My name is Julie Francis. For most of my life I have been a bookseller and I still am in a way, as I still sell books online.  Now however I  do a variety of work both on and off the internet. I make websites, publish articles on blogs and I teach people about pcs.

I teach beginners how to use their new computers, especially those who have discovered pcs later in their lives and want to explore the new options that personal computers can make possible to them.

Kids and teens need little help, many kids started using a computer for game playing from a very early age. Kids learn new programs quickly and the internet is almost second nature to them. They have spaces at MySpace, pictures on Flikr or Picasa, they keep up with friends and play games on Facebook and they download music onto their ipods. They pay next to nothing for any of these services and take them for granted.

For older people all this is strange and often confusing. At first they cannot see the point of it and many have just resisted ever getting a computer. Eventually after their sons or daughters got impatient with them, they purchase a computer so they can use email and maybe to play a few games.

At first when computers were new, computers were difficult to use and much could go wrong. These days everything is made very easy, but until a new pc owner learns how to “navigate” around web pages and programs, they fail to get the most from their pc and to see how fantastic a tool a computer is.

They are often too scared to try new things, put off by the failsafe messages that pop up asking if they are “sure” and eventually they give up. Their young relations go too fast and may not live close enough to them to learn effectively from them.

When I started teaching, I was unsure that I knew enough myself to be able to help. But I discovered that the hardest time is those first few months. When everything is new and you don’t know the names of anything or what they do.

So that’s when I started this blog. If any of my clients forget something I have taught them, they can refresh the lesson from the instructions in these tutorials. There are also links out to other sites which may offer articles about topics that most people want to learn about. Tutorial videos too that can make things so much easier to understand.

The internet is bringing together old friends and new relations in a way it would have been impossible to do in any other era. It is a global library with tools for translation, news and information on almost every topic under the sun. A pc with the right programs can be an exceptional desktop publishing system or accountancy program. Travellers can share their snapshots the same day with a mobile phone and a link to a website. An email can travel around the world in a few seconds.

Apart from the initial cost of a computer ( or booking time on one in a library or cafe) and the cost of an internet connection, most of this is free, paid for by advertising on sites, much like a newspaper. You can even use a pc to start a business and make money online. It’s a far cry from the days when computers needed geeks to get anything done on them. They are now an indispensible, if often frustrating, part of our lives.

We will never stop learning about them as new improvements and programs change what we know every day. If you have just got your first computer then I have one main piece of advice. Take a few basic lessons and learn as much as you can about searching and how to get help online. The internet is full of tutorials that can help you with specifics, just learn the basics and don’t be scared to click around and try things out.

After one or two months you’ll be hooked. Need a recipe for how to roast chestnuts – Google it. Need to know the name of a movie – IMDB it. Who won what by how much at the Olympics -  ESPN it. You can Wikipedia almost anything and won’t need an encyclopedia or a dictionary anymore. Want to buy or sell something – eBay. Need a hard to find book – Amazon. Want to find an old friend – Friends Reunited. (See best internet sites on the side for links)

The internet has so much to offer. It’s an imperfect colourful fascinating place not unlike a big city marketplace. A little dangerous for the naive and occasionally confronting but overall of great benefit to all.

And all you need is  a personal computer and a few tips on how to use it. I hope this blog can help you out sometimes and lead you to new sites you’ll like and give you the information you need to get what you want from it and enjoy it.