Fundamentals of Computers

Sayed Sadaf Ali Shah

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Alternate Input Devices

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Few Basics: Input Devices
Mouse
Keyboard
Joystick
Light pen
Bar Code Reader
Tablet
Camera
Microphone

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 Devices for the Hand - Pen
Tablet PCs, PDA
Pen used to
write data
Pen used as
a pointer
Handwriting
recognition is difficult
On screen keyboard
Not used for inputting
large volume of data

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 Touch Screens
accept input by allowing the
user to place a fingertip
directly on the computer
screen
Use sensors to detect touch
Well suited for simple
applications
ATM
Public information kiosk

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 Touch Screens
work well in environments where dirt or weather
would render keyboards and pointing devices
useless, and
where a simple, intuitive interface is important.
Touch screens have become common in
fast-food restaurants,
department stores,
drugstores, and supermarkets,
where they are used for all kinds of purposes, from
creating personalized greeting cards to selling lottery
tickets.

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Game Controllers
Enhances gaming experience
Provide custom input to the game
Modern controllers offer feedback
Two broad Categories
Joystick
Game pad

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 Joystick
Around for long time
Can be used other than games
enable the user to “ fly” or “ drive” through a
game, directing a vehicle or character
popular in racing and flying games
One variant is the racing game controller, which
includes an actual steering wheel
some racing game controllers even include foot
pedals and gearshifts

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 Game Pad
is a small, flat device that usually provides two sets
of controls— one for each hand.
extremely flexible and are used to control many
kinds of games
If you do not have a joystick, you can use a game
pad to control most racing and flying games.
Many computer games still provide support for a
mouse or keyboard, so a dedicated game controller
is not always required

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 Optical Input Devices
Allows the computer to see
input
Bar code readers
Converts bar codes to numbers
 UPC Universal Product Code
Computer find number in a
database
Works by reflecting light
 Amount of reflected light indicates
number

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Bar Code Reading Process
reader emits a beam of that is reflected by the bar
code image
light-sensitive detector identifies the bar code
image by recognizing special bars at both ends of
the image
special bars are different, so the reader can tell
whether the bar code has been read right-side up
or upside down
After detector has identified the bar code, it
converts the individual bar patterns into numeric
digits code the computer can understand
reader then feeds the data into the computer
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Image Scanners
Converts printed media into electronic
Reflects light on the image
Sensors read the intensity
Filters determine color depths

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 How an Image is Scanned
A light source is moved across a printed page
The light bounces off the page and is passed
through a lens
And onto the light sensitive diodes which converts
light to electricity. There are usually 300-600
diodes per inch.
A circuit board converts the electricity to numbers
and send the information to the computers

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 Color Scanners
use filters to separate the components of color into
the primary additive colors (red, green, and blue) at
each point
Red, Green, and Blue (RGB) are primary additive
colors because they can be combined to create any
other color
The image scanner is useful because it translates
printed images into an electronic format that can be
stored in a computer’s memory

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 Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
Converts scanned image into editable text
Image is stored in the computer’s memory as a
bitmap.
Bitmap is a grid of dots, each dot represented by
one or more bits
translate that array of dots into text that the
computer can interpret as letters and numbers

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 Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
Each letter is scanned
Letters are compared to known letters
Best match is entered into document
Rarely 100% accurate

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 Scanner types
Handheld scanners
more portable but typically
require multiple passes to scan
a single page
Flatbed scanners
offer higher-quality
reproduction than do handheld
scanners and
can scan a page in a single pass

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Audiovisual Input Devices
Microphones
Used to record speech
Speech recognition
 “Understands” human speech
 Allows dictation or control of computer
 Matches spoken sound to known phonemes
 Enters best match into document

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 Speech Recognition
 demand for translating spoken words into text
Translating voice to text is a capability known as
speech recognition (or voice recognition).
With it, you can dictate to the computer instead of
typing, and you can control the computer with
simple commands
translates Phonemes into text or commands

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 Other type of Audio Input
Computers can accept many kinds of audio input
Sound card with the appropriate plugs
a compact disc
a tape player
a radio or
even a record player
If the audio source outputs sounds in the form of
analog, sound card must convert the analog signals
into digital code so the computer can store and use
it.

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Musical Instrument Digital Interface
(MIDI)
Connects musical instruments to computer
Digital recording or playback of music
Musicians can produce professional results

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Video Input
With growth of multimedia and the Internet,
computer users are adding video input capabilities
to their systems in great numbers
Applications such as video conferencing enable
people to use full-motion video images
Videos are commonly used in presentations and
on Web pages

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Video Camera and Webcam
video cameras used with computers digitize
images by breaking them into individual pixels
pixel is one or more dots that express a portion of
an image
Each pixel’s color and other characteristics are
stored as digital code
With Webcam the user can “capture” images of
himself or herself while working at the computer

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Digital Cameras
portable, handheld devices that capture still
images
digitizes the image
compresses it, and
stores it on a special memory card.
user can then copy the information to a PC,
where the image can be edited, copied, printed,
embedded in a document, or transmitted to
another user

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Digital Cameras
Digital cameras have become standard equipment
for designers of all kinds.
In Web page design,digital cameras enable
designers to shoot a subject and quickly load the
images onto their computers.
This process saves the step of acquiring existing
photographs or developing and printing film-based
photos—which must be scanned into the computer.
Designers can update a Web site’s illustrations
quickly and regularly using digital cameras.
Graphic designers can edit and enhance digital
photographs in innumerable ways, using photo-
editing software
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