If you've never owned a computer and now have one for the first time, figuring out what your computer can and can't do may be a somewhat daunting experience. The following list walks you through some things you can use your computer to do:

• Keep in touch with friends and family. The Internet has made it possible to communicate with other people in a variety of ways, including

  • E-mail

  • Webcams (tiny, inexpensive video cameras that capture and send your image to another computer)

  • VoIP (Voice over InternetPhone), which uses your computer and Internet connection to place phone calls.

  You can also chat with others by typing messages and sending them through your computer using a technology called instant messaging. These messages are exchanged in real time so that you and your grandchild, for example, can see and reply to text immediately.

• Research any topic from the comfort of your home. Online, you can find many reputable Web sites that help you get information on anything from expert medical advice to the best travel deals. You can read news from around the corner or around the world. You can visit government Web sites to find out information about your taxes, Social Security, and more, or even go to entertainment sites to look up your local television listings.

• Create greeting cards, letters, or home inventories. Whether you're organizing your holiday card list or figuring out a monthly budget, computer programs can help. For example, have a look at a graph that Microsoft Excel created from data in a spreadsheet.

  

• Pursue hobbies, such as genealogy or sports. You can research your favorite teams online or connect with people who have the same interests. The online world is full of special interest chat groups where you can discuss your interests with others.

  

• Play interactive games with others over the Internet. You can play everything from shuffleboard to poker to action games in virtual worlds.

• Share and create photos, drawings, and videos. If you have a digital camera, you can transfer photos to your computer (called uploading) or copy photos off the Internet and share them in e-mails or use them to create your own greeting cards.

  If you're artistically inclined, you can create digital drawings. Many popular Web sites make sharing digital movies easy, too. If you have a digital video camera and editing software, you can use editing tools to make a movie and share it with others.

• Shop online and compare products easily, day or night.You can shop for anything from a garden shed to travel deals or a new camera. Using handy online features, you can easily compare prices from several stores or read customer product reviews.

• Handle your financial life. You can do your banking or investing online and get up-to-the-minute data about your bank account, credit card balances, and investments.

You may have heard the wordshardware and software before and wondered what the difference was. The hardware is all the tangible computer equipment, such as thekeyboard and mouse. The software is what makes the hardware work or lets you get things done, such as writing documents with Microsoft Word or playing a Solitaire game.

Think of computer hardware as being like your television set and the shows that you watch as being like the software.

Hardware you'll find on your computer

The hardware on your computer consists of

• A central processing unit(CPU), which is the very small, very high-tech semiconductor chip that acts as the brains of your computer. The CPU is stored in a computer tower along with the other nuts and bolts of your computer.

• A monitor, which displays images on its screen, such as the Microsoft Windows desktop or a document in a software program.

• A keyboard, which is similar to a typewriter keyboard. In addition to typing words, you can use a keyboard to give the computer commands.

• A mouse, which you also use to give your computer commands. You move the mouse around your desk with your hand, which moves a pointer around on-screen. Using this pointer, you can click items like buttons that cause an action or click the screen and drag the mouse toselect text or an object to perform an action on it (such as deleting it or making the text bold).

• Peripherals, such as a printer, speakers, webcams, and microphones. These items may or may not come with your computer when you buy it, but your computer does come with slots (called ports) where you plug in various peripherals.

Software that runs stuff on your computer

Software (also known as programs or applications) is installed on your computer hard drive, which resides in the computer casing (either in your laptop or, for a desktopcomputer, in the computer tower).

Here are a few basics about software:

• You use software to get your work done, run entertainment programs, and browse the Internet. For example, Quicken is a financial management program you can use to balance your checkbook or keep track of your home inventory for insurance purposes.

• Some programs come preinstalled on your computer; you can buy and install other programs as you need them. For example, there is always anoperating system on a computer, because it runs all the other programs.

  Some programs are included with your operating system, such as Solitaire, an electronic version of the old favorite card game, which comes with Windows 10. Skype, a program that enables you to make online phone calls using your computer, is a popular program that you can find on the Internet and install on your computer yourself.

• You can uninstall programs you no longer need. Uninstalling unwanted programs helps to free up some space on your computer, which helps it perform better.

• Some software programs called utilities exist to keep your computer in shape. An antivirusprogram is an example of a utility used to spot and erase computer viruses from your system. Your operating system (such as, Windows 10 Home Premium, which also includes some utilities, like the Windows Defender program. Windows Defender protects your computer from unwanted intrusion by malicious programs called spyware.

You can find several styles of computers on the market, and you may be wondering how you'll ever choose which one to buy. 

Some computers, such as laptops, are small and portable. Other computers use different operatingsystems, such as Windows and Macintosh, to make everything run. Computers may excel at certainfunctions, such as working with graphics or playing games.

Consider the following features when choosing the type of computer you should buy:

Which computer operating system do you prefer?

Windows is probably the most common computer operating system. However, Macintosh computers from Apple are also popular. Macintosh computers use Apple-specific software. However, many software applications written for Windows are also available for the Macintosh, and you can also set up your Mac to run the Windows operating system, which gives you the best of both worlds.

Some computers run on a freely available operating system called Linux, which has similar functionality to Windows.

Do you want a laptop or PC?

Two types of computers you can buy are a laptop and a desktop. Here's the difference:

• A laptop is portable, weighing anywhere from two to eight pounds (the lowest weight ones are called netbooks). Themonitor, keyboard, and mouseare built into the laptop. (Note that if the monitor is damaged, you have to pay quite a bit to have it repaired or hook it up to an external monitor.) Choose a laptop (sometimes called a notebook computer) if you want to use your computer mainly away from home, or you have little space in your home for a larger computer.

  

• Desktop models typically have a large tower that contains the computer's central processing unit (called a CPU). The keyboard, mouse, and monitor are separate. Desktopcomputers take up more space than laptops and are not portable, but they're usually less expensive.

  

How about pictures and sound on your computer?

If you work with a lot of visual elements (for example, photographs, home movies, or computer games), consider a computer that has a better graphics card. Games often involve sound, so a high-end sound card may also be useful.

Computers with more sophisticated sound and image capabilities are often referred to as gaming or multimedia models and they typically require a larger hard disk to handle these functions. Because the capabilities of these cards change all the time, ask the person you're buying the computer from whether the system can handle sophisticated sound and graphics.