Whether you’re a newbie to the computer world or you’ve been at it for some time, you need to know that proper terminology is crucial. With that in mind, I’m going to refer to a few terms in this post that people just seem to have problems remembering and/or understanding.
Desktop – Whether your device runs Windows, Mac or Linux, when you start it and get past the password screen, the first thing you see is the Desktop. It’s not the Home Page nor is it the Wallpaper or Background.
Wallpaper/Background – When you get to the desktop, if you see color or pictures behind the icons, that area is called the Wallpaper or Background. These terms are interchangeable.
Home Page – The Home Page is the first thing that shows when you open a browser. Whether it’s Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera or Vivaldi, what shows when you open the browser is the Home Page. The Home Page can be blank, it can be a search like Bing or Google, or it can be any webpage you want – for example: www.msn.com, www.xfinity.com, www.4kcc.com, www.aol.com, www.yahoo.com. If you use more than one tab, you can also have multiple Home Pages although I usually don’t recommend this option.
Toolbar/Taskbar – On a Mac, the icons generally found together at the bottom of the screen are sitting on the Mac Toolbar. On a Windows 10 machine, icons usually sit on the Taskbar at the bottom. In both cases, the bar can be moved to the top of the screen or either side. The purpose of the bar is to give you easy access to the programs and apps you use most often.