OK, you're an intelligent person. You can carry your end of a conversation. But as soon as you walk into a computer store you feel like you're back in kindergarten. You want to be a part of the Computer Age but listening to the salespeople spit out numbers and terms you don't understand inevitably causes you to leave the store empty-handed and frustrated. Sounds like it's time for a little computer common sense.

Let's start at the beginning. A basic desktop computer consists of four main components: a mouse, keyboard, monitor, and CPU (Central Processing Unit). The CPU is the most important part. It is where everything in your computer is stored and processed. You can think of it as the brain of a computer. When you decide to purchase a computer, the three most important things to look at are: processing speed, memory, and storage space. Your "hard drive" or "hard disk" is where everything in your computer is stored. Hard-drive storage space is generally measured in megabytes or gigabytes. A typical computer on the market today usually comes with a hard drive with 2-4 "gigs" of storage space. But let's back up... what's a gigabyte anyway?

A gigabyte is a unit of measurement. A "bit" is the smallest unit of measurement in a computer. Seven bits equals one "byte." There are 1000 bytes in a kilobyte (K). One "megabyte" (MB) is equal to about one million bytes. A gigabyte (GB) equals approximately one billion bytes. Here's a little perspective; a five- to ten-page word document is usually about 100K-200K. A typical "floppy disk" (which is not "floppy" at all-- it's actually hard plastic) holds 1.44MB of information.

In addition to the storage space found on the hard drive, computers also have to have memory storage, or RAM. RAM means "read and write memory." RAM essentially helps things run faster and more smoothly. All your recent activity on a computer (documents you've written, websites you've visited, and so on) are stored in RAM, so that when you reopen items that you use frequently, they are more easily accessible for the computer. Most home computers usually come with about 16MB to 32MB of RAM.

A computer's processor is another vital piece of hardware that helps the machine run quickly and smoothly. A fast processor is especially important when you are trying to view graphic-intensive documents or do complex mathematical calculations. Processor speed is measured in megahertz. Processors range in speed from 133MHz to 300MHz. For home use, anything between 133MHz to 233MHz is acceptable. When you hear people talking about "Pentium" or see the commercials on TV for "Intel Inside," they are referring to a popular brand of computer processor.

So, you've got the basics down: hard drives, RAM, and processors. Now it's time to move into the peripherals. If you really want to take full advantage of your computer's potential, you probably want to invest in some additional features like a modem, printer, and possibly a CD-ROM.

In order to print out anything from your computer you must have a printer. There are dozens of different printers on the market. They range in quality from dot matrix (very low quality) to laser printers (high quality). You can choose to buy a black-and-white printer or one that is capable of printing in color. Color printers generally cost more than black-and-white ones.

A modem is what you use to access the Internet. Modems use your phone line to transfer and receive data. Modem speed is measured in kilobytes per second (Kbps). To use the World Wide Web effectively, you should probably be using a modem that runs at a minimum speed of 28.8Kbps (28,000 Kilobytes per second).

CD-ROMs are useful because entire software programs can be stored on one CD. A CD-ROM allows you to run software that is on the CD. This is helpful because, by running a program from a CD, the program doesn't need to be permanently stored in your hard drive and doesn't take up storage space. Many people enjoy CD-ROMs because they let you play multimedia-intensive computer games without overwhelming your hard drive. A CD-ROM can also be used to play regular music CDs if you want to listen to music while using your computer.

So there you have it-- all the basic computer knowledge you need to successfully maneuver your way through the local computer retailer. Maybe this time you won't leave empty-handed.