SONA COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCE –SALEM -5

CLASS : III B.COM STAFF NAME: Mr.S.RAVISHANKAR

SUBJECT: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN BUSINESS

UNIT-I
INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTERS
 A computer is a programmable machine.
 Two principle characteristics are:
1. It responds to a specify set of instructions in a well-defined manner.
2. It can execute a prerecorded list of instructions.(a program).
 Modern computers are electronic and digital.
 The actual machinery- wires, electronics and circuits is called hardware.
 The instructions and data are called software.
 General purpose computers require the following hardware components:
1. Central processing unit (CPU):
 The heart of the computer
 The component that actually executes instructions.
2. Memory:
 A computer to store data and program.
3. Input Device:
 Which data and instructions enter a computer, is called input device. The
input device is keyboard and mouse.
4. Output Device:
 A display screen, printer, or other such devices that lets you see what the
computer has accomplished.
5. Mass Storage Device:
 A computer to permanently retain large amounts of data.
 Common storage devices include disk drives and tape drives.
TYPES OF COMPUTER
Computers can be classified by their size and power as follows:
1. Personal computer
 A small, single-user computer based on a microprocessor. In addition to the
microprocessor.
 A personal computer has a keyboard for entering data.
 A monitor for displaying information, and a storage device for saving data.
2. Workstation
 A powerful, single-user computer.
 A workstation is like a personnel computer, but it has a more powerful
 Microprocessor and a higher quality monitor.
3. Minicomputer
 A multi-user computer capable of supporting many 10 to hundreds of users
 Simultaneously.
4. Mainframe

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  A powerful multi-user computer capable of supporting many hundreds of users
Simultaneously.
5. Supercomputer
 An extremely fast computer that can perform hundreds of instructions per second.
CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPUTERS
All computers have certain common characteristics irrespective of their type and size.
Word length:
 A digital computer operates on binary digits – 0 and 1.
 It can understand information only in terms of 0s and 1s.
 A binary digit is called bit.
 A group of 8 bit is called a byte.
 The number of bits that a computer can process at a time a parallel is called its
word length.
 Commonly used word lengths are 8, 16, 32 or 64 bits.
 A 32-bit computer, it means that is word length is 32 bits.
Speed:
 Computers can calculate at very high speeds.
 A microcomputer, for example, can execute millions of instructions per second
over again without any mistake.
 The power of the computer increases, the speed also increases.
 For example supercomputers can operate at speeds measured in nanoseconds and
even in picoseconds- one thousand to one million times faster than
microcomputers.
Storage:
 Computers have their main memory and auxiliary memory systems.
 A computer can store a large amount of data.
 With more and more auxiliary storage devices, which are capable of storing huge
amount of data, the storage capacity of a computer is virtually unlimited.
 The factor that makes computer storage unique is not that it can store vast amount
of data.
 The fact that it can retrieve the information that the user wants in a few seconds.
Accuracy
 The accuracy of a computer system is very high.
 Errors in hardware can occur, but error detecting and correcting techniques will
prevent false results.
 In most cases, the errors are due to the human factor rather than the technological
flaws.
 For example if a program is wrongly coded, if the data is corrupted, or if the
program logic flawed, then irrespective on which computer you run it, you will
always get wrong results.

Versatility

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  Computers are very versatile machines.
 They can perform activities ranging from simple calculations to performing
complex CAD modeling and simulation to navigating missiles and satellites.
 Computers can communicate with other computers and can receive and send data
in various forms like text, sound, video, graphics, etc.
 This ability of computer to communicate to other to one another has led to the
development of computer networks, Internet, www and so on.
Automation
 The level of automation achieved in a computer is phenomenal.
 It is not a simple calculator where you have to punch in the numbers and press the
‘equal to’ sign to get the result.
 Once a task is initiated, computers can proceed on its own till its completion.
 Computer can be programmed to perform a serious of complex tasks involving
multiple programs.
Diligence
 Diligence means being constant and earnest in effort and application.
 Human beings suffer from weakness like tiredness, lack of concentration, etc.
 Humans have feelings they become sad, depressed, bored, and it will reflect on the
work they do.
 A computer does not have any of these human weaknesses.
 They won’t get tired or bored.
 They will not go into depression or loose concentration.
 They will perform the tasks that are given to them, irrespective of whether it is
interesting, creative, monotonous or boring, irrespective of whether it is the first time
or the millionth time with exactly the same accuracy and speed.
CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTERS
INTRODUCTION
 Computer systems are classified as microcomputers, minicomputers,
mainframes and super computers.
 The reason is that microcomputers are often linked by communications lines
to large computers
 These large computers process great amount of data
MICRO COMPUTERS
 The most familiar kind of computer is the micro computer
 Microcomputer have been considered to be of two types
1. Personal computes
2. Workstation
PERSONAL COMPUTERS (PCs)
 Until recently PCs were desktop or portable machines
 These machines ran comparatively easy – to- use applications software such as
the word processors, spread sheet, etc.
 They were usually easier to use and more affordable workstations.
 Most important, they didn’t have the processing power that workstation did.

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  Ex:
Personal computers Acer’s Aspire, Compaq Presario, etc.
WORKSTATION
 Workstations are expensive powerful machines, used by engineers, scientists and
other professionals.
 People who need to run complex programs and display both work in progress and
results graphically also use workstations.
 Workstation also use powerful networking links to other computers.
 The most significant distinguishing factor, however, is the powerful processor.
 The more powerful workstations are called super micros.
 Ex: sun, Apollo, Hewlett-Packard, NeXT and IBM.
PORTABLE COMPUTERS
 Computers are becoming smaller yet more powerful.
 There are three categories of portable computers: Laptops or notebook PCs, sub
notebooks and personal digital assistants.
Laptops/ notebooks:
 Laptop may be either AC-powered, battery-powered or both.
 These computers are ideal for users who have to work away from their offices.
 These computers combine the power of the PC with mobility
 Ex: IBM ThinkPad.
Sub notebooks:
 Sub note books are for frequent flyers and life-on-the-road professionals.
 Sub note book users give up a full display screen and keyboard in exchange
for less weight.
 These computers fit easily into any briefcase.
 For example: Toshiba Protégé.
Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs)
 PDAs are much smaller than the sub notebooks.
 They combine pen input, writing recognition. Personal organizational tools
and communication capabilities. In a very small package
 Ex PDA is Apple’s Newton.
MINICOMPUTERS
 It also known as mid range computers were first developed as special –purpose
mainframe computers.
 There are widely used as general – purpose computers.
 The more powerful minicomputer models are called super minis.
 One of the popular minicomputer systems is the VAX made by Digital Equipment
Corporation.
 Minicomputers work well in what are known as Distributed Data Processing
(DDP)
 A company processing power is decentralized, or distributed across different
computer.
MAIN FRAMES

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  It can process several million program instruction per second.
 Large organizations rely on these room-size systems to handle large programs
with lots of data.
 Mainframes are mainly used by insurance companies, banks, airline and railway
reservation systems, etc.
 An advanced mainframe made by IBM is S/390.
SUPER COMPUTERS
 Supercomputers are the fastest calculating devices.
 It can operate at speeds measured in nanoseconds and even in picoseconds – one
thousand to one million times as fast as microcomputers.
 Most supercomputers are used by government agencies.
 These machines are for applications requiring very large programs and huge
amounts of data that must be processed quickly.
 The chief difference between a supercomputer and a mainframe is that a super
computer channels all its power into executing a few programs as fast as possible,
whereas a mainframe uses its power to execute many programs concurrently.
 It consists of thousands of integrated microprocessors.
 One massively parallel computer built by Intel Corporation is capable of
performing 8.6 billion mathematical calculations per second.
NETWORK COMPUTERS
 Network computers are computers with minimal memory, disk storage and
processor power designed to connect to a network, especially the Internet.
 It designed to connect to the Internet are sometimes called Internet boxes, Net
PCs, and Internet appliances.
USES OF COMPUTERS
 The computer is a truly amazing machine.
 Today computers are directly or indirectly influencing almost every aspect of our
lives.
 Wherever human intellect and technology meet, you will find computers.
 The computer revolution started only when computers came out from the academic
houses and large companies and were within the reach of the common man.
 Today, computers of all sizes and shapes are used for every purpose imaginable, from
selling railway tickets to running microwave ovens.
Computers in business:
 Businesses use computers for a variety of purpose ranging from decision-
making to electronic commerce.
 Scientists and researchers use computers to develop theories, to collect and
test data.
 To simulate test environments, and to exchange information electronically
with colleagues around the world.
 Researchers can access databases in distant locations from their desktop.
Computers in medicine:

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  Computers are used for everything from diagnosing illness to monitoring
patients during surgery and controlling permanent prostheses.
 Computers have found their way to classrooms and everyone from school
children to research students use computers to work for their own intellectual
benefit.
 You will find computers in classrooms museums and libraries and they rapidly
becoming as essential to the learning process as are books, paper and pens.
 Computers are used for every thing from production planning to process
control.
 Many manufacturing units are fully automated with industrial robots,
automated guided vehicles, etc.
WHAT COMPUTER CAN’T DO
 There is no doubt that computer are fulfilling their promise to perform certain
task better, faster and cheaper.
Productivity:
 Computers haven’t yet meet all our expectation as productivity improvement
tools.
 It takes too much time to learn how to use an application program that is
supported to increase productivity.
 These problems are stored out with improved user interface design, easy-to-
use and easy-to-learn applications use of wizards, templates online and context
sensitive help facilities, etc.
Reasoning:
 It seems to fair to say that in the same way we have built machines to replace
human labour, we have also sought to build machines that do certain kind of
thinking for us.
 Computers still lack many of mental capabilities possessed by five-year-old
children.
 These are still powers possessed only by the people, and it may be wise to
keep things that way.
Errors
 Computers don’t make errors, people do – either in the way they program
computers or in the way they use them.
 For example I must always be equal to 1.
 If you type “one”, the computer wouldn’t understand it.
 Every instruction must be precisely entered.
 The computers do not allow spelling mistakes or typos.
 Compute operate logically, but they are incapable of acting prudently and
rationally.

COMPONENTS OF A COMPUTER
 To function properly, the computer needs both hardware and software.

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  Hardware consists of the mechanical and electronic devices.
 The software consists of programs, the operating systems and the data that reside
in the memory and storage devices.
A computer does mainly the following four functions:
 Receive Input – Accept information from outside through various input devices
like the keyboard, mouse, etc.
 Process Information – perform arithmetic or logical operations on the
information.
 Produce Output – Communicate information to the outside world through output
devices like monitor, printer, etc.
 Store Information – Store the information in storage devices like hard disk,
floppy disks etc.
These four functions are responsible for everything that computers do.
FLOPPY.CASTTE
(STORAGE DEVICE)

KEYBOARD&MOUSE
(INPUT DEVICE) CPU MONITOR
(PROCESSOR) (OUTPUT DEVICE)

CHIP&RAM
(MEMORY DEVICE)
Figure.1 Parts of a Computer
 Computer hardware falls into two categories:
1. Central Processing Unit
2. peripheral devices
CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT (CPU)
The part of the computer that executes program instructions is known as the processor or
central processing unit.
 In a microcomputer, the CPU is on a single electronic component, the
microprocessor chip, within the system unit.
 The system unit also includes circuit boards, memory chips, ports and other
components.
 The CPU has two parts – the control unit and the arithmetic logic unit (ALU).
 Control unit
 The control unit tells the rest of the computer system how to carry out a
program’s instruction.
 It directs the movement of electronic signals between memory – which
temporarily holds data instructions and processed information – and the ALU.
 It also directs these control signals between the CPU and input/output devices.
 Arithmetic logic unit

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  Arithmetic logic unit , usually called the ALU, performs two types of
operations
1. Arithmetic
2. Logic
 Arithmetic operations are the fundamental mathematical operations consisting
of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
 Logical operations consist of comparisons. That is two pieces of data are
compared to see whether one is equal to, less than, or greater than the other.
 MEMORY
 Memory also known as the primary storage or main memory is a part of the
microcomputer that holds data for processing, instructions for processing the
data and information.
 The capacity of the memory to hold data and program instructions varies in
different computers.
 The original IBM PC could hold approximately 6, 40,000 characters of data or
instructions only.
 But modern microcomputers can hold millions, even billions of characters in
their memory.
 Registers
 Computers also have several additional storage locations called registers.
 These appear in the control unit and ALU and make processing more efficient.
 Registers are a sort of special hi-speed staging areas that hold data and
instructions temporarily during processing.

Control Arithmetic
unit logical unit

Programs Data

Input Output
Keyboard Monitor

Figure.2 Working of the CPU and Memory

 Addresses:
 To locate the characters of data or instruction in the main memory, the
computer stores them in locations known as addresses.
 A unique number designates each address.

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  Address can be compared to post office mailboxes. Their numbers stay the
same, but contents continuously change.
INPUT DEVICES
 INTRODUCTION
 An input device is any machine that feeds data into a computer for example; a
keyboard is an input device, whereas a display monitor is an output device. Input
devices other than the keyboard are sometimes called alternate input devices. Mice,
trackballs, and light pens are all alternate input device.
 KEYBOARD:
 Keyboard is an input device consisting of a set of typewriter-like keys that enable you
to enter data into a computer.
 The key on computer keyboards are often classified as follows:
1) Alphanumeric keys – letters and numbers
2) Punctuation keys – comma, period, semicolon, and so on.
3) Special keys – function keys, control keys, arrow keys, Caps Lock
 There are three different PC keyboards: - the original PC keyboard with 84 keys; the
AT keyboard also with 84 keys; and the enhanced keyboard with 101 keys.
 MOUSE
 It is a input device that controls the movement of the cursor or pointer on a display
screen.
 A mouse is small object you can roll along a hard, flat surface.
 Which look like a mouse’s tail , and fact that one must make it scurry along a surface.
 As you move the mouse, the pointer on the display screen moves in the same
direction.
 The mouse is important for graphical user interfaces because you can simply point to
options and objects and click a mouse button.
 Types of Mice:
There are three basic types of mice,
1) Mechanical - Has a rubber or metal ball on its underside that can roll in all
directions. Mechanical sensors within the mouse detect the direction the ball is
rolling and move the screen pointer accordingly.
2) Opt mechanical – same as a mechanical mouse, but uses optical sensors to detect
motion of the ball.
3) Optical – uses a laser to detect the mouse’s movement. You must move the
mouse along a special mat with a grid so that the optical mechanism has a frame
of reference. Optical mice have no mechanical moving parts. They respond more
quickly

4) Connections – mice connect to PCs in one of three ways:

Serial mice connect directly to an RS-232C serial port. This is simplest type of
connection. Bus mice connect to the bus through an interface card. This is somewhat
more complicated because you need to configure and install an expansion board.

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 Cordless mice aren’t physically connected at all. Instead they rely on infrared
or radio wave to communicate with the computer.
 Mouse Pad
 It is a pad over which you can move a mouse. Mouse pads provide more traction than
smooth surfaces such as glass and wood, so they make it easier to move a mouse
accurately.
 For mechanical mice, mouse pads are optional. Optical mice, however, require special
mouse pads that have grids drawn on them.
 Track Ball
 A track ball is mouse lying on its back.
 To move the pointer, you rotate the ball with your thumb, your fingers, or the palm of
your hand.
 The advantage of trackballs over mice is that the trackball is stationary so it does not
require much space to use it.
 Trackballs are popular pointing devices for portable computers.
 Joystick
 A lever that moves in all directions and controls the movement of a pointer or some
other display symbols.
 A joystick is similar to a mouse, except that with a mouse the cursor stops moving as
soon as you stop moving the mouse.
 The pointer continues moving in the direction the joystick is pointing. To stop the
pointer, you must return the joystick to its upright position.
 Most joysticks include two buttons called triggers.
 Digitizing Tablet
 It consists of electronic tablet and a cursor or pen.
 A cursor also called as puck. It is similar to the mouse, except that it has a window
with cross hairs for pinpoint placement, and it can have as many as 16 buttons.
 A pen (also called a stylus) which looks like a simple ballpoint pen but uses an
electronic head instead of ink.
 It contains electronics that enable it to detect movement of the cursor or pen and
translate the movements into digital signals that it sends to the computer.
 Digitizing tablets are also called digitizers, graphics tablets, touch tablets, or simply
tablets.
 Scanners
 It can read the text or illustrations printed on paper and translate information into a
form that the computer can use.
 Optical scanners do not distinguish text from illustrations they represent all images as
bit maps.
 You cannot directly edit text that has been scanned.
 To edit text read by an optical scanner, you need an optical character recognition
(OCR) system to translate the image into ASCII character. Most optical scanners sold
today come with OCR packages.

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 Scanning technology
 Most scanners use charge-coupled device (CCD) arrays, which consist of tightly
packed rows of light receptors that can detect variations in light intensity and
frequency.
 Resolution
 The denser the bit map, the higher the resolution. Typically, scanner support
resolutions from 72 to 600 dots per inch (dpi)
 Bit depth
 The number of bits used to represent each pixel. The greater the bit depth, the more
colors or grayscales can be represented.
 Size and shape
 Some scanners are small hand-held devices that you move across the paper. These
hand-held scanners are often called half-page scanners because they can only scan 2
to 5 inches at a time.
 Larger scanners include machines into which you can feed sheets of paper. These are
called sheet-fed scanners, sheet-fed scanners are excellent for loose sheets of paper,
but they are unable to handle bound documents. A second type of larger scanner,
called a flatbed scanner, is like a photocopy machine.
 It consists of a board on which you lay books, magazines and other documents that
you want to scan.
 Digital camera
 Images can be input into a computer using a digital camera.
 These images can then be manipulated in many ways using the various imaging tools
available.
 The digital camera takes a still photograph, stores it, and then sends it as digital input
into the computer.
 The images are then stored as digital files,
 Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR)
 It allows the computer to recognize characters printed using magnetic ink.
 MICR is a direct-entry method used in banks.
 A special –purpose machine known as a reader/ sorter reads characters made of ink
containing magnetized particles.
 It used on the back of credit cards and bank debit card that allows reader such as
ATMs to read account information and facilitate monetary transactions.
 Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
 It refers to the branch of computer science that involves reading text form paper and
translating the images into a form that the computer can manipulate.
 It enables you to take a book or a magazine article and feed it directly into an
electronic computer file
 It includes an optical scanner for reading text, and sophisticated software for
analyzing images.
 Advanced OCR systems can read text in a large variety of fonts, but they still have
difficulty with handwritten text.

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  OCR is already being used widely in the legal profession.
 Optical Mark Recognition (OMR)
 It also called mark sensing is a technology where an OMR device senses the presence
or absence of a mark, such as a pencil mark. OMR is used in tests such as aptitude
test.
 Bar Code Reader
 It is familiar in supermarket, bookshops etc.
 Readers are photoelectric scanners that read the bar codes, or vertical zebra striped
marks, printed on product containers.
 Supermarkets use a bar code system called the Universal Product Code (UPC)
 Speech Input Devices
 Speech or voice input devices convert person’s speech into digital form.
 These systems enable users to operate microcomputers using voice commands.
 More advanced system that can recognize the same word spoken by many different
people have been developed.
 A newly developed voice recognition system like IBM Voice Type identifies more
than 30,000 words and adapts to individual voice.
 There are even systems that will translate from one language to another, such as
English to Japanese.
 There are two types of voice recognition systems;
 Continuous speech
 It used to control a microcomputer’s operations and to issue commands to special
application programs.
 Discrete-word
 It allows users to dictate directly into a microcomputer using a microphone. The
microcomputer stores the memo in a word processing file where it can be revised later
or directly printout.
 Touch Screen
 It is a type of display screen that has touch-sensitive transparent panel covering the
screen.
 It is using a pointing device such as a mouse or light pen, you can use your finger to
point directly to objects on the screen.
 It provide natural interface for computer novices, they are unsatisfactory for most
applications because the finger is such a relatively large object.
 It is impossible to point accurately to small areas of the screen.
 Touch Pad
 A small, touch-sensitive pad used as a pointing device on some portable computers.
 By moving a finger or other object along the pad, you can move the pointer on the
display screen.
 Light Pen
 It is an input device that utilizes a light-sensitive detector to select objects on a display
screen.

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  It is similar to a mouse, except that with a light pen you can move the pointer and
select objects on the display screen by directly pointing to the objects with the pen.
OUTPUT DEVICES
 INTRODUCTION
 Output is anything that comes out of a computer.
 It can be meaningful information and it can appear in a variety of forms – as binary
numbers, as characters, as pictures and as printed pages.
 Output devices includes display screens, loudspeakers, printers, plotters, etc
 Classification of Monitors – Based on color
 There are many ways to classify monitors.
 The most basic is in terms of color capabilities, which separates monitors into three
classes.
 Monochrome
 Monochrome monitors actually display two colors, one for the background and one
for the foreground.
 The colors can be black and white, green and black, or amber and black.
 Gray-scale
 A gray-scale monitor is a special type of monochrome monitor capable of displaying
different shades of gray.
 Color
 It can display anywhere from 16 to over 1 million 16 to over 1 million different color.
 Color monitors are sometimes called RGB monitors because they accept three
separate signals- red, green, and blue.
 This differs from color televisions.
 It consists of a vacuum tube with three electron guns – one each for red, green and
blue at one end and the screen at the other end.
 The three electron guns fire electrons at the screen, which contains a phosphorous
coating.
 When the electron beams excite the phosphors, they glow.
 Depending on which beam excites them, they glow red, green or blue.
 The three beams should converge for each point on the screen so that each pixel is a
combination of the three colors.
 Classification of monitors – Based on the signals
There are two types namely,
1) Digital monitor
 It accepts digital signals rather than analog signals.
 All monitors (except flat-panel display) use CRT technology, which is
essentially analog.
 It refers only to the type of input received from the video adapter.
 A digital monitor then translates the digital signals into analog signals that
control the actual display.
 They cannot display various color continuously, only low-quality video
standards.

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 2) Analog monitor
 This is the traditional type of color display screen that has been used for years
in televisions.
 All monitors based on CRT technology are analog.
 Low-cost digital monitors are often called TTL (Transistor- Transistor Logic)
monitor.
 Most monitors accept analog signals. Which required by the VGA, SVGA,
8514/A and other high-resolution color standards.
 Some monitor is capable of accepting either type of signal.
 Some monitors have fixed frequency, which means that they accept input at
only one frequency.
 Another type of monitor, called a multi scanning, automatically adjust to the
frequency.
3) Characteristics of a monitor
a) Size
 The most important aspect of a monitor is its screen size.
 Like televisions, screen sizes are measured in diagonal inches, the distance from one
corner to the opposite corner diagonally.
 A typical size for small VGA monitors is 14 inches.
 Monitor that are 16 or more inches diagonally are often called full-page monitors.
 Larger landscape monitors can display two full pages, side by side.
b) Resolution
 It indicates how densely the pixels are packed.
 Pixel is short for Picture element. A pixel is a signal point in a graphic
image.
 Graphic monitors display pictures by dividing the display screen into
thousands of pixels, arranged in rows and columns.
 The pixels are so close together that they appear connected.
 The number of bits used to represent each pixel determines how many
colors or shades of gray can be displayed.
 On color monitor, each pixels is actually composed of three dots- a red, a
blue, and a green one,
 Three dots should all coverage at the same point, but all monitors have
some convergence error that can make color pixels appear fuzzy.
 Most modern monitors can display 1024 by 767 pixels,
c) Bandwidth
 The amount of data that can be transmitted in a fixed amount of time. For
digital devices, the bandwidth is usually expressed in bits or bytes per
second (bps)
 For analog devices, the bandwidth is expressed in cycles per second, or
Hertz(Hz)
d) Refresh Rate
 Display monitors must be refreshed many times per second.

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  The refresh rate determines how many times per second the screen is to be
refreshed.
 The refresh rate for a monitor is measured in hertz(Hz) and is also called
the vertical frequency or vertical refresh rate.
e) Interlacing or non- Interlacing
 Interlacing is a display technique that enables a monitor to provide more
resolution inexpensively. With interlacing monitors, the electron guns
draw only the horizontal lines with each pass.
 An interlacing monitor refreshes only half the lines at one time, it can
display twice as many lines per refresh cycle, giving it greater resolution.
 Given two monitors that offer the same resolution, the non-interlacing one
will generally be better.
f) Dot-Pitch
 A measurement that indicates the vertical distance between each pixel on
a display screen.
 Measured in millimeters, the dot pitch is one of the principal
characteristics that determine the quality of display monitors.
 The lower the number, the crisper the image.
 The dot pitch of color monitors for personal computers ranges from about
0.15 mm to 0.30mm. Another term for dot pitch is phosphor pitch.
g) Convergence
 It refers to how sharply an individual color pixel on a monitor appears.
 Each pixel is composed of three dots. If the dots are badly discovered, the
pixel will appear blurry,
 All monitors have some convergence errors, but they differ in degree
 VIDEO STANDARDS
 There are a variety of video standards that define resolution and color for
displays.
 The monitor must be able to show the resolution and color defined by the
standard, and the video adapter must be capable of transmitting the
appropriate signals to the monitor.
 For more information, refer to the entries for the specific graphics systems
given in table.
Standard Resolution Simultaneous Color
VGA 640x480 16
320x200 256
SVGA 800x600 16
1024x768 256
1280x1024 256
1600x1200 256
8541/A 1024x768 256
XGA 640x480 65536
1024x768 256

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  VGA (video graphic of array)
 It graphics display system for PCs developed by IBM. VGA has become one
of the de facto standards for PCs.
 It provides a resolution of 720x400 pixels.
 In graphics mode, the resolution is either 640x480
 All PCs made today support VGA, and possibly some other more advanced
standard.
 SVGA (super VGA)
 A set of graphics standards designed to offers greater resolution than VGA.
 There are several varieties of SVGA, each providing a different resolution.
 It supports a palette of 16 millions colors, but the number of colors that can be
displayed simultaneously is limited by the amount of video memory installed
in a system.
 8514/A
 A high-resolution video standard for PCs developed by IBM in 1987.
 It was designed to extend the capabilities of VGA.
 It provides a resolution of 1024x768
 It relies on interlacing, a technique that makes it possible to provide resolution
at low cost.
 XGA (extended graphics array)
 A high-resolution graphics standard introduced by IBM in 1990.
 It provides the same resolutions but support more simultaneous color
 XGA allows monitors to be non-interlaced.
 PRINTER
 It is devices that print the text on paper and in many cases on transparencies
and other media.
 There are many different types of printers.
 Printers fall into the following categories.
 Daisy-wheel Printer
 It provides letter-quality type.
 It works on the same principle as a ball-head type writer.
 It is a disk mad of plastic or metal on which characters stand out in relief along
the outer edge.
 The printer rotates the disk until the desired letter is facing the paper.
 Then a hammer strikes the disk, forcing the character to hit an ink ribbon,
leaving an impression of the character on the paper.
 You can change the daisy wheel to print different fonts.
 It cannot print graphics; they are noise and slow, printing from 10 to about 75
character per second.
 Dot-matrix Printer
 It creates characters by striking pins against an ink ribbon.
 Each pin makes a dot, and combination of dots form characters

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  Dot-matrix printers are inexpensive and relatively fast, but not produce high-
quality output.
 Dot-matrix printers vary in two important characteristics:
1) Speed – the speed can vary from about 50 to over 500 cps. Most dot-
matrix printers offer different speeds depending on the quality of print
desired.
2) Print quality – determine by the number of pins, it can vary from 9 to
24. the best dot-matrix printers(24 pins) can provide near latter-quality
type, although you can still see a difference if you look closely.
 Dot-matrix printers are still cheaper to operate.
 They are called as impact printers.
 It can prints multi-page forms (i.e., carbon copies), something laser and ink-jet
printers cannot do.
 Ink-jet Printer
 It works by spraying ionized ink at a sheet of paper.
 Magnetized plates in the ink’s path direct the ink onto the paper in the desired
shapes.
 It producing high-quality print.
 It provides a resolution of 300 dots per inch, although some newer models
offer higher resolutions
 The price is lower than the laser printer.
 They are especially popular portable printers.
 In addition, color ink-jet printers provide an inexpensive way to print full-
color document.
 LCD & LED printer
 Similar to a laser printer but uses liquid crystals or light-emitting diodes rather
than a laser to produce an image on the drum.
 Line Printer
 Line printers are high-speed printer capable of printing an entire line at one
time
 A fast line printer can print as many as 3000 lines per minute.
 The disadvantages of line printers are that they can print only one font, the
cannot print graphics, the print quality is low, and they are very noise.
 Thermal Printer
 It produces images by pushing electrically heated pins against special heat-
sensitive paper.
 Thermal printers are inexpensive and are used in most calculators and many
fax machines.
 They produce low-quality print, and the paper tends to curl and fade after a
few weeks or months.
 Printers are also classified according to the following characteristics
 Quality of type – the output produced by printers is said to be either letter quality,
near draft quality. Only daisy-wheel, ink-jet, and laser printer produce letter quality

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 type. Some dot-matrix printers claim letter-quality print, but if you look closely , you
can see the difference
 Speed - measured in characters per second (cps) or pages per minute (ppm), the speed
of printers varies widely.
 Impact or non Impact - impact printers include all printers that work by striking an
ink ribbon. Daisy wheel, dot matrix, and line printers are impact printers. Non –
impact include laser and ink-jet printers. The important difference between impact
and non-impact printers is that impact printers are much noisier but are useful for
making multiple copies like carbon copies.
 Graphics – some printers can print only text. Other printers can print both text and
graphics.
 Fonts- some printers, notably dot-matrix printers, are limited to one or a few fonts.
Laser and ink-jet printers are capable of printing an almost variety of fonts.
 Plotter
 It is an output device that draws pictures on paper based on commands from a
computer.
 It differs from printers in that they draw lines using a pen.
 They can produce continuous lines, whereas printers can only simulate lines by
printing a closely spaced series of dots.
 Multicolor plotters use different –colored pens to draw different color.
It considerable more expensive than printers.
Sound cards and speakers
 Sound cards are necessary for nearly all CD-ROMs and have become commonplace
on modern personal computers.
 It enable the computer to output sound through speakers connected to the board, to
record sound input from a microphone connected to the computer, and manipulate
sound stored on a disk.
 Sound cards use two basic methods to translate digital data into analog sounds.
 FM (Frequency Modulation) synthesis mimics different musical instruments
according to built-in formulas
 Wavetable synthesis relies on recordings of actual instruments to produce sound. It
produces more accurate sound, but is also more expensive.
3D Audio
 It is a technique for giving more depth to traditional stereo sound.
 3D sound or 3D audio is produced by placing a device in a room with stereo speakers.
 The device dynamically analyzes the sound coming from the speakers and sends feed
back to the sound system so that it can readjust the sound to give the impression that
the speakers are further apart.
 There are a number of 3D audio devices that attach to a computer’s sound card.
***************** UNIT –I COMPLETED **********************

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