Difficulty of Computer Chess

I've never played chess against a computer before.  What does it mean when it gives options like "1 second" up to "1 minutes"?  I'm guessing this is difficulty of some sort, but I just wanted to check :)

In theory, the longer a chess engine is allowed to calculate, the stronger the play.

In other words, the computer just destroyed me on the easiest level :) Thanks!

The computer, even at the easiest level, has no distractions from calculating accurately. This, of course, is unfair. They don't have to be aware of their environment. Computers think they're all that, simply because they feed off of their parents, don't have to pay bills, and are totally impassionate to the world around them. They'll end up as recluse mathematicians in Siberia.

If the engine is running at full strength, and it is a good engine, there is no shame in losing to it for the average player, even if it only has .01 seconds to make a move, and you have 10 min.

The problem with playing against the computer is twofold: First, the computer can calculate positions quickly, even if you set it  at 0.01 seconds. Second, it plays differently than a human opponent. Computers tend to play tactically so the program searches for the best tactical situation. Humans play more "outside of the box" with less mechanical thinking. Of course, chess programs have come far over the last few years. Now you can tweak Fritz to play in a more human style of play. If you're going to use a computer as a sparring partner, try to use a program that has a large number of adjustable parameters.

let's put it this way: if you want to play decently against a computer, you're gonna have to give yourself an hour to think and the computer 5 secs to think (for the whole game).