- PC SYSTEMS -

All software is either a set of `instructions' (in the form of "files") to your computer hardware that makes it work, or documents that you have created as a result of this process.  Software comes in 3 categories: 1) "Operating systems" (the `soul' of your computer); 2: "Applications programs" (instructions that let you write letters, create graphics, use your E-Mail, etc.); and 3):  "Personal files" (the stuff that you have created and saved to your hard drive or a floppy disk).  Knowing where all of this information is located is very important and this little trick is called "Files Management".

Before installing any software on your system, you must first prepare your hard drive to accept it (see Hard Drives).  This consists of partitioning and formatting your drive.  Partitioning is mainly the process of creation a file allocation table (FAT) which lays out storage locations on your drive and is usually done with a small DOS program called `fdisk'.  FAT  configurations today are usually either FAT32 (created for Win 98) or NFTS (`New File Transfer System' created for Win 2000).  Formatting is simply to process of preparing hard drive `sectors' (storage locations) to accept the storage of data.

The majority of operating systems and applications programs in use today are products of the "Microsoft Corporation" that was founded by the group below.

What you are looking at is the Microsoft "team" in 1978.  Would you have invested your hard earned money in a motley looking bunch like this? I doubt it!!  Truth of the matter is, however, they changed computer history and, if you had, you'd be a multi-millionaire by now (hindsight).