Office equipment

This time we'll talk about things or devices you have in your office. You can also say we'll talk about office equipment. You know the word equipment because it is used in the German language too. But equipment is not the only word you already know. There are so many English words you use in German: take the word desk for example. A desk is a writing table in an office. On your desk there usually is a computer monitor. The monitor is also called a computer screen. Most computers or PC's work with the operating system Microsoft Windows. The first screen or window you see when you start your computer is also called desktop. There are more combinations with the word desktop such as desktop computer or desktop publishing.

The computer is connected to a printer. There are different types of printers. In most offices you will find either an ink jet printer or a laser printer. A computer can also be linked to a scanner. The scanner reads texts and images that are on paper and converts them into digital data.

Most PC's in the modern office are connected to the Internet. Your computer can have an internal or and external modem or maybe an ISDN card. If you work in a larger office your computer is probably part of a computer network.

As you can see there are so many words which you already know even if you haven't been learning English for long. Let's repeat some of the words used in German:

office
equipment
office equipment
desk, desktop
computer
monitor
screen, computer screen
windows, operating system Microsoft Windows,
start, start the computer
printer, ink jet printer, laser printer
scanner
convert, convert texts and images into digital data
modem, internal or external modem
ISDN, Integrated Services Digital Network

OK, that will do for this session. If you like we can talk about the Internet and telecommunications in our English class.