the bank for providing these online services is low, so that savings is passed on to the consumer. Sure, some banks charge a fee for online banking, but it is usually extremely low. When you figure in the cost in time spent standing in bank lines or dealing with crotchety tellers, the cost of online banking is justified.

Downsides of Online Banking

The most secure Internet connection in the world is still vulnerable to hacking or interference. Since online banking depends so heavily on the Internet, outages and security breeches can be a serious problem. Sure, your information is insured and encrypted, and the chance that your online bank account will be compromised is slim, it does happen. While hacking and irresponsible online behavior can be a problem, rest assured that reputable online banks have lots of security features and stopgap measures to prevent fraud.

Another downside is the lack of personalized service. Maybe you like going in and dealing with the same bank teller week after week — with online banking, you may never see a teller’s face again. On the upside, any time you need to make a cash withdrawal or if you have to deposit cash or checks, you will be spending some time at the bank or at the bank’s ATM. Don’t fear — you’ll probably still have plenty of face to face contact with bank representatives.

In most people’s eyes, the benefits of online banking outweight the few risks and downsides. Online banking is no longer the wave of the future — it is just the way most banking is done these days. Contact your bank to see what online banking options they offer and join the 21st century.