PCs For Dummies® Windows®, 7 Edition

Chapter 14. PC Leftovers

In This Chapter

• Understanding power management

• Choosing a power management plan

• Gauging modem speed

• Using a dialup modem

I'm a big fan of leftovers. For some reason, my mom's goulash was much better the second night. And who doesn't live for the remnants of Thanksgiving Day dinner? Well, maybe not after three days, but you have to admit that there's good value in having leftovers.

The PC has a lot of hardware guts, most of which you can merrily skip over in your efforts to become comfortable with a computer. Two items among those digital leftovers are worth a good look. The first is the PC's Power Management system, and the second is the dialup modem. Both hardware goodies are covered in this chapter.

Manage the PC's Power

I'm certain that somewhere down deep in its core, your computer secretly wants to control the world. But that's not the type of power this chapter is talking about. Nope, it's the power that the computer consumes, and literally sucks from the wall socket. Electricity. Juice. You must properly manage that power so that your computer doesn't waste energy.

• Power management is a general term used to describe the ability of computers and other appliances, such as television sets and teleportation pods, to become energy-smart.

• It's power management hardware that enables a computer to turn itself off.

• Power management also gives your PC the ability to sleep or hibernate. Refer to Chapter 4.

• Tip

  If you're really into saving the planet, be sure to properly ...