Input Output Devices

Back of Computer

Remove these screws

Step 2 Looking Inside

Identify all the major components:
Power Supply Motherboard Memory Card Slots Cards (sound, video, network) CPU, heatsink and fan Drives (floppy, hard and CD-ROM)

COMPONENTS
power supply

CD-ROM drive
floppy drive

cards

hard drive

motherboard

Input and Output

Input devices convert data from the user into a form understood by the computer. Output devices convert the processed 0s and 1s into a form that the user can understand. Hard copypermanently recorded, such as on paper. Soft copytemporarily recorded, such as on a computer screen.

Keyboards
Computers usually use a keyboard for textbased input. Keyboards can differ in number of keys, key arrangement, types of special keys, and touch. Function keys enable software packages to be customized to meet a user's applications needs. The numeric keypad makes it easy to enter numbers quickly.

The Keyboard

The most common input device is the keyboard, which is used to enter letters, numbers and special characters.

Working with the Keyboard

Function keys are special purpose keys whose function depends on the software being used. Cursor keys are used to move the cursor up, down, left, or right.

Variations on Keyboard Design

Ergonomic
to address repetitive stress injuries

Wireless Folding Half

Keyboards
Portable keyboards and thumb pads are increasingly being used with portable PCs and mobile devices.

Pointing Devices, Contd.

Electronic pens (light pen, stylus)
An alternative to the mouse to select objects or to write or draw on the screen. Commonly used with: Graphics tablets Digital portfolios and digital pens Signature capture devices Pen-based computers Handwriting recognition technology

Pointing Devices, Contd.

Touch screens
Used when other input devices are impractical.
Often used when consumer input is required, as in consumer kiosks.

Pointing Devices, Contd.

Other common pointing devices
Joysticks and other gaming devices Trackballs Pointing sticks Touch pads

Pointing Devices

Reading Tools
Input devices read directly from paper and convert printed information into bit patterns that can be processed by the computer.

Optical-mark readers Bar-code readers Magnetic-ink character readers Wand readers Pen scanners

Digitizing the Real World

Scanner Digital camera Speech recognition Sensing devices

Scanners
Scanners capture and digitize printed images. There are several types of scanners: Flatbed scanners Handheld scanners Sheet-fed scanners

Scanners
Scanners (optical scanners) convert hardcopy images of text pages, photographs, and drawings into digital form.
Types of scanners:
Flatbed Sheet-fed Handheld

Quality of scanned images are measured by resolution.

Optical Mark Readers (OMRs)

Read optical marks, such as on:
Exams Census forms Voting ballots Lottery forms

Bar-Code Readers
Bar codean optical code consisting of several bars of varying widths that form a unique, identifiable code. Read by fixed or portable bar-code readers. Common types:
Universal Product Code (UPC) POSTNET code Proprietary codes for shippers, hospitals, and other businesses

Optical Character Recognition (OCR) Devices

Optical characters are designed to be identifiable by humans as well as OCR device. Widely used in turnaround documents, such as monthly bills.

Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) Readers

MICR readers can read the special magnetic characters and sort and process documents accordingly.

Used primarily for processing checks.

Multimedia Input Devices

Digital cameras record data onto digital media instead of conventional film or tape. Images can be transferred to a PC via a cable or the storage media (such as a flash memory card with a digital still camera).

Can be digital still cameras or digital video cameras.

Digital Cameras
Digital cameras capture snapshots and store them as bit patterns on disks or other storage media.

Multimedia Input Devices, Contd.

Digital still cameras
Images are usually stored on flash memory cards. Photos can usually be immediately previewed and deleted, if needed. Photos are easily transferred to a PC to be stored and/or printed. Camera quality is measured in mexapixels. Digital photos can be printed at home or at a photo lab.

Multimedia Input Devices, Contd.

Digital video cameras
Store images on digital media (typically digital tape or optical discs). Video can be easily transferred to a PC for editing and/or burning onto a DVD. Can be used for videoconferencing and Web cams.

Multimedia Input Devices, Contd.

Audio input devices
Voice-input systems convert spoken words to digital data. Voice input can be used to input data or commands into a PC as well as for telephony. Music-input systems can input and record music (either original compositions or via a CD or DVD player).

Sensing Devices
Sensing devices are used to monitor temperature, humidity, pressure and other physical quantities. The data collected provides data for use in robotics, environmental climate control, weather forecasting and other applications.

Output: From Pulses to People

Screen Output Paper Output Sound Output

Screen Output
A monitor or video display terminal (VDT) displays characters, graphics, photographic images, animation and video.
Video adapterconnects the monitor to the computer

VRAM or video memorya special portion of RAM to hold video images (the more video memory, the more detail of a picture displayed)

Display Devices
Display device characteristics
Color vs. monochrome displays Size (measured diagonally)

Screen resolution
Graphic standards

Display Devices, Contd.

CRT (cathode-ray tube) monitorsdisplay images similar to conventional televisions. Quality is measured in dot pitch.

Screen Talk
Monitor size - measured as a diagonal line across the screen. Pixels (or picture element) - tiny dots that compose a picture Resolution - the number of pixels displayed on the screen (the higher the resolution, the closer together the dots)

Image Quality
Image quality is affected by resolution and color depth (or bit depth) Color depth refers to the number of different colors a monitor displays at the same time

Examples of Color Depth

1-bit depth

4-bit depth

8-bit depth

16-bit depth

Monitor Classes

CRT (cathode ray tube)

LCD (liquid crystal display)

Display Devices, Contd.

Flat-panel displaysform images by manipulating electronically-charged chemicals or gases between thin panes or glass or plastic.

Common types: Liquid crystal displays (LCD) Gas plasma

Used for monitors, televisions, handheld devices, and other consumer products.

Liquid Crystal Display (LCD)

Light-weight Compact Flat-panel Used in overhead projection panels and video projectors to project computer images More expensive than CRTs Increasingly being seen with desktop computers

Paper Output

Printers produce paper output or hard copy 2 kinds of printers: Impact printers Non-impact printers

Impact Printers
Line printer
Used by mainframes to produce massive printouts Limited to printing characters

Dot matrix printer

Images created by a matrix of tiny dots Low print quality Low cost

Non-impact Printers
Laser Printer A laser beam reflected off a rotating drum to create patterns of electrical charges Faster and more expensive than dot matrix printer High-resolution output

Laser Printers

The standard for business documents. Work similarly to photocopy machines; print with toner powder.

Are usually black and white, though color laser printers are available.
Fast print speed; print one page at a time.

More on Non-impact Printers

Ink-jet Printer

Sprays ink onto paper to produce printed text and graphic images Prints fewer pages/minute than laser printer High-quality color costing less than laser printer

Ink-Jet Printers
Print with tiny drops of liquid ink. Typically print in color. Often the choice for home use. Print fairly slowly, one line at a time. Quality not quite as good as a laser printer.

Special Purpose Printers

Photo printers Bar-code printers Label printers Portable printers

Plotters and wide-format ink-jet printers Fax machines

Multifunction devices

Additional Output Devices

Multifunction peripheral or MFP combines a scanner, printer and a fax modem. A plotter is an automated drawing tool that can produce large, finely scaled engineering blueprints and maps.

Output You Can Hear

A sound card allows the PC to accept microphone input, play music and other sounds through speakers or headphones. Synthesizers are included in sound cards and have specialized circuitry designed to generate sounds electronically.

Multimedia Output Devices

Speakers Voice-output systems