Computer Basics · Meet Your Computer · Lesson 1 of 5

Laptop, Desktop or All-in-One?

The kinds of computers, and the parts they all share.

Many shapes, same parts

Computers come in a few shapes. Don't worry about the names yet. You will see them again and again.

A laptop is a computer that folds shut like a book. The screen is on top and the keyboard is on the bottom. It has a battery, so you can carry it around.

A desktop is a computer that stays on a desk. The main box sits on the floor or on the desk. A separate screen, keyboard and mouse plug into it.

An all-in-one is a desktop with the computer built into the back of the screen. There is no big box. You just have the screen, a keyboard and a mouse.

They look different, but they all have the same main parts:

• The screen, where you see everything. People also call it the monitor or display.
• The keyboard, for typing letters and numbers.
• A mouse or touchpad, for moving the pointer. The pointer is the small arrow on the screen that follows your hand.
• The computer itself, the part that does the thinking. In a laptop, it is hidden under the keyboard.

So if you can use one kind, you can learn the others quickly. Some buttons may be in new places, but the ideas are the same.

Windows, Mac or Chromebook

Every computer needs a main program that runs everything else. This program is called the operating system. It draws what you see on the screen and keeps the computer working.

There are three common ones:

• Windows is made by Microsoft. Most home and office computers use it.
• macOS is made by Apple. It only comes on Apple computers, called Macs, like the MacBook and the iMac.
• ChromeOS is made by Google. It runs on laptops called Chromebooks. Many schools use them.

Here is the short version. Windows comes on computers from many brands, like Dell, HP and Lenovo. Macs are made only by Apple. A Chromebook is a simple laptop that does most things through the internet.

How can you tell which one you have? Turn the computer on and look at the screen.

• Windows has a strip along the bottom with a small logo made of four squares.
• A Mac has a small Apple logo in the top-left corner. It also has a row of colorful pictures along the bottom.

This course shows Windows first, because most people have it. When a Mac is different, a short note starting with On a Mac explains it.