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Home Entertainment Systems
Game Consoles
Games consoles are designed to enable users to play video
games on a television screen.
Games are provided on disks or a as downloads from the Internet.
They use controllers, which are often wireless, to control the
characters, vehicles and/or objects in the game.
Some consoles use motion sensors to allow the player to control
the game with gesture and body movements.
Other games use virtual reality controllers and headsets to
immerse the player in a realistic gaming experience.
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Home Entertainment Systems
Games Consoles
Handheld version of games consoles provide mobile gaming.
Handheld consoles have a built-in screen and less storage than
a full-size console.
This means that the games that can be played on these devices
often have reduced image and sound quality, reduced game
complexity and limited storylines in order to reduce the amount
of data that needs to be stored.
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Home Entertainment Systems
Media Players
Media players provide video and audio content to a television
This content could be streamed directly from the internet or accessed from network or
local storage.
Media players can be connected to a television directly or using a wired or wireless
network
Apple iPad Amazon TV
Apple Apple TV
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Navigation Aids
Navigation aids (such as Sat-Nav) can calculate the best route
between two or more locations and can provide updates to the
route.
They are commonly used in cars, delivery vans and ships.
Navigation aids use information from GPS satellite to determine
the exact location of the device on Earth.
Watch Google’s plan for route guidance using Augmented
Reality
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Home Automation Devices and Smart
Assistants
One type of emerging technology is a group of devices that can
be used to create smart homes.
For example, home automation device can connect a range of
digital devices which sense and control functions in the home,
such as temperature and lighting
These functions can be controlled from apps on smartphones or
the internet
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Multifunctional and Convergence
A smartphone is a type of mobile which means that its primary
function is to make phone calls. It can also be used to take
photographs or to function as a navigation aid, fitness tracker,
music player or handheld games console
Because a smartphone can perform such a range of different
function, it is classed as a multifunctional device
A multifunctional device can perform many functions but no all the
functions at the same time
For example: a photocopy machine can photocopy, print and fax. It
can do each of these functions separately not at the same time
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Multifunctional and Convergence
As they develop, devices like smartphones often adopt
technologies and features from other types of device. This is
called convergence.
Convergence blurs the distinction between different types of
devices. For example, smartphones and tablet devices are very
similar
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Features of Digital Devices
User Interface
Users give commands to a device through the user interface.
There are several different types of user interface
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User Interface
Command Line Interface (CLI)
In CLI users enter text instructions and the computer system provides
results or feedbacks as text.
This interface is often found on older systems or for devices with limited
storage because it requires little memory
Advantages of CLI:
Since it is very small in memory size it can be loaded fast.
High level of security since all commands have to be initiated by the user.
Disadvantages of CLI:
User has to memorize all the instructions
Not user friendly, most CLI’s user a two colored interface
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User Interface
Command Line Interface (CLI)
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User Interface
Menu Driven Interface (MDI)
This type of interface displays a list of options as a menu. Selecting
one of these options will either trigger a command or displays
another menu with further options to choose from
This interface is often found on ATMs
Advantages of MDI:
Straight forward to use
More user friendly than CLI
Disadvantages of MDI:
Can be annoying as the user will have to go through many menu to reach a
specific function.
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User Interface
Menu Driven Interface (MDI)
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User Interface
Graphical User Interface (GUI)
A GUI is controlled by a pointer on the screen and uses a screen made of
windows, icons and menus.
This interface is used nowadays on almost all computers
Advantages of GUI:
Highly user friendly
On screen help is provided
Disadvantage of GUI:
Takes up a lot of memory since it contains a huge amount of graphics
Easily affected by viruses since many tasks happen automatically
Since it takes up a lot of memory, it takes long to load
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User Interface
Graphical User Interface (GUI)
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User Interface
Voice Interface
A voice interface allows the users to give commands to a device
The device has voice recognition software which matches the spoken
words against a library of words to find out a match
Advantages of Voice Interface:
Instructions can be sent to the computer faster than any other interface
Its hands-free operation is possible, which helps drivers and helps
improve road safety
Disadvantages of Voice Interface:
Sometimes the software cannot find a match or returns an incorrect
match, which produces unwanted results.
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User Interface
Voice Interface
User Interface
z Gesture Interface
This type of interface allows the user to control the device by swiping their finger
or fingers across the screen or by pinching their fingers together to zoom in or
out.
This type of interface is commonly found on devices with touch screens
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Security Features
To prevent unauthorized access to data, digital devices have a range of software
security features to ensure that the person trying to use the device is allowed to do so
The OS of many devices can be set so that, when the device is turned on, the user
must enter a password or PIN before the device can be used
Another common security setting locks the device’s screen or keyboard if it has not
been used for a specified period of time
Some devices are set so that, if an incorrect password or PIN is entered, the user
must wait a set amount of time before trying again. Such systems may even wipe the
data after only a few failed attempts
The longer and more complex a password is, the better it is
Security Features such as Face Recognition, Fingerprint, Iris, Retina, Pattern,
Password & PIN
Security Features
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Pin Lock Pattern Lock
Password Lock
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Security Features
Fingerprint Lock Face Lock
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Physical Security
Physical security to prevent theft is also important
Many devices use security slots which can have locks attached
to secure them to furniture
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Types of Peripheral Devices
Peripheral devices are devices that can be connect to a computer, such as PC or
tablet device.
Peripherals can be connected inside or outside a computer and can be grouped into
three types
1. Input
2. Output
3. Storage/Processing
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Input Devices
Input peripherals are device that send data to the computer.
They allow the user to control the computer or store data
capture from sources outside the system
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Input Devices
Keyboard
Keyboards use button knows as keys, which users press to input text or to
interact with software
Keyboards send data to the computer either using a wired or wireless
connection
Wireless Keyboard
Wired Keyboard
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Input Devices
Pointing Devices
Mouse
A mouse uses an optical sensor to recognize the movement of the device
Tracker ball
A tracker ball is rolled to move the pointer. It is not portable and fixed to one place, mostly used in
public areas
Track pad
The track pad surface senses finger movements, touches and presses. Used on laptops
Joystick
Joystick are commonly used on games controllers to move sprites around the game
Graphical tablet
A graphical tablet is a flat pad that is used with a stylus. Users use the stylus to draw or write on
the graphical tablet
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Input Devices
Pointing Devices
Mouse
Track pad
Track ball
Joystick
Graphical tablet