Lee LeFever
Computer Hardware in Plain English
This video from Common Craft explains the basics of computer hardware and what the hardware does inside the computer.
If you’re like most people, computers are becoming a part of your life, and it helps to know how they work. They seem complicated inside, but by understanding just a few parts, you can see a simpler side of computers.
This is Computer Hardware in Plain English.
You’ve seen them. They come in all shapes and sizes, but work pretty much in the same ways. In fact, if you could look inside these computers, they’d have the same basic parts. It’s these parts, the hardware, that do a lot of the work in computers.
To explain, let’s look at something you already know, a house. One of the great things about living in a house is that you have room for all of your stuff. In fact, many houses have basements that become the perfect place for storing things you want to use later. And the bigger the basement, the more you can store.
The same thing is true for computers. Instead of boxes and bicycles, we need a place to store things like photos, music, documents, and software. In a computer, it’s not the basement, but a hard drive. A computer’s hard drive is where you keep all the things you want to use later. And like basements, the bigger the hard drive, the more you can store.
But basements aren’t perfect. Going to the basement takes too much time whenever you need something. Closets on the main floor can help. They’re small, and make things easier to access when you need them. You don’t need to go all the way downstairs.
It’s the same with computers. Some of the information stored on computers is hard for the computer to open quickly because it needs to take the long way. To solve this problem computers use RAM or Random Access Memory. It makes information easier for the computer to access. This means RAM makes computers faster. Plus, this kind of closet gets cleaned out every time you restart your computer.
Of course, houses have all kinds of parts that need to work together. It would help to have someone like a butler in the house making sure the house is always in working order. If it’s too hot, maybe the air conditioning needs adjustment. When it’s dark, lights are needed.
Computers need this too. Something has to make sure all the parts run smoothly. In computers, this is called the processor. It’s a tiny part that’s like the butler of the computer. It sends and receives information, completes tasks and puts the software to work. And the faster it can complete tasks, the faster your computer will be.
So, let’s review. The hard drive is like a basement. It stores all the things you need for later. RAM is like a closet on the main floor. It makes some information quick and easy to access. And the processor is like having a butler around always completing tasks and making things work together.
The next time you use a computer, think about what’s happening under the hood. Computer hardware is working together to help you get things done.
I’m Lee LeFever of Common Craft and this has been Computer Hardware in Plain English.
Investing Money In Plain English
This video from Common Craft explains the risks and potential benefits of borrowing money.
Most of us look forward to a comfortable future.
To get there, you've got to be smart about using your money to make more money.
This is Investing Money in Plain English.
We know that putting money in savings helps you make more money over time, thanks to interest.
It's predictable and based on an interest rate.
However, there are ways to more money
if you're ready to take risks.
Consider this. You're here, and you want to be here.
You have a choice between two options.
Going around the mountain, which usually takes 5 hours.
It's very predictable.
Or going over the mountain, which can shorten the trip to 2 hours.
It may seem like an easy choice.
You can get there 3 hours earlier by going over,
but there's a catch!
You might get stuck in the snow,
which is a risk that could make the trip even longer than going around the mountain.
The best way to deal with risk is to be informed.
If you do your homework, like checking the weather reports,
you'll have a better chance of making a smart decision.
Now, of course I'm not talking about getting from town to town,
but reaching your financial goals.
Having a savings account is predictable,
it grows steadily with interest.
Investing, on the other hand, can grow your money much faster,
but there's also a chance you could lose some of it.
There are many ways to invest.
Let's say your friend is opening a coffee shop.
She needs money to buy the beans and supplies.
Because she can't afford everything,
she asks people like you to be investors.
You can see that this is a big risk,
but you do the research and find that a new coffee shop could do very well.
So, you give her company money,
and you become an owner in a tiny part of the company.
That bit of ownership represents the money you invested.
If the coffee shop business is slow,
the value of your investment may shrink.
But if the coffee shop is successful,
your investment could grow with the company.
It may take time to see the outcome,
but you've bet that your money would grow faster in an investment,
than the modest earnings in a savings account.
That's what makes it risky.
It's hard to know how an investment will do over time.
The same is true for the stock market.
When you buy stocks, you're buying a tiny portion of a large business,
and betting that the business will do well over time,
increasing the value of your investment.
Now, the stock market and private businesses aren't the only kinds of investing.
Let's say you'd like to invest $500.
You find antiques that you believe will be worth more in the future.
If you're right, you may be selling them for $750 in a few years.
If you're wrong, they may be worth only $400.
By investing, you're taking a risk,
and you have to be ready for both outcomes.
Whether it's a friends coffee shop, the stock market, or antiques,
the big ideas are the same.
Savings accounts are predictable, and may be a good choice.
But if you're ready to take the risk that you might lose money,
you could put your money into an investment
that has the potential for a much bigger payoff.
Investing is serious business.
And every investment comes with different risks.
Do your homework
and discuss your plans with a financial professional before getting involved.
If you plan for the long term,
you may find that a comfortable future isn't too many years away.
I'm Lee LeFever, and this has been Investing Money in Plain English.
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Borrowing Money In Plain English
This video from Common Craft teaches the risks and realities of borrowing money.
Sometimes we don’t have the money we need to accomplish a goal.
Borrowing money can help,
but if we aren’t aware of how the system works,
it can create bigger problems for us.
This is Borrowing Money in Plain English.
Among friends, borrowing money seems easy – you just pay them back.
However, we sometimes need to borrow a large amount of money from a financial institution,
maybe for a home, a car, or education.
Understanding how these relationships work
is a key to being responsible with your money.
Let’s say you need to borrow $10,000 from a bank.
As long as you meet their requirements,
the bank is happy to loan you this money because when you pay it back,
you’ll have to pay a fee.
This is how the bank makes money.
It’s called “interest.”
When you borrow money,
the interest you pay is usually a percentage of the total you borrowed.
This percentage is called the “Interest Rate.”
You’ll see this rate referred to as the Annual Percentage Rate or APR,
which is the interest and fees you’ll pay over a year for borrowing money.
Let’s see how this works for Rachel.
She’s a musician who needs to borrow $10,000 to produce her new album.
$10,000 plus interest is a lot of money to pay back,
but she doesn’t have to do it all at once.
To make it more affordable, she pays it back in monthly payments.
Each month, she’s paying back part of the money she borrowed
plus part of the interest.
It adds up over time.
This way, Rachel can see if she can afford to pay back the loan on a monthly basis.
She found one loan that had a 5% APR with a 1 year timeframe.
To pay it back, she would have had payments of $856 per month.
It was too much!
With what Rachel earns she would run out of money in just six months.
To avoid serious problems and owing even more money,
she kept looking.
Eventually, she found the right loan for her -
a lower APR and longer timeframe.
She found that spreading the payments across a longer timeframe
meant less to pay each month.
Before signing on the dotted line,
she was careful to understand all the terms of her loan.
She learned that some interest rates could change during the loan
which could impact her monthly payments.
Because she had a fixed budget,
she made sure the interest rate for her loan wouldn’t change.
While Rachel was asking questions,
she learned the rules as well,
because breaking the rules can cause an affordable loan
to become a big headache.
For instance, if she pays late,
she may owe the bank more money.
She made a promise to herself
to pay on time and avoid any late fees.
It was wasteful.
It was clear to Rachel that without care, problems could snowball.
Changing APRs and late fees
could have made her loan impossible to afford.
Because Rachel took the time to find the right loan for her,
she was able to pay back the loan on time
and publish her new album. Yaay!
Borrowing money can help you accomplish your goals,
but only if you’re realistic about what you can afford.
When it comes time to find a loan,
discuss it with a financial professional and ask questions.
Learn about your payments and terms.
It’s up to you to make sure you know the rules
and get a loan that fits your needs.
I’m Lee LeFever and this has been Borrowing Money in Plain English
on the Common Craft Show.
One more thing,
The Common Craft Store now offers downloadable versions of our videos
for use in the workplace.
Find them at CommonCraft.com/store.
Saving Money in Plain English
18/01/09 18:48 Filed in: video | Common
Craft
Phishing Scams in Plain English
A short guide to recognizing and avoiding a phishing scam by Common Craft.
You've probably seen it.
You receive an email from your bank or trusted company and it's asking you for information.
It looks real, but it's designed to fool you into handing over important information.
This is a scam called Phishing, and you need to avoid it.
This is Phishing Scams in Plain English.
Most of us have gotten used to doing business online.
We buy and sell things.
We have accounts with sensitive information.
The risk of doing business online is low, as long as you deal directly with organizations you trust.
Problems occur when criminals impersonate these organizations,
and fool you into handing over sensitive information, like account numbers, passwords, and PIN numbers.
The key to avoiding this scam is awareness.
Here's one example. You receive an email that looks like a trustworthy message from a bank.
It asks you to click a link to verify information.
You assume it's legit. So you click the link and log in to what appears to be your bank's website.
At this point, the scam is complete.
You've handed over your bank password to the crooks who can use it to take your money! Booo!
They were able to fool you by impersonating the bank's website.
There are a few keys to detecting phishing emails.
They often try to scare you by saying "your account has been accessed" or "security has been compromised."
They also insist that you click a link to verify information or fill out a form.
Do NOT click links or fill out forms in suspicious emails.
The email may also have misspellings and call you something like "Valued Customer." The crooks don't know your name!
Remember, phishing emails may use the exact same logos, phone numbers, and addresses that appear on your statements or bills.
Always be suspicious of an email that asks for your information.
No exceptions!
If you receive a phishing email, stay calm. There's no risk in receiving it. Just delete it.
You can also safely report it by forwarding it to:
reportphishing@antiphishing.org or spam@uce.gov.
If an email does lead you to a suspicious website, remember to look at the web address.
The address in your browser should look familiar.
If you suspect that criminals have your information, immediately contact organizations where you have accounts.
To protect yourself in the long run, you might also consider anti-phishing software.
Further, check your online accounts and credit reports regularly, and quickly report anything that is out of place.
Phishing scams are a growing threat on the Internet.
By being aware of the scam, you can feel confident in working with companies online. Yaay!
I'm Lee LeFever and this has been Phishing Scams in Plain English on the Common Craft Show.
One more thing, you can download presentation-quality versions of our videos, without ads like this, in the Common Craft Store
Social Media in Plain English
Common
Craft explain
all about social media.