Basic Skills: Expert Guides and Resources

To be fully functional in today's society, you have to possess digital literacy — the knowledge of using computers in the many ways they enhance our work, home, school, and entertainment. Being digitally literate means you know the handiest tricks for surfing the web, keyboard shortcuts to get stuff done fast in Windows 8, and more keyboard shortcuts to help you work efficiently in Word and Excel.

Laptops offer a world of convenience for seniors, but they can be a little intimidating, too. To get started off right, see this checklist for what to look for before buying your laptop. After you’ve purchased your laptop, follow these care and maintenance tips to prolong its life.To round out your experience, here are some handy keyboard shortcuts for getting things done fast in Windows.

Nothing is more liberating than having a computer you can take with you. A laptop offers you full computer power, a decently sized keyboard, a nice-looking display, and the ability to go wireless — not to mention how cool you look checking email and Facebook at Starbucks. © Undrey / Shutterstock.comMy laptop infoWhether you’re talking to tech support or buying a new toy for your laptop, you should have the following details about your laptop on hand.

Computers offer a world of convenience for seniors, but they can be a little intimidating, too. To get started off right, see this checklist for what to look for before buying your PC (Windows operating) computer. (Got a Mac computer? Click here.)After you’ve purchased your computer, follow these care and maintenance tips to prolong its life.

Windows peppers you with warnings as the battery power gets low. The battery notification icon on the taskbar changes, and eventually pop-up messages appear. The idea is to alarm you: Either charge the battery, save your work, and shut down — or pray.The good news is that you have control over the warnings. You can set when they appear and which actions are taken.

Without a battery, your laptop would be merely a tiny, overpriced PC. You need the battery to give the laptop its power of portability. There also comes a battery of battery issues, most of which involve squeezing the largest amount of life out of a limited supply of battery juice. © DenPhotos / Shutterstock.com Don't drop the battery, get it wet, short it, play keep-away with it, open it, burn it, or throw it away Enough said.

Tablet PCs feature a touchscreen. You can use your finger as an input device, but your finger is short and stubby and, please, you need a manicure. A better option is to use a digitizer pen, or stylus. Introducing the digital pen The stylus is a pointing device, like the mouse. For the most part, it works just like a mouse: Tap the screen to click, double-tap, right-tap, and so on.

The spending doesn’t stop after you buy the laptop. Nope—there are many, many laptop toys you can buy. Beyond software are gizmos and gadgets galore. Some are standard computer peripherals, like media cards, but most are wonderful and useful items you can get to enhance your laptopping experience. Laptop bag or travel case A handsome laptop traveling tote is a must.