1

THE COMPONENTS OF A COMPUTER

A computer contains many physical components – including electric, electronic and mechanical
components, known as the hardware. Hardware components of the computer include input devices,
output devices, the system unit, storage devices and communication devices.

Input device is any device use to enter data and instructions into a computer. Five widely used input
devices are the mouse, keyboard, microphone, web cam and scanner.

An output device is any peripheral that presents information from the computer to the a user. The
tree commonly used output devices are monitor, printer and speaker.

The System Unit is the case that contains most of the electronic components of a computer. A
computer case is sometimes incorrectly referred as a CPU or hard drive referring to components housed
within the case.

A storage device is a hardware device capable of storing information. There are two storage devices
used in computers; a primary storage device such as computer RAM and a secondary storage device
such as a computer hard disk drive.

A communication device enables a computer to transmit and receive data, instructions and
information to and from one or more computers or mobile devices. A commonly used communications
device is a modem.

INPUT DEVICES
Everything we enter/tell the computer is input. Input devices are the hardware that is used
to pass information into the computer.

The Keyboard
The keyboard is a piece of hardware that resembles a typewriter keyboard. It is one of the primary
ways we communicate with the computer and enter data.

Standard Keyboard Wireless Ergonomic Keyboard iMAC USB Keyboard

CHAPTER 3 - Software Applications and Network Used in the Seagoing Ship

 2

The Mouse
The mouse lets you point to objects on the screen, click on them, and move
them.

Types of Mice

1. Optical - The optical mouse uses an electronic eye to detect movement and is easier to
clean.
2. Mechanical - The mechanical mouse uses a rolling ball to detect movement and is more
difficult to clean however, it is less expensive, so many computers come with a mechanical
mouse.

Other Pointing Devices

Trackball
A trackball is similar to a mouse, but the ball that helps maneuver
the cursor is on top instead of underneath.

Touchpad
A stationary pointing device that provides a small, flat
surface that you slide your finger over using the same
movements as you would a mouse. You can tap on the pad's
surface as an alternate to pressing one of the touchpad
keys.

Touch screens
A display screen that is sensitive to the touch of a finger or stylus. Touch
screens are very resistant to harsh environments where keyboards might
eventually fail. They are used with custom applications and on-screen
buttons large enough to be pressed with the finger.

CHAPTER 3 - Software Applications and Network Used in the Seagoing Ship

 3

Pen input
A computer that allows the user to input and retrieve data by writing with a stylus
directly on a display screen.

Game Controllers
Gamepad
A type of game controller held in the hand, where the digits are used to provide
input.

Joystick
A device consisting of a hand held stick that pivots about one end and transmits its
angle in two dimensions to a computer. Joysticks are often used to control games,
and usually have one or more push-buttons whose state can also be read by the
computer.

Digital Camera
Camera that takes video or still photographs, or both, digitally by recording images
on a light-sensitive sensor.

Voice input
Audio input is the use of the human voice to enter data or
commands into a computer using microphone.

Video input

Webcam
(WEB CAMera) is a video camera that is used to send periodic images
or continuous frames to a Web site for display. Webcam software
typically captures the images as JPEG or MPEG files and uploads them
to the Web server.

CHAPTER 3 - Software Applications and Network Used in the Seagoing Ship

 4

Scanners and Reading Devices

Bar Code Reader

Is an electronic device for reading printed barcodes. Like a flatbed
scanner, it consists of a light source, a lens and a light sensor translating
optical impulses into electrical ones.

RFID Reader
Is an electronic device for reading RFID. Radio-frequency
identification (RFID) is a technology that uses communication
through the use of radio waves to exchange data between a reader
and an electronic tag attached to an object, for the purpose of
identification and tracking.

Magnetic Stripe Card Reader

A magnetic stripe reader, also called a magstripe reader, is a hardware
device that reads the information encoded in the magnetic stripe
located on the back of a plastic badge.

MICR Reader
MICR is an acronym for Magnetic Ink Character Recognition.
MICR Readers are normally used to read the encoded
information within the ink on a check.

Biometric Input
A biometric identification system identifies a human from a measurement
of a physical feature or repeatable action of the individual (for example,
hand geometry, retinal scan, iris scan, fingerprint patterns, facial
characteristics, DNA sequence characteristics, voice prints, and hand
written signature).

CHAPTER 3 - Software Applications and Network Used in the Seagoing Ship

 5

Terminals
Point-of-sale Terminal

Point-of-sale terminals include a computer, a cash register and other equipment or software
used to sell goods or services. They also transmit sales data to be posted to customer accounts.

Automated Teller Machine (ATM)

ATM is a computerised telecommunications device that provides the
clients of a financial institution with access to financial transactions
in a public space without the need for a cashier, human clerk or bank
teller.

Kiosk is a computerized booth that provides products such as soft

drinks or services such as DVD rentals.

CHAPTER 3 - Software Applications and Network Used in the Seagoing Ship

 6

OUTPUT DEVICES

Output devices stores and presents data in forms that can be read by either human or machines. It
enables the computer to give to the user the results of the processed data. An output can be of two
types: Hard copy and Softcopy. Hardcopy is printed on paper or other permanent media while
Softcopy is displayed on screen or by other non-permanent means.

Display Devices
LCD Monitor and LCD Screen
Liquid Crystal Display Monitor – is a thin, flat electronic visual
display for computer that uses the light modulating properties of liquid
crystals (LCs).

Plasma Monitor
It is a type of flat panel display common to large TV displays (80
cm/30 in or larger). They are called "plasma" displays because the
technology utilizes small cells containing electrically charged ionized
gases, or what are in essence chambers more commonly known as
fluorescent lamps

Internet TV
Internet television (otherwise known as Internet TV, iTV or Online
TV) is television service distributed via the Internet.

CRT Monitors
Cathode Ray Tube monitor resembles a television set and uses the same
technology. CRTs have many pros: they are inexpensive, dependable,
have good clear pictures and can be viewed from any angle.

CHAPTER 3 - Software Applications and Network Used in the Seagoing Ship

 7

Printers
Inkjet Printer
Slower than a laser printer, an inkjet printer is a way to have color printing
available. Inkjet printers are really recommended for users who are
very interested in printing photographs. They work well as home printers
and inkjet all-in-ones will suit just about any need a user with low volume
printing requirements

Laser Printer
Produce images using the same technology as copier machines. The
image is made with a powder substance called toner. Lasers will do
better in an office environment for multiple reasons. Laser printers
are fast, precise and inkless.

Photo Printer
A printer specialized for smaller prints such as 4x6" and 5x7". Inkjet
technology has greatly improved, and most photo printers are inkjets.
Epson, Canon and HP are major players in this market.

Thermal Printer
A thermal transfer printer is a non-impact printer that uses heat to
register an impression on paper. A thermal transfer printer has a
printhead containing many small resistive heating pins that on contact
onto special coated paper.

Mobile Printer
Printers in which a Radio Frequency (RF) interface is used to connect
the printer to a network.

Label and Postage Printer

It is a computer printer that prints on self-adhesive label material
and/or card-stock (tags).

CHAPTER 3 - Software Applications and Network Used in the Seagoing Ship

 8

Plotters and Large-format Printer

A large printer used to print blueprints. These
output devices support vector graphics, unlike
dot-matrix and laser printers.

Impact Printer
Impact Printers use a print head containing a number of
metal pins which strike an inked ribbon placed between
the print head and the paper.

Speakers
A device that converts analog audio signals into the equivalent air vibrations
in order to make audible sound.

Headphone
Headphones are a pair of small loudspeakers, or less commonly a single speaker,
held close to a user's ears and connected to a signal source such as an audio
amplifier, radio, CD player or portable media player.

Earbuds
Earbuds or earphones are headphones of a much smaller size that
are placed directly outside of the ear canal, but without fully
enveloping it.

CHAPTER 3 - Software Applications and Network Used in the Seagoing Ship

 9

Other Output Devices

LCD Projector
A device that projects computer output onto
a white or silver fabric screen that is wall,
ceiling or tripod mounted. It is widely used
in classrooms and auditoriums for
instruction and slide presentations.

Interactive Whiteboard
It is a large interactive display that connects to a computer
and projector. A projector projects the computer's desktop
onto the board's surface where users control the computer
using a pen, finger, stylus, or other device. The board is
typically mounted to a wall or floor stand.

STORAGE DEVICES

Storage refers to the media and methods used to keep information available for later use. The purpose
of storage is to hold data permanently even when the computer is turned off. Some things will be
needed right away while other won't be needed for extended periods of time, so different methods are
appropriate for different uses.

Magnetic Storage: Hard Disk

Hard disk is the primary computer storage medium, which is made of
one or more aluminum or glass platters, coated with a ferromagnetic
material. Most hard disks are "fixed disks," which have platters that
reside permanently in the drive. Almost all computers have an
internal hard disk, and external hard disk units can be plugged in
for additional storage or backup.

CHAPTER 3 - Software Applications and Network Used in the Seagoing Ship

 10

Optical Discs

Optical Discs are plastic-coated disk that stores digital data, such as music or text, as tiny pits etched
into the surface and is read with a laser scanning the surface.

Types of Optical Discs

• CD - Compact Disc (CD) is an optical disc used to store digital data. Newer breed of CDS can
hold 80 minutes of audio or 700MB of data.
• DVD - Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) is an optical disc storage media format. DVDs offer higher
storage capacity than compact discs while having the same dimensions. It can hold a minimum
of 4.7 GB and as much as 17 GB.

CD DVD

Writability Optical Disc Types

Read-only CD, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, DVD-Video, BD-ROM

Recordable (Write once) CR-R, DVD+R, DVD-R, BD-R, WORM
Rewritable CD-RW, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, BD-RE,
Magneto-optic

• Blu-ray Discs

Blu-ray Disc (BD) is an optical disc storage medium designed

to supersede the DVD format. The standard physical medium is
a 12 cm plastic optical disc, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-
ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs (50 GB)
the norm for feature-length video discs and additional layers
possible in the future.

CHAPTER 3 - Software Applications and Network Used in the Seagoing Ship

 11

Flash Memory Storage

Solid State Drive
A solid-state drive (SSD) is a data storage device that uses solid-state
memory to store persistent data with the intention of providing access in
the same manner of a traditional block i/o hard disk drive.

Memory Cards
A memory card or flash card is an electronic flash memory data
storage device used for storing digital information. They are
commonly used in many electronic devices, including digital cameras,
mobile phones, laptop computers, MP3 players, and video game
consoles. They are small, re-recordable, and they can retain data
without power.

USB Flash Drive

USB flash drive consists of a flash memory data storage device integrated
with a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface. USB flash drives are typically
removable and rewritable, and physically much smaller than a floppy disk.
Most weigh less than 30 g (1 oz). Storage capacities in 2013 can be as
large as 2 TB in USB 3.0.

ExpressCard Module
The Expresscard module is a new technology that slots into a computer
system to allow the addition of hardware capabilities. Hardware capabilities
such as extra memory, wired and wireless communication tools and security
devices can be added by inserting these modules into the system.

Cloud Storage
Cloud storage is a model of networked online
storage where data is stored on multiple virtual
servers, generally hosted by third parties, rather than
being hosted on dedicated servers. Storage
maintenance tasks, such as backup, data replication,
and purchasing additional storage devices are
offloaded to the responsibility of a service provider,
allowing organizations to focus on their core business

CHAPTER 3 - Software Applications and Network Used in the Seagoing Ship

 12

Other Types of Storage

Magnetic Stripe Cards and Smart Cards

A magnetic stripe card is a type of card capable of storing data by
modifying the magnetism of tiny iron-based magnetic particles on a
band of magnetic material on the card. The magnetic stripe, sometimes
called swipe card or magstripe, is read by physical contact and swiping
past a magnetic reading head.

A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuit card (ICC), is any pocket-sized
card with embedded integrated circuits.

COMMUNICATION DEVICES

Communication devices are hardware devices that enable data to transmit from computer and other
technologies.

Modems
Modems can be of two types. One modem is very common in every
computer which we use to connect to internet using our telephone
line by dialing to our ISP and the other one is used to connect to
DSL. Modems modulation and demodulation, they are used to
convert analog signals into digital and digital signals into analog so
that signals can be travelled on telephone lines.

Routers
Router is intelligent device which routes data to destination
computers. It helps in connecting two different logical and physical
networks together.

CHAPTER 3 - Software Applications and Network Used in the Seagoing Ship