5-1

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Hardware: Input & Output
5
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5.1 Input & Output

 Input Hardware
 Devices that translate data into a form the computer can
process
 Translates words, numbers, sounds, and pictures into
binary 0s and 1s (off or on electrical signals or light
pulses)
 Output Hardware
 Devices that translate information processed by the
computer into a form humans can understand
 Translates binary code into words, numbers, sounds, and
pictures
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5.1 Input & Output

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5.2 Input Hardware

 Keyboards: convert letters, numbers, and characters into
electrical signals
 English keyboards differ from foreign language keyboards
 How keyboards work:
 You press a key
 This interrupts the current flowing through the circuits
 Processor determines where the break occurs
 It compares the location of the break with the (x,y) character
map for the language on the keyboard’s ROM chip
 A character is stored in 16-byte keyboard memory

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5.2 Input Hardware

 Keyboards (continued)
 The character is then sent to PC as a data stream via wire
or wireless connection
 OS interprets its own operating-system-specific commands
and sends the others to the application for interpretation

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 5-7

5.2 Input Hardware

 Keyboard types
 104 – 108 keys desktop standard
 80 – 85 keys for laptops

 Wired
 Connect to CPU via a serial or USB port
 Wireless use either
 IR (infrared) technology
 Radio Frequency (RF) technology

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 5-8

5.2 Input Hardware

 Pointing Devices
 Control the position of the cursor or pointer on the screen
and allow the user to select options displayed on the
screen
 Mouse is the principal pointing device
 Mechanical mouse: a ball inside the mouse touches the
desktop surface and rolls with the mouse
 Optical mouse: uses laser beams and special chips to
encode data for the computer
 The mouse controls the mouse pointer on the screen – for
example, an arrow, rectangle, pointing finger

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 5-9

5.2 Input Hardware

 When the mouse pointer changes to an I-beam, that
indicates that text can be entered
 The mouse has one to five buttons, used for various
functions, such as clicking on and dragging items on the
screen

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 5-10

5.2 Input Hardware

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 5-11

5.2 Input Hardware

 Pointing Devices (continued)
 Trackball
 A movable ball mounted on top of a stationary device
 Good for locations where a mouse can’t move around enough
 Pointing Stick
 Looks like a pencil eraser in the lower center of a laptop keyboard
 For use when a mouse or trackball cannot be used – e.g., in an
airplane seat
 Touchpad
 To use: slide your finger over this small flat surface
 Click by tapping you finger on the surface
 May require more practice to use than a mouse
 Used on laptops
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 5-12

5.2 Input Hardware

 Pointing Devices (continued)
 Touch Screens
 A video display screen sensitized to receive input from a
finger touch
 Often used in ATMs, information, kiosks, reservation kiosks,
voting machines, cellphones, and e-books
 Pen input
 Uses a pen-like stylus for input
 Uses handwriting recognition to translate cursive writing into
data (handwriting recognition)

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 5-13

5.2 Input Hardware

 Pointing Devices (continued)
 Light pen
 A light-sensitive penlike device that uses a wired connection
to a computer terminal
 Bring the pen to the desired point on the display screen and
press a button to identify the screen location
 Used by graphics artists, engineers, and in situations that
require covered hands
 Digitizer
 Uses an electronic pen or puck to convert drawings and
photos to digital data
 Digitizing tablets are often used in architecture
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 5-14

5.2 Input Hardware

 Pointing Devices (continued)
 Digital Pen
 Writing instrument
 Writers can write on paper
 A tiny camera in the pen tip captures the writing
 A microchip in the pen converts the pen to digital ink
 The writing is sent as an image file to the computer
 Some versions require special paper

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 5-15

5.2 Input Hardware

 Scanning & Reading Devices—These are source data-
entry devices that create machine-readable data and
feed it directly into the computer (no keyboard is used)
 Scanners
 Use light-sensing equipment to translate images of text,
drawings, and photos into digital form
 Image scanners are used in electronic imaging
 Resolution refers to the image sharpness, measured in dots
per inch (dpi)
 Flatbed scanners work like photocopiers – the image is
placed on the glass surface, then scanned
 Other types are sheet-fed, handheld, and drum
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 5-16

5.2 Input Hardware

 Bar-Code Readers (source data entry)
 Photoelectric (optical) scanners that translate bar code
symbols into digital code
 The digital code is then sent to a computer
 The computer looks up the item and displays its name and
associated information
 Bar code types
 1D (regular vertical stripes) holds up to 16 ASCII characters
 2D (different-sized rectangles) can hold 1,000 to 2,000 ASCII
characters
 3D is “bumpy” code that differentiates by symbol height
 Can be used on metal, hard rubber, other tough surfaces

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 5-17

5.2 Input Hardware

 Mark Recognition Readers (source data entry)
 MICR – magnetic-ink character recognition
 Uses special magnetized inks
 Must be read by a special scanner that reads this ink
 Used on bank checks
 OMR – optical mark recognition
 Uses a special scanner that reads bubble (pencil) marks
 Used in standardized tests such as the SAT and GRE
 OCR – optical character recognition
 Converts scanned text from images (pictures of the text) to
an editable text format
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 5-18

5.2 Input Hardware

 Fax Machines (source data entry)
 Scan an image and send it as electronic signals over
telephone lines to a receiving fax, which can print out the
image on paper
 Dedicated fax machine--stand-alone unit that only sends
and receives faxed documents
 Fax modem--circuit board installed in the PC with a modem
that can send and receive faxes

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 5-19

5.2 Input Hardware

 Audio Input Devices
 Records analog sound and translates it into digital files
for storage and processing
 Two ways to digitize audio
 Sound Board
 An add-on board in a computer that converts analog sound to
digital sound, stores it, and plays it back to speakers or amp
 MIDI Board
 Stands for Musical Instrument Digital Exchange
 Uses a standard for the interchange between musical
instruments, synthesizers, and computers

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 5-20

5.2 Input Hardware

 Webcams and Video-input Cards
 Webcams
 Video cameras attached to a computer to record live moving
images then post them to a website in real time
 Require special software, usually included with the camera
 Frame-grabber video card
 Can capture and digitize 1 frame at a time
 Full-motion video card
 Can convert analog to digital signals at rates up to 30 frames per
second
 Looks like a motion picture

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 5-21

5.2 Input Hardware

 Digital Cameras
 Use a light-sensitive processor chip to capture
photographic images in digital form and store them on a
small diskette in the camera or on flash memory cards
 Most can be connected to a PC by USB or FireWire
 Allows you to take many pictures and decide which ones to
save, email, and/or print

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 5-22

5.2 Input Hardware

 Camera Phones
 Digital cameras are now on cellphones
 Convenience of being able to take photos, then instantly
email or message them to someone else
 Can provide instant record of traffic accidents, etc.

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 5-23

5.2 Input Hardware

 Speech-Recognition Systems
 Use a microphone or telephone as an input device.
Converts a person’s speech into digital signals by
comparing against 200,000 or so stored patterns.
 Used in places where people need their hands free –
warehouses, car radios, stock exchange trades
 Helpful for people with visual or physical disabilities that
prevent them from using other input devices

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 5-24

5.2 Input Hardware

 Sensors
 Input device that collects specific data directly from the
environment and transmits it to a computer
 Can be used to detect speed, movement, weight,
pressure, temperature, humidity, wind, current, fog, gas,
smoke, light, shapes, images, etc.

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 5-25

5.2 Input Hardware

 RFID Tags
 Radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags have a
microchip that contains specific code numbers
 Scanners use radio waves to read the code numbers and
match the codes to a database
 Enables items to be tracked without physical contact
 Drivers put RFID tags in cars to automatically pay tolls
 FDA is tagging certain drugs with RFID to avoid counterfeits
 Carmakers are using it for car electronic keyless entry
 RFID tags are implanted under skin of pets to aid in recovery
and identification when they get lost

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5.2 Input Hardware

 Human-Biology-Input Devices
 Biometrics is the science of measuring individual body
characteristics, then using them to identify a person
through a fingerprint, hand, eye, voice, or facial
characteristics
 Example: notebook computers equipped with biometric
sensors that read fingerprints, instead of passwords,
before allowing access to networks
 Airport and building security systems use biometrics

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 5-27

5.3 Output Hardware

 Softcopy
 Data that is shown on a display screen or is in audio or
voice form; exists electronically
 Is not tangible, is impermanent
 Hardcopy
 Relatively permanent -- printed and film output

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 5-28

5.3 Output Hardware

 Display Screens (Softcopy Output)
 Also called monitors
 Dot pitch (dp) is the amount of space between adjacent pixels
(picture elements) on screen
 The closer the pixels, the crisper the image
 Get .25 dp or better
 Resolution refers to the image sharpness
 The more pixels, the better the resolution
 Expressed in dots per inch (dpi)
 Color depth (bit depth) is the number of bits stored in a dot (pixel)
 The higher the number the more true the colors
 24-bit color depth is better than 8-bit color depth, but it needs more
video memory
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 5-29

5.3 Output Hardware

 Display Screens (continued)
 Refresh rate is the number of times per second the pixels are
recharged – a higher rate gives less flicker
 Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) monitor uses a vacuum tube display
screen; CRTs are used in older systems
 Flat panel displays are made of 2 plates of glass separated by
a layer of liquid crystals that line up to transmit or block light
 Active matrix: each pixel is controlled by its own transistor; this
type of screen is brighter and shaper but more expensive
 Passive matrix: a transistor controls a whole row or column of
pixels; this type of screen uses less power and is less expensive
but can leave “ghosts” on the screen

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 5-30

5.3 Output Hardware

 Display Screens (continued)
 Microcomputers come with graphics cards (video cards)
that work with the screen.
 Graphics cards have their own memory (VRAM), which
stores each pixel’s information.
 The more VRAM, the higher the resolution you can use.
 Desktop publishers, graphics artists, and gamers need
lots of VRAM.

 The following chart shows some common resolution

standards:
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 5-31

5.4 Input & Output & Quality of Life:

Health & Ergonomics
 Health Matters
 Overuse injuries and repetitive stress injuries
 Result when muscle groups are forced through fast,
repetitive motions
 May effect data-entry operators who average 15,000
keystrokes an hour
 May effect computer users whose monitor, keyboard, and
workstation are not arranged for comfort
 Carpal tunnel syndrome
 Caused by pressure on the median nerve in the wrist, caused
by short repetitive movements

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5.4 Input & Output & Quality of Life:

Health & Ergonomics
 Health Matters (continued)
 Computer vision syndrome
 Eyestrain, headaches, and double vision caused by
improper use of computer display screens
 Faulty lighting, screen glare, and poor screen resolution can
contribute
 Back and neck pain
 Improper chairs, bad posture, improper position of
keyboards can contribute

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 5-33

5.4 Input & Output & Quality of Life:

Health & Ergonomics
 Health matters (continued)
 Electromagnetic Fields
 Waves of electrical energy and magnetic energy
 Some evidence that electromagnetic fields from cellphones
and high-voltage lines can cause cancer, but evidence is
inconclusive
 Cellphones emit low radiation
 Work no closer than an arm’s length to a CRT monitor
 Laptop screens emit little radiation

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 5-34

5.4 Input & Output & Quality of Life:

Health & Ergonomics
 Ergonomics is the methodology of designing a
workplace to make working conditions and equipment
safer and more efficient
 Keyboards must be placed at the correct height depending on
each worker’s size; detachable keyboards are useful
 Monitor refresh rates must be fast enough to avoid eyestrain
 Monitor heights must be correct for comfortable viewing; use a
tilting screen
 Wrist rests may help avoid carpal tunnel syndrome

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 5-35

5.5 Future of Input & Output

 Future improvements in input/output could include:
 Intelligent sensors
 More data input from remote locations
 More source data automation
 Input help for the disabled
 More sophisticated touch devices
 Better speech recognition
 Improved digital cameras
 Gesture recognition

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5.5 Future of Input & Output

 Future improvements (continued)
 Pattern-recognition and biometric devices
 Brainwave devices
 Better and cheaper display screens
 Reducing printer ink usage
 Improved video on PCs
 3-dimensional output

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