Input And Output Devices

By:
Abdul Qahar
 Learning Objectives

Identify several types of input and output devices and

explain their functions.
Describe the characteristics of the input equipment that
most users encounter regularly—namely, keyboards and
pointing devices.
Explain what source data automation is and discuss how
scanners and other devices can be used to accomplish it.
List several types of multimedia input devices and discuss
their purposes.
Describe the characteristics of the output equipment that
most users encounter regularly—namely, display devices
and printers.
Discuss several types of multimedia output equipment.
Explain what a multifunction device is and list some
advantages and disadvantages of using such a device.
Input Devices:
The Devices that are used to enter data and program
instructions in to the computer are called input devices.
Input devices convert data and programs that people can
understand into a form comprehensible to the CPU.
Keyboards
Keyboards can differ in number of keys, key arrangement,
types of special keys.
Alphabetical keys, Numeric keys, Special Keys, Control keys
and Functional keys,
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.
Keyboard Areas:
– Left: Typewriter, generally QWERTY.
– Middle: navigation and edit: Insert, Home, arrow, etc.
– Right: Calculator
Alt and Ctrl: usually used for keyboard shortcuts
Window ("natural") key (by left Ctrl key): shows Start
Menu, plus (Search "windows
Shortcut key (by right Ctrl key): shows shortcut menu
for active window (= right click)
Foldable keyboards:
Typically used with hand held
PC’s; are either in a hard format
that can be folded once or twice or
in a soft format that can be rolled
up to become pocket-sized
Slip-On Thumb Pads:
Designed for portable PC and
smart phone use, the keys on
these keyboards are pressed with
the thumbs instead of fingers.
Cordless or wireless keyboards
it is a battery-operated device that
transmits data using wireless
technology such as radio waves or
infrared light waves.
 Pointing Devices
A pointing device is an input device that allows you to control
a pointer on the screen, the pointer often takes the shape of a
block arrow , an I-beam or a pointing hand
Mouse:
When you move the mouse over a smooth surface, the ball
rolls, and the pointer on the display screen moves in the same
direction. The Apple Macintosh, with its graphical user
interface, made the mouse popular. Now most microcomputer
systems, regardless of the manufacturer, use a mouse. With
the mouse, you can draw, select options from a menu, and
modify or move text. You issue commands by pointing with
the pointer and clicking a mouse button. In addition to
minimizing typing errors, a mouse makes operating a
microcomputer easier for beginning users.
Older mechanical mice move a ball on the bottom of the
mouse.
Newer optical mouse are completely sealed and don't
require cleaning.
Common mouse operations are clicking, scrolling, and
dragging and dropping.
Two (standard), and four button mouse Video clip
Trackball:
A trackball is like an upside-down mouse. Used similarly
to the mouse, the trackball is frequently attached to or
built into the keyboard. The main advantage of a
trackball is that it requires less desk space than a
mouse. (Some individuals in the computer industry
believe that the mouse will soon be replaced by devices
that do not require as much space to use.)

The mouse is not practical for

people using a laptop
computer in a small space.
Early alternatives, such as
trackballs clipped to the side of
the keyboard, have not proved
satisfactory.
Light Pens
Electronic pen: an alternative to the mouse to select
objects or to write or draw on the screen
The light pen looks likes an ordinary pen, but its tips is
light sensitive detector. When the tip of the pen touches
the surface of the screen, the computer locate its
positions in the form of X-Y coordinates of that point. The
text writing or drawing can be directly performed on the
surface of the display screen.
Touch screens
You can interact with the computer
by touching the areas of the screen
with your finger. It is used:
– When other input devices are
impractical
– When consumer input is required,
Joy Stick
A joystick is a device that enables
you to move cursor, word, line,
page, objects and pictures from one
point to another the display screen.
It performs the same functions as on
arrows keys in the keyboard but is
fast and given you eight direction
movement as compared to four.
Mostly used in games. Video Clip
Touch pad and pointing stick
A touch pad is a small flat, rectangular pointing device that
is sensitive to pressure and motion. Most touch pads have
one or two buttons near the pad that work like mouse
buttons, it is found in note book computers.

Optical Readers/ Digital Scanners

An optical reader is a device that scans or reads
characters, marks and codes and then convert them into
digital data that can be processed by the computer.
The scanner takes electronic images of text or pictures
from the paper, it breaks each image into light and dark
dots and stores them into the computer memory in
machine codes.
The advantage of the scanner is that the input data need
not be typed in by the user. This is a fast and accurate
method for entering data into computer.
There are different types of Scanners:

- Optical Character Recognition (OCR)

- Optical Mark Recognition (OMR)
- Optical Barcode Recognition (OBR)
- Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR)

Optical Character Recognition

is used to read text (computer-
printed text and hand written
text) and graphics printed on
the paper
Optical Mark Recognition is usually used
to read hand-drawn marks such as small
circles or rectangles and used by many
schools and colleges. Students place these
marks on a form, such as a test, survey, or
questionnaire answer sheet.

Optical Barcode Recognition is used to

read Barcodes present on the products or
items.

Magnetic Ink Character Recognition

(MICR) is used primarily with processing
cheque, it can read the special magnetic
characters. Bank and account numbers are
preprinted; cheque amount is encoded later
by the collecting bank. Printing cheques
with a laser printer on blank forms using
magnetic toner.
Digital Camera

Digital camera is input device

and used to input pictures
directly into the computer.

Like traditional cameras, digital cameras have a lens, a

shutter and optical view-finder. In digital cameras, image
falls on a charge-coupled device (CCD). A photo
sensitive computer chip transforms light patterns into
dots. A high quality digital camera divides a picture into
millions of dots. After image has been captured. It is
saved into a removable memory card or on a floppy disk.
The picture taken with digital cameras are generally not
of very high quality. The pictures are usually used for
viewing on the computer screen of for web publishing.
Output Devices:
The devices that take data from the computer’s main
memory and display it in front of a user are called output
devices.
Output devices convert the strings of bits used by the
computer back into a form that people can understand.
Most output can be divided into two categories:
– soft copy and
– hard copy.
– Soft Copy: is ideal when you are writing a document, playing a
game, watching a video clip, or reading the latest news. Soft copy
is what you see on the monitor. Soft copy is temporary; after you
have finished with it, there is nothing solid to hold. You can,
however, transfer soft copy to a disk to transport it.

– Hard copy: can be touched and carried. Hard copy is usually

some form of paper output. It is especially helpful if you need to
have a colleague look at your work or you need to give your work
to a supervisor or teacher.
Video Monitors
The video display unit or video monitor is the most popular
microcomputer output devices, primarily because it is fast,
quiet and cheaper than a printing device.
A video monitor consists of a
cathode ray tube (CRT), which is a
TV like screen. There are two types
of monitors:
- Black and white or Monochrome
monitors
- Color Monitor or RGB monitor
- RGB displays combinations of red,
blue, and green light to form other
colors.
- Monochrome monitors were usually
green or amber on a black
background
Printers
Printers can be categorized by whether anything
mechanical actually touches the paper; whether they do or
do not produce a solid character; and whether they
produce a page, a line, or a character at a time.

When a part of the printer presses the paper to form the

character, the printer is considered an impact printer.
Impact printers can produce carbon copies and are fairly
loud, although covers are available to muffle the noise.
Impact printers use metal hammers or pins to strike a
ribbon or paper; usually dot-matrix

In contrast, non impact printers are quiet. However,

because nothing presses on the page, a no impact printer
cannot produce carbon copies. This fact is usually not a
problem because it is easy to produce multiple originals,
but sometimes carbons are required for legal purposes.
Inkjet Printer
Inkjet printers are also popular for microcomputers.
Although the resolution is lower on inkjet printers than on
laser printers, the resolution is higher than that of dot-matrix
printers. Inkjet printers are significantly less expensive than
laser printers. Electronically charged ink is sprayed through
a jet nozzle and passed through an electronic field, which
deflects the ink to form a dot-matrix character. Color inkjet
printers, which use multiple nozzles, are available at very
reasonable prices.
Dot Matrix Printer
The most common character printers create images by
using a dot pattern. These printers are known as dot-matrix
printers. If you use a magnifying glass to look at a report
created with a dot-matrix printer, you can see the small dots
forming each character.