Input devices

Input devices are used to capture or enter data into the computer. Before data can be

used within a computer system, it is usually necessary to convert them into a format

that supports processing by computer. Most data are held in human-sensible form, that

is, in a format that makes them directly accessible to human beings. A bank statement,

for example, contains text and numbers that are relatively easy for a human to

understand. However, such data are almost meaningless to the electronic components

of a computer system. Input devices convert data into a form that makes them machine-

sensible.

a) Keyboards - The keyboard is still one of the most important main computer

input devices. A keyboard is a device that converts letters, numbers, and

other characters into electrical signals that can be read by the computer’s

processor.
 b) Pointing Devices

i. The Mouse

One of the most popular devices for giving on-screen commands, the mouse may be

mechanical or optical, wired or wireless. The mouse is a device that is moved about

on a surface and directs a pointer on the computer’s display screen. OPTICAL MOUSE

use light beams and special chips to encode data for the computer. Optical mice have

a smoother response and don’t require a mouse pad (unless you are working on a

transparent glass surface). The optical mouse works by using LED (light-emitting

diode), optical sensors, or laser to detect the mouse’s movement.

WIRELESS MOUSE, also called cordless mouse, is a battery-operated mouse that uses
radio waves or infrared-light waves to transmit data. Cordless mice free up desk

space.

ii. Touchpad

A touchpad is a small, flat, rectangular pointing device that is sensitive to pressure

and motion. To move the pointer using a touchpad, slide your fingertip across the

surface of the pad. Some touchpads have one or more buttons around the edge of the

pad that work like mouse buttons.

iii. Pointing Stick

A pointing stick is a pressure-sensitive pointing device shaped like a pencil eraser that

is positioned between keys on a keyboard. To move the pointer using a pointing stick,

you push the pointing stick with a finger. The pointer on the screen moves in the

direction you push the pointing stick.

c) SCANNERS

Scanners, or optical scanners, use light-sensing (optical) equipment to translate images

of text, drawings, photos, and objects into digital form. The images can then be

processed by a computer, displayed on a monitor, stored on a storage device, printed

out, or transmitted to another computer. One of the most popular types of scanners is

the flatbed scanner, or desktop scanner, which works much like a photocopier—the
image to be scanned is placed on a glass surface, where it remains stationary, and the

scanning beam moves across it.

Optical character recognition

These days almost all scanners come with OCR software. Optical character recognition

(OCR) software converts scanned text from images (pictures of the text) to an editable

text format that can be imported into a word processing application and manipulated.

d) Image-capture devices

They include digital cameras, which record images in digital form, and webcams,

which download images to a computer for transmission over a network.

i. Digital cameras, which have essentially replaced film cameras, have

changed the entire industry of photography. Eliminating the

environmentally undesirable stage of chemical development required of

conventional film, a digital camera uses a light-sensitive processor chip

to capture photographic images in digital form and store them on a

small disk inserted into the camera or on flash memory cards.

ii. Webcam is a video camera attached to a computer to record live moving

images that can then be posted on a website in real time.

Output devices

Output devices make the computer’s processed information available to a

human user. Without output devices, there would be little reason to have a

computer, because it wouldn’t produce anything you could use. The

most common types of output devices are display screens, printers, and

speaker.

a. Display Devices

A display device is an output device that visually conveys text, graphics, and

video information. Desktop computers typically use a monitor as their display

device. A monitor is a display device that is packaged as a separate peripheral.

Some monitors have a tilt-and-swivel base that allows users to adjust the angle

of the screen to minimize neck strain and reduce glare from overhead lighting.

With some, you can rotate the screen. Adjustable monitor stands allow you to

adjust the height of the monitor. Some have integrated speakers and/or a built-

in Webcam. Monitor controls permit users to adjust the brightness, contrast,

positioning, height, and width of images.

Most display devices show text, graphics, and video information in colour.

Some, however, are monochrome. Monochrome means the information

appears in one color (such as white, amber, green, black, blue, or gray) on a

different color background (such as black or grayish-white). Some mobile

devices use monochrome displays because they require less battery power.

The video card or graphics card fitted inside a computer or the integrated

graphics component built directly into the motherboard houses the graphics

processing unit (GPU, the chip devoted to rendering images on a display

device. The video card or the integrated graphics component determines the

graphics capabilities of the computer, including the screen resolutions

available, the number of bits used to store color etc.

The three most common types of interfaces used to connect a monitor to a

computer are VGA (Video Graphics Array), DVI (Digital Visual Interface), and

HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface). VGA is an older connection

traditionally used with CRT monitors and many flat-panel monitors to transfer

analog images to the monitor.

DVI uses a more rectangular connector and it is used with flat-panel displays

to allow the monitor to receive clearer, more reliable digital signals than is

possible with a VGA interface. HDMI is a newer type of digital connection that

uses a smaller connector. It transfers audio signals as well as video signals and

can be used with display devices that support high-definition content.

CRT Monitors vs. Flat-panel displays

The Cathode Ray Tube monitor used to be the norm for desktop computers.

CRT monitors use the same cathode-ray tube technology used in conventional.

CRTs are large, bulky, and heavy. While CRT monitors are still in use, most

computers today (as well as most television sets, smartphones, and other

consumer devices containing a display screen) use the thinner and lighter flat-

panel displays. Flat-panel displays take up less desk space, which makes it

possible to use multiple monitors working together to increase the amount of

data the user can view at one time, increasing productivity without filling up

an entire desk. Flat-panel displays also consume less power than CRTs

b. Printers

Instead of the temporary, ever-changing soft copy output that a monitor

produces, printers (machines used to produce hard copy; that is, a permanent
copy of the output on paper.) are used. The most common printers are laser

printers (which use toner powder) and ink-jet printers (which use liquid ink).

Inkjet Printer

Ink-jet printers form images by spraying tiny drops of liquid ink from one or

more ink cartridges onto the page, one printed line at a time. The printhead for

an ink-jet printer typically travels back and forth across the page, which is one

reason why ink-jet printers are slower than laser printers. Because they have

good-quality output, and can print in color, ink-jet printers are often the printer

of choice for home use.

Laser printers

Laser printers are the standard for business documents; they are also available

as both color and black-and-white printers. To print a document, the laser

printer first uses a laser beam to charge the appropriate locations on a drum to

form the page’s image, and then toner powder (powdered ink) is released from

a toner cartridge and sticks to the drum. The toner is then transferred to a piece

of paper when the paper is rolled over the drum, and a heating unit fuses the

toner powder to the paper to permanently form the image. Laser printers print

one entire page at a time and are typically faster than ink-jet printers.