How to Use a Computer, Part 1: USB Devices

You’ve been brought up around smartphones and tablets all your life, and now you’re in a situation where you need to use a Windows PC. No problem! With a little practise, you’ll find that PCs are easier to work with and can even do more than a mobile device. Incidentally, “PC” in this context stands for “personal computer”. It’s a holdover from the IBM PC in the ‘80s. These are the absolute bare-bones basics of computer literacy and can apply to MacOS and Linux distros as well, but Windows is the most common OS (operating system) that you’ll find on a day-to-day basis.

So, let’s get on with it then!

First, let’s cover the biggest bit of computers: USB devices. The USB standard is even used to a certain degree on smart devices, but they get taken to an absurdist extreme on the PC. Literally everything of practical use these days connects to the PC through a flat USB port. That flat bit that goes into your device charger can also be plugged into a PC for file transfer between your device and your PC. The technical name for this is “USB type A”. At the other end of the cord is either a USB type C connector (if you use an Android device) or an Apple Lightning connector (iOS).

If you have an Android device, try plugging your USB-A connector into your PC instead of the power outlet and see what happens (though, you might have to tell your device that you’re trying to connect to a PC; a prompt should come up on your homescreen).

An aside, what does USB stand for? Universal serial bus. You don’t need to remember that for any reason, though.

The biggest thing we use USB for is file storage. Those little USB sticks they sell at Office Depot expand the storage capability of your PC’s hard disk (main storage unit) by anywhere from 8 to 512 Gigabytes. These are called “flash drives” because they use a memory chip called “flash memory” (SD cards do the same thing). They can also be called “thumb drives” because they’re the size of your thumb. Or “USB drives” if you’re an ageing computer science professor.

We also use USB ports for keyboards, mice, MIDI controllers, detachable webcams, drawing tablets, or really anything at all.

To use a flash drive, all you have to do is plug it into a free USB port on your PC. Older PCs have most of their ports in the back, but newer ones have at least 2 ports in the front for easier access. Typically, you won’t need to do any more than this, because Windows is smart enough to know what a flash drive looks like and how it works.

In fact, a lot of USB devices don’t need to be installed or formatted; especially the basic ones, like keyboards, mice, and USB hard disks. Specialised devices, like MIDI controllers and webcams, may need to install device drivers, which usually come either on an optical disc packed in with the device or from the manufacturer’s website.

That’s about all she wrote for USB devices. Next time, we’ll cover optical discs and why you need a disc drive.

What I want for Christmas | Saturday, 12.24.2022

What I want for Christmas are these down below:

LOVELEDI Portable-Charger-Power-Bank - 15000mAh Dual USB Power Bank Output 5V3.1A Fast Charging Portable Charger Compatible with Smartphones and All USB Devices (Black)

coachprimetv-20

Plugging in USB (type A) devices became so much easier when I realized that most cables and plugs have a logo, bump, divot, or something pointing to or on the side which is 'up' (up in this case being the part with the gap in the device you're plugging in and the plastic barrier in the receiving plug).

I still love USB type C for the convenience of not having to worry about up and down but this knowledge about the type A plugs has saved me so much trouble x3

USB Port Not Working Windows 10

Windows 10 USB problem, Acer Laptop USB Problem, Windows 7 USB Problem solution for free.

Source: USB Not Working Windows 10 Aspire

Here is a cool little gadget I'd never heard of before. It's a temperature datalogger. It lasts 60 days. Sadly I think it may be disposable (but I'd imagine rechargeable versions exist. )

Suppose you are shipping fruit across the country and you've paid extra to have the trucks chilled down to 65F. How do you know they didn't ship them at 75F and only lower the temp fully just before arrival?

Hide this bad boy in your shipment, then check the USB for data on arrival.

They cost about $4 each.

I'm fascinated by things like this for reasons I can't possibly articulate.

I almost bought one just to try it out and take it apart... but instead I'll just tell ya'll about it... I bet there are other interesting ways to use such a device. For example... you could detect if a chair is being sat in or not by putting it inside of a pillow...

I FIXED MY DRAWING TABLET IM SO HAPPY IM CRYING OH M GODDD NO LAG OR ANYTHINGG IT FEELS SO GOOD TO DRAW DIGITALLY AGAIN

Leverage 3x5 - "The Double-Blind Job"

WaifuPad Startup animation and a chime

Little Cathala headshot I drew on the flight out to Europe.

This is the one and only digital piece I made on that trip lmao because I realized once I got out there my outlet adapter was European -> USB, not European -> American (which would have allowed me to charge my USB-C devices, of which my iPad is one). And I didn't want to bother with buying an adapter for my adapter. That's okay though, I enjoyed sketching in my notebook throughout the trip. You can expect to see the best of those digitally rendered and posted in the near future :)

...? i literally dont have anything plugged in.

I fucking hate Amazon and their stupid Kindle ebook file formats SO MUCH. Took me most of an hour to figure out how to download the dang book. I wouldn't even be buying books from them in the first place if there was literally any other option, but no one else sells an ebook version of Obabakoak in Spanish and I need it by class on Thursday. I'd bought a paperback at the beginning of the semester but then I realized, today, that I accidentally bought it in English, and that just won't do. Grrrr. I got the book, finally, but grrrrrr.

You ever look around your living room and realize you've got a ton of VHS tapes, betamax, laserdisc, and even an obscure Fairchild 8mm film cartridge, but no actual DVDs with which to test your new DVD player?

My life may not be typical.

I’ll be fine, I just have to get it all out of my system (Patreon)

guy who distractedly added more homebrew applications to their 3ds WITH S.IMS STILL OPEN

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