Download the course
Windows setup
One file, one click. It downloads the verified course package during setup, opens the course by itself, and leaves an icon on your desktop and Start menu.
Download for Windows (747 KB)SHA-256: 8f5703e3e5bbc2eda64e6829f301a86bfff8c1116bfedec62f53b7e2a483f457
Linux setup
One file. Make it runnable (chmod +x), run it, and the course installs, verifies its package, and opens in your browser by itself.
Download for Linux (8 KB)SHA-256: 67187094c6bc1f279903bf50a86ff34dc215c1d4999963ea61a94e0b53f36db4
Colour manual (PDF)
Step-by-step installation for Windows and Linux — what you will see at each step — plus everyday use and recovery.
Download the manual (877 KB)SHA-256: 8470111c4b940c53e0e46c231502e7b3086aeca037ac4f45ecafa109dc847e60
Setup needs an internet connection once (the course package is about 31.2 MB, downloaded in verified parts). After setup the course runs on your own computer, offline, and your progress is saved locally.
The ten lessons
| # | Lesson | Teaching | Content |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The CPU (Central Processing Unit) — the processor chip | Video + narration | 9 steps · 7 sources |
| 2 | The Motherboard — from bare circuit board to populated board | Video + narration | 10 steps · 7 sources |
| 3 | Memory: RAM (Random Access Memory) and the DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) Module | Video + narration | 8 steps · 8 sources |
| 4 | Storage: SSD (solid-state drive) with NAND (NOT AND) Flash, and HDD (hard disk drive) | Video + narration | 10 steps · 7 sources |
| 5 | The Graphics Processor — GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) | Written + narration · video in production | 9 steps · 8 sources |
| 6 | The Display — LCD (liquid-crystal display) and OLED (organic light-emitting diode) | Video + narration | 9 steps · 8 sources |
| 7 | Power: Batteries, Battery Packs and Charging | Written + narration · video in production | 10 steps · 7 sources |
| 8 | Cooling: Heat Pipes, Vapour Chambers, Fans and Heatsinks | Written + narration · video in production | 10 steps · 8 sources |
| 9 | Ports and Connectors: USB, HDMI and Board Connections | Written + narration · video in production | 10 steps · 6 sources |
| 10 | Final Assembly: Building and Testing the Whole Machine | Video + narration | 10 steps · 5 sources |
Every lesson: what the part is · its materials and where they are sourced · fabrication step by step · the industry behind it · how it joins the machine · an honest comparison of real models, with the reason shown · a three-question quiz. Details that makers keep proprietary are labelled reconstructions from open patents and public literature — never dressed up as a maker's own disclosure. Every lesson is narrated, and inside the course you can choose between two narrator voices.
Built and checked to the house standard
Release gate: 72 of 72 checks passed. Content: 10 lessons, 71 sources, 15 labelled reconstructions. Linux setup self-test passed its 8 inner checks (clean install, quiz grading, progress surviving a restart). Six narrated video lessons; four lessons carry the full written course plus two-voice narration, videos in production.
The course software was exercised end to end before release: a clean install in a throwaway home, the lessons opening, the quizzes graded, and learner progress proven to survive a restart — all automated, all counted. Windows setup: verified structurally and by its built-in self-test; a first-click run on a physical Windows machine remains the final proof and is recorded as an open item in the project report.
The Education Series
- Title 1 — How a Computer Is Made (this page) — available now.
- Title 2 — How Phones Are Made — in preparation.
- Title 3 — How Screens Are Made (monitors and flat-screen televisions) — in preparation.
- Title 4 — How Chips Are Made — in preparation.