If
you don't take care, you can damage your health working on computers. Especially
if you
spend long stretches at the screen.
But if you follow some simple guidelines you can enjoy a danger-free time.
Eyes
Most monitors have an antiglare
screen. But if yours doesn't, wear
tinted glasses1.
You may feel
a bit silly wearing sunglasses indoors, but it could stop you from getting headaches.
Eyes
can become strained by focusing at the same distance for a long time.
So, every ten minutes or so, look away from the screen and focus
your eyes on something farther away.
Posture
Sitting
at a computer can strain your shoulders and the bottom of your back, so
it is important
to sit in a good chair. Find
one that can be adjusted to support your lower back and allows
you to have both feet on the
floor. Your elbows and knees should be bent
at 90°2.
Sit directly in front of your monitor
and keyboard. Your
keyboard should be
at the same height as your elbows.
Shrug your shoulders
and shake your hands
at regular intervals
to relieve tension which builds up in your
muscles and joints.
RSI
Doctors think that an
illness called repetitive strain syndrome (RSS) can be caused by working
at a keyboard and using a mouse every day. It mostly affects wrists, fingers
and arms, and has symptoms similar to arthritis. It can be very painful
and forces people to give up work. When typing, make sure your wrists
are completely relaxed and flat, never bent.
Looking
after the hardware
Your computer needs looking
after too. It will work much better and last much longer if it is taken
care of properly. Here are some dos and don'ts of looking after hardware.
DO
Avoid
high temperatures and humidity.
Keep
drinks and food away.
Use a special program to
protect, or
"park", the hard disk when moving the systems unit.
Put a cardboard dummy floppy
disk in the floppy disk drive.
Store
your floppy disks carefully in a plastic box.
DON'T
Don't turn your computer on and off
many times throughout the day.
Don't
leave the monitor on for long periods at a time with the same
image on the screen. You can
buy a piece of software, called
a screen saver, which will blank
out the screen if the computer has not been used for a certain length
of time.
Don't
let your computer share an electric
socket with another large electrical
appliance, such as a refrigerator
Times
of trouble
If
your computer stops working, first check that all your cables are properly
connected. It's embarrassing to call a technician only to find your dad
had unplugged your machine to do the vacuuming4.
Read
your manual to make sure that you're not doing anything wrong. You could
try switching off and restarting the system5.
If this works, look out for the problem happening again and see if you
can figure out what triggers the fault.
Most
hardware and software manufacturers have a helpline you can call for advice.
Remember, if you take your computer apart yourself, your guarantee may
no longer be valid. So, don't attempt to fiddle with the electronics
yourself.
If your manuals are too
full of jargon to understand, you can buy simpler guides that explain
things more clearly.
Organizing
your files6
Make
sure that your files on the hard disk are organized into different
directories so you can find them easily.
At the end of every day,
always copy files from your hard disk onto two
sets of floppy disks. Then if you lose any files from the
hard disk, of if one set of floppy disks corrupts, you will still have
a copy of your work. This is called backing up. When you have backed up
files that
you are no longer working on, remove them from the hard
disk. If the hard
disk gets too full, data can become
jumbled and your computer starts working more slowly.
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