Input Devices
Input device captures information and translates it into a form that can be processed and used by other parts of your computer.
Keyboards Pointing devices Game controllers Scanners Styluses Microphones Digital cameras Web cams
Input Devices
The keyboard is the most common input device. It is the most commonly used means by which people can communicate with a computer. It converts letters, numbers & other characters into electrical signals that are in machine readable form. It consists of a standard typewriter layout (the QWERTY keyboard) having alphabets from A to Z and some special symbols, a numeric keypad having numbers 0 to 9 and mathematical signs, some additional keys like control key, function keys, cursor keys Types of keyboards include:
Pointing Devices
Pointing devices are mainly used to choose and enter commands or Pointing devices control the position of the cursor or pointer on the display screen Pointing devices tend to have PS/2 connectors or USB connectors
PS/2 connector fits into a PS/2 port, which a small round socket with small holes that fit the pins on the connector USB connectors fit into USB ports, and these are small rectangular openings on the back or front of your computer, or even on your keyboard or monitor
Pointing Devices
Various pointing devices are available
Mouse
Mouse
The most popular pointing input device used to transfer data or instructions into the computer by simply clicking on its buttons once or twice. The mouse cursor moves with the movement of your arm.
Single Click: Selects an object Double Click: Opening an object
Trackball
A pointing input device use to move the cursor. It is similar as of mouse but the ball is situated outside. This is like an upside-down mouse where the user rolls the wheel in the direction they want the pointer to go. They are often used with video games.
Touchpad
A touch pad is a device for pointing (controlling input positioning) on a computer display screen. It is an alternative to the mouse. Originally incorporated in laptop computers, touch pads are also being made for use with desktop computers. A touch pad works by sensing the user's finger movement and downward pressure.
Pointing stick
A pointing stick is a miniaturized isometric joystick embedded in the center of some laptop keyboards, used to move the on-screen cursor. The pointing stick can be used in lieu of a mouse, or in addition to it. Left and right mouse buttons are located directly beneath the spacebar on models equipped with a pointing stick. The stick itself resembles the nub of an eraser, and sits between the G and H keys of a QWERTY keyboard.
Game Controller
Gamepads Joysticks
Gaming wheels
Scanners
Styluses Microphones Digital cameras Web cams
Scanner
Scanner is a light sensitive device that helps you copy or capture images, photos, and artwork that exist on paper. Types of scanners include:
Flatbed Handheld
Fax machine
A fax machine or facsimile transmission machine scan an image and sends it as electronic signals over telephone lines to a receiving fax machine, which re- creates the image on paper.
Magnetic Ink Character Recognition Device (MICR) Optical Mark Recognition Device (OMR) / Mark Reader Optical Character Recognition Device (OCR) / Character Reader Optical Bar Recognition Device (OBR) / Bar Code Reader
Styluses
Stylus is an input device consisting of a thin stick that uses pressure to enter information or to click and point Styluses are used with:
PDAs Tablet
Microphones
Microphones are used to input audio Three main types of microphones are:
Digital Cameras
Resolution is measured in megapixels Higher the resolution, better the image quality, but the more expensive the camera
Web Cams
Web cam is a video camera that can be used to take images for uploading to the Web
Output Devices
A device that produces result or output of the input data. It converts data from computer readable form into human readable form. OR Devices that give out information and program that people can read after being processed by computer are called output devices. Main output devices: Monitors Printers Speakers
Hardcopy Output Device An output device that produces output or result on paper, transparencies, hard papers or any carry able paper-type material is known as hardcopy output device. Example: Printer, Plotter etc. Softcopy Output Device An output device that produces output or results on computer screen, which is basically non carry able, is known as softcopy output device. Example: Monitor. Voice Output Device These devices convert digital data in the form of sounds. Example: speakers, amplifiers
Monitors
CRTs Flat-panel displays
Gas plasma LCD (liquid crystal display)
Monitors come in two basic types. CRTs (or cathode ray tubes) are the monitors that look like TV sets. Very heavy Fragile Uses a lot of power. Flat-panel displays are thin, lightweight monitors and take up much less space than CRTs. Use comparatively little power Can run on a notebook battery Not as fragile as CRT monitors
Flat-panel displays
Gas plasma LCD (liquid crystal display)
Gas plasma displays shine light through gas to make an image LCD (liquid crystal display) screens shine light through a layer of crystalline liquid to make an image.
LCDs are the most usual type of flat panel screens for computers
Screen Talk
Screen size measured as a diagonal line across the screen from corner to opposite corner Pixels (or picture element) dots that make up the image on your screen Resolution the number of pixels displayed on the screen (the higher the resolution, the closer together the dots) Refresh rate the speed with which a monitor redraws the image of the screen, and is measured in hertz
Printer
An output device that produces output or result on paper, transparencies or cards etc is known as printer. A printer is to be attached and installed on a computer system in order to work. Impact
Dot Matrix Printer Daisy Wheel Printer Chain Printer
Non-Impact Printer
Inkjet Printer Laser Printer Thermal Printer
Types
Impact Printers
These printers use a moving hammer with a printing head. It forms characters and images by striking a ribbon by the hammer and transfers dots of ink on to the paper. These printers make noise while printing, thats why they are also known as Noisy Printers.
Chain Printer
A printer that uses a chain as its printing mechanism. This chain spins horizontally around a set of hammers, as soon as the ribbon comes in front of the hammer having desired character; the hammer hits and prints the character on to the paper. This printer is not commonly found around microcomputers, because it is a very expensive, high-speed machine designed originally for mainframes and minicomputers. Chain printers are very reliable and can speed up to 3000 lines per minute
Chain Printer
Inkjet Printers
Inkjet printers are the most popular type of printers. Great for color as well as black and white printouts. Inkjet printers make images by forcing ink droplets through nozzles. The top speed of an inkjet is about 7 ppm (pages per minute).
Laser Printers
Laser printers usually generate better quality output than inkjets, but theyre also more expensive especially the color ones. A laser printer forms images using an electrostatic process the same way a photo copier works. Laser printers print between 3 and 30 pages per minute depending on type. Black-only laser printers have one toner cartridge. Color laser printers require four, which increase the cost of cartridge replacement considerably
Thermal Printer
They use colored waxes & heat to produce images, by burning dots onto special paper. These printers produce expensive & highest quality color printing. These printers are slow & require special wax paper for printing.
Printers
Resolution of a printer is the number of dots per inch (dpi) it produces. Higher the resolution, better the image, and usually the more costly the printer
Printers
Multifunction printer:
Plotter
A plotter is a specialized printer designed to produce high quality graphics in variety of colors. It is printer like device used to print large size documents or images. It is a special-purpose output device that draws images with ink pens. That is, the plotter is a graphics printer for making sophisticated graphs, charts, maps, and threedimensional graphics as well as high-quality colored documents. Example: To print a banner or large size posters, plotters are used.
Speakers
A speaker is a device that produces computer output as sound Speakers are common devices in computer systems Examples include:
Storage Devices
Storage Devices
Storage device stores information to be recalled and used at a later time Storage device consists of: Storage medium Storage device Three major technology types for information storage: Magnetic Optical or laser Flash memory
A storage device is a bit of hardware that is used to access a storage medium. The storage medium is the actual place where data is stored. E.g. A DVD-ROM drive is a storage device. The DVD is the storage medium (it is placed into the drive to be read/written). In this case the storage medium is removable. Sometime the storage medium is permanently stored inside the storage device. E.g... A hard-drive is a storage device. The magnetic coated disc that is (permanently) inside the drive is the storage medium A USB memory stick is a storage device. The flash memory chip that is (permanently) inside the device is the storage medium
Secondary Storage
storage, is all data storage that is not currently in a computer's primary storage or memory. Some times called external storage. The purpose of storage device is to hold data-even when the computer is turned off. In a personal computer, secondary storage typically consists of storage on the hard disk and on any removable media, if present, such as a CD or DVD
DVD-R
2003 The McGraw-Hill Companies
Internal magnetic hard disks are fixed inside the system unit External magnetic hard disks are portable
Magnetic storage devices all work on the same basic principal a thin layer of magnetic iron oxide compound coats either metal or plastic and is magnetized to represent information Read/write heads access the information on the disk surface The heads read information while copying it from the storage medium to RAM and write it when copying it from RAM to the storage medium.
Your hard disk is where you store your operating system and application software long-term. When you start up your system, the operating system instructions are copied from your hard disk into memory. When you launch an application, a copy of the software goes into memory so that the CPU can execute the instructions.
The CPU cant carry out software instructions directly from any storage device; they must go into memory first.
2003 The McGraw-Hill Companies
Optical Storage
CDs DVDs Both are optical storage and have three formats: Read-only Write-once Read-and-write Optical storage comes in two capacities a CD holds up to a maximum of about 800 MB. a DVD holds from 4.7 GB to 17 GB depending on whether it uses both sides and whether the side(s) have one or two layers available for storage
Fully Read-andWrite
CD-RW DVD-RW
One-Time Writable
CD-R DVD-R
Read-Only Optical Storage Media - read-only means you cant write to it or change it. CD-ROM (compact disc read-only memory) is an optical or laser disc whose information cannot be changed once it has been created. DVD-ROM is an optical storage medium whose information cant be changed, but which has a larger capacity than a CD-ROM.