There are several levels to computer literacy and mostly people work at the level they are comfortable at. A novice can turn on the computer, do basic internet searches and, use a word processing program. The next level up would include some maintenance (deleting temp files and clearing history, for instance), and be able to save files to a specific location on the drive. In addition to word processing, they could do data entry on a spreadsheet that has been set up. The next level is a gamut of familiarity with Microsoft Office and, possibly enough problem solving ability to carry out the directions of the help desk. This last is probably what people mean when they inquire at a job interview, so you should be specific.
They would be considered as being computer literate.
Both are similar, but with distinctions. If you are computer literate, it means you know all the terminology related to computers and what it means. If you are competent with computers, it means you know what you are doing. So competence would be a little deeper understanding.
To be considered literate in Chinese, you would need to be familiar with around 3,000-4,000 basic Chinese characters. However, to read a newspaper or other advanced materials, knowledge of 5,000-8,000 characters would be necessary.
The scientific or taxonomic name for a computer literate person would not be analogous to "homosapiens" as that term specifically refers to the species Homo sapiens. A computer literate person could simply be referred to as a "technologically adept individual."
People who are studying to become a psychologist would need to be emotionally and socially literate in order to be successful. Most people who study this would be considered to be.
Literacy means you can use a computer to a basic degree. Competency means you are highly experienced and capable of using a wide range of applications, performing various tasks, and are able to learn or 'guess' how to utilize new applications based on common experience with similar. IE, how Microsoft Word is very similar to OpenOffice's Writer.
a set of instructions of how to turn on the computer would be considered an algorithm?
You can't.
It depends on what you consider necessary. Leaving your computer on will not hurt a thing. The internet is contrived of millions of computers that stay on all the time. If you are looking to conserve energy, then it would be necessary.
The processor would be considered to be the brain of the computer. RAM is just part of the working memory of the computer.
If you are not computer literate you need to take some classes, or online lessons to become knowledgeable. Most companies today use computers for everything from billing and accounting to accessing databases and e-mail. You will be at a great disadvantage if you do not have computer skills.
i would try to shut down as many as possible processes which are not necessary for the computer