INPUT AND OUTPUT DEVICES

Before a computer can process your data, you need some method to  input the data into the
machine. The device you use will depend on what form this data takes (be it text, sound, artwork,
etc.).

Similarly, after the computer has processed your data, you often need to produce  output of the
results. This output could be a display on the computer screen, hardcopy on printed pages, or
even the audio playback of music you composed on the computer.

The terms “input” and “output” are used both as verbs to describe the process of entering or
displaying the data, and as nouns referring to the data itself entered into or displayed by the
computer.

Below we discuss the variety of peripheral devices used for computer input and output.

INPUT DEVICES
There are many types of computer input devices as follows:
1. Keyboard
2. Pointing Devices (Mouse, Trackball, Touchpad, TrackPoint, Graphics Tablet, Joystick, & Touch Screen.)
3. Scanners
4. Microphone
5. MIDI Devices

1. KEYBOARD
The computer keyboard is used to enter text information into the computer, as when you type the
contents of a report. The keyboard can also be used to type commands directing the computer to
perform certain actions. Commands are typically chosen from an on-screen menu using a mouse,
but there are often keyboard shortcuts for giving these same commands.

In addition to the keys of the main keyboard (used for

typing text), keyboards usually also have a numeric
keypad (for entering numerical data efficiently), a bank
of editing keys (used in text editing operations), and a
row of function keys along the top (to easily invoke
certain program functions). Laptop computers, which
don’t have room for large keyboards, often include a “fn”
key so that other keys can perform double duty (such as having a numeric keypad function
embedded within the main keyboard keys).

Improper use or positioning of a keyboard can lead to repetitive-stress injuries. Some ergonomic
keyboards are designed with angled arrangements of keys and with built-in wrist rests that can
minimize your risk of RSIs. Most keyboards attach to the PC via a PS/2 connector or USB port
(newer). Older Macintosh computers used an ABD connector, but for several years now all Mac
keyboards have connected using USB.

2. POINTING DEVICES
The graphical user interfaces (GUIs) in use today require some kind of device for positioning the
on-screen cursor. Typical pointing devices are Mouse, Trackball, Touchpad, TrackPoint, Graphics
Tablet, Joystick, and Touch Screen.

Pointing devices, such as a mouse, connected to the PC via a  serial ports  (old), PS/2 mouse port
(newer), or USB port (newest). Older Macs used ADB to connect their mice, but all recent Macs
use USB (usually to a USB port right on the USB keyboard)

i) MOUSE
The mouse-pointing device sits on your work surface and is moved
with your hand. In older mice, a ball in the bottom of the mouse
rolls on the surface as you move the mouse, and internal rollers
sense the ball movement and transmit the information to the
computer via the cord of the mouse.

Two-button mouse with scroll wheel

The newer optical mouse does not use a rolling ball, but instead
uses a light and a small optical sensor to detect the motion of the
mouse by tracking a tiny image of the desk surface. Optical mice avoid the problem of a dirty
mouse ball, which causes regular mice to roll unsmoothly if the
mouse ball and internal rollers are not cleaned frequently.

A cordless or wireless mouse communicates with the computer via

radio waves (often using Bluetooth hardware and protocol) so that
a cord is not needed (but such mice need internal batteries).

Wireless Macintosh mouse

A mouse also includes one or more buttons (and possibly a scroll
wheel) to allow users to interact with the GUI. The traditional PC
mouse has two buttons, while the traditional Macintosh mouse has one button. On either type of
computer you can also use mice with three or more buttons and a small scroll wheel (which can
also usually be clicked like a button)

ii) TOUCH PAD

Most laptop computers today have a touch pad-pointing device.
You move the on-screen cursor by sliding your finger along the
surface of the touch pad. The buttons are located below the pad, Touch pad of a PC Laptop
but most touch pads allow you to perform “mouse clicks” by
tapping on the pad itself.
Touch pads have the advantage over mice that they take up much less room to use. They have the
advantage over trackballs (which were used on early laptops) that there are no moving parts to
get dirty and result in jumpy cursor control.
iii) TRACK POINT
Some sub-notebook computers (such as the IBM ThinkPad), which
lack room for even a touch pad, incorporate a track point, a small
rubber projection embedded between the keys of the keyboard.
The track point acts like a little joystick that can be used to
control the position of the on-screen cursor

iv) TRACKBALL
The trackball is sort of like an upside-down mouse, with the ball located
on top. You use your fingers to roll the trackball, and internal rollers
(similar to what’s inside a mouse) sense the motion which is transmitted
to the computer. Trackballs have the advantage over mice in that the
body of the trackball remains stationary on your desk, so you don’t need
as much room to use the trackball. Early laptop computers often used
trackballs (before superior touch pads came along).

Trackballs have traditionally had the same problem as mice: dirty rollers can make their cursor
control jumpy and unsmooth. But there are modern optical trackballs that don’t have this problem
because their designs eliminate the rollers.

v) JOYSTICKS
Joysticks and other game controllers can also be connected to a computer as
pointing devices. They are generally used for playing games, and not for
controlling the on-screen cursor in productivity software.

vi) TOUCH SCREEN

Some computers, especially small hand-held PDAs, have touch sensitive
display screens. The user can make choices and press button images on the
screen. You often use a stylus, which you hold like a pen, to “write” on the
surface of a small touch screen.

vii) GRAPHICS TABLET

A graphics tablet consists of an electronic writing area and a
special “pen” that works with it. Graphics tablets allows artists to
create graphical images with motions and actions similar to using
more traditional drawing tools. The pen of the graphics tablet is
pressure sensitive, so pressing harder or softer can result in brush strokes of different width (in
an appropriate graphics program).

3. SCANNERS
A scanner is a device that images a printed page or graphic by
digitizing it, producing an image made of tiny pixels of different
brightness and color values which are represented numerically and
sent to the computer. Scanners scan graphics, but they can also scan
pages of text which are then run through OCR (Optical Character
Recognition) software that identifies the individual letter shapes and
creates a text file of the page's contents.

4. MICROPHONE
A microphone can be attached to a computer to record sound
(usually through a sound card input or circuitry built into the
motherboard). The sound is digitized—turned into numbers that
represent the original analog sound waves—and stored in the
computer to later processing and playback.

5. MIDI DEVICES
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a
system designed to transmit information between
electronic musical instruments. A MIDI musical
keyboard can be attached to a computer and allow a
performer to play music that is captured by the
computer system as a sequence of notes with the associated timing (instead of recording digitized
sound waves).
 OUTPUT DEVICES

There are many types of computer output devices as follows:

1. CRT Monitor
2. Flat Panel Monitor
3. Ink Jet Printer
4. Laser Printer
5. Other Printer / Multi Function Printer
6. Sound Output (Speaker Etc.)

1. CRT MONITOR
The traditional output device of a personal computer has been
the CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) monitor. Just like a television set (an
older one, anyway) the CRT monitor contains a large cathode ray
tube that uses an electron beam of varying strength to “paint” a
picture onto the color phosphorescent dots on the inside of the
screen. CRT monitors are heavy and use more electrical power than
flat panel displays, but they are preferred by some graphic artists for
their accurate color rendition, and preferred by some gamers for
faster response to rapidly changing graphics.

Monitor screen size is measured diagonally across the screen, in inches. Not all of the screen area
may be usable for image display, so the viewable area is also specified. The  resolution of the
monitor is the maximum number of pixels it can display horizontally and vertically (such as 800 x
600, or 1024 x 768, or 1600 x 1200). Most monitors can display several resolutions below its
maximum setting. Pixels (short for picture elements) are the small dots that make of the image
displayed on the screen. The spacing of the screen’s tiny phosphor dots is called the  dot
pitch (dp), typically .28 or .26 (measured in millimeters). A screen with a smaller dot pitch
produces sharper images.

Your computer must produce a video signal that a monitor can display. This may be handled by
circuitry on the motherboard, but is usually handled by a video card in one of the
computer’s expansion slots; often the slot is a special one dedicated to video use, such as
an AGP slot (Accelerated Graphics Port). Video cards are also called video display adapters,
and graphics cards. Many video cards contain separate processors and dedicated video memory
for generating complex graphics quickly without burdening the CPU. These  accelerated graphics
cards are loved by gamers.
2. FLAT PANEL MONITOR / DISPLAY (LCD)
A flat panel display usually uses an LCD (Liquid Crystal
Display) screen to display output from the computer.
The LCD consists of several thin layers that polarize the
light passing through them. The polarization of one
layer, containing long thin molecules called liquid
crystals, can be controlled electronically at each pixel,
blocking varying amounts of the light to make a pixel
lighter or darker. Other types of flat panel technology exist (such as  plasma displays) but LCDs are
most commonly used in computers, especially laptops.

Older LCDs had slow response times and low contrast, but  active matrix LCD screens have a
transparent thin film transistor (TFT) controlling each pixel, so response, contrast, and viewing
angle are much improved.

Flat panel displays are much lighter and less bulky than CRT monitors, and they consume much
less power. They have been more expensive than CRTs in the past, but the price gap is narrowing.
You will see many more flat panels in the future. As with CRTs, the display size of a flat panel is
expressed in inches, and the resolution is the number of pixels horizontally and vertically on the
display.

3. INK JET PRINTER

For hardcopy (printed) output, you need some kind of printer
attached to your computer (or available over a network). The most
common type of printer for home systems is the color ink jet printer.
These printers form the image on the page by spraying tiny droplets
of ink from the print head. The printer needs several colors of ink
(cyan, yellow, magenta, and black) to make color images. Some photo-
quality ink jet printers have more colors of ink.

Ink jet printers are inexpensive, but the cost of consumables (ink cartridges and special paper)
make them costly to operate in the long run for many purposes

4. LASER PRINTER
A laser printer produces good quality images by the same technology
that photocopiers use. A drum coated with photosensitive material is
charged, then an image is written onto it by a laser (or LEDs) which
makes those areas lose the charge. The drum then rolls
through toner (tiny plastic particles of pigment) that are attracted to
the charged areas of the drum. The toner is then deposited onto the
paper, and then fused into the paper with heat.
Most laser printers are monochrome (one color only, usually black), but more expensive laser
printers with multiple color toner cartridges can produce color output.

Laser printers are faster than ink jet printers. Their speed is rated in  pages per minute (ppm).
Laser printers are more expensive than ink jets, but they are cheaper to run in the long term if
you just need good quality black & white pages

5. OTHER PRINTERS / MULTI-FUNCTION PRINTERS

Multi-function printers are available that not only operate as a computer printer, but also include
the hardware needed to be a scanner, photocopier, and FAX
machine as well.

Dot matrix printers use small electromagnetically activated pins

in the print head, and an inked ribbon, to produce images by
impact. These printers are slow and noisy, and are not commonly
used for personal computers anymore (but they can print multi-
layer forms, which neither ink jet or laser printers can).

6. SOUND OUTPUT
Computers also produce sound output, ranging from simple
beeps alerting the user, to impressive game sound effects, to
concert quality music. The circuitry to produce sound may be
included on the motherboard, but high quality audio output from
a PC usually requires a sound card in one of the expansion slots,
connected to a set of good quality external speakers or
headphones.

Multimedia is a term describing computer output that includes sound, text, graphics, movies, and
animation. A sound card is an example of a multimedia output device (as is a monitor that can
display graphics).