THE COMPUTER PERIPHERALS

A Computer System takes some input, processes it and produces some

desired results. It is composed of six parts:

1. Hardware
2. Software
3. Data/Information
4. Procedures
5. People
6. Communication
“Input hardware”
Input hardware:
Input hardware consists of devices that translate data into a form
the computer can process.

Three basic categories of input hardware are as follows:

1. Keyboard
2. Pointing Devices
3. Source Data Entry Devices
Keyboard:
A keyboard converts letters, numbers, and other characters into
electrical signals that are machine-readable by the computer’s
processor.
The keyboard may look like a typewriter keyboard to which some
special keys have been added.
Most keyboards have between 80 and 110 keys, including:
A. Standard typing keys
B. Cursor-movement keys
C. Numeric keys
B
D. Function keys
Pointing Devices:

Pointing devices control the position of the cursor or pointer on the screen and allow
the user to select options displayed on the screen. These Devices include Mouse,
Trackball, Joystick, Touchpad, Light Pen, and Digitizing tablet.

Mouse:
A mouse is a device that is rolled about on a desktop to direct a pointer on the computer’s display
screen.

When you move the mouse on your desk the pointer on the screen moves in the same
direction. The mouse pointer is the symbol that indicates the position of the mouse on the
display screen. The pointer will change from an arrow to a pointing-finger icon, depending
on the task you are performing. It also changes to the shape of an I-beam to indicate where
text or other data may be entered. If you click on the left mouse button when the I-beam is
positioned, a cursor (a blinking vertical line) appears in the text. What you type will be
inserted here.
Trackball:
A trackball is a movable ball, on the top of a stationary device, that is rotated with the fingers or
palm of the hand.

The trackball, is a variant on the mouse. In fact, the trackball looks like a mouse turned
upside down. Instead of moving the mouse around on the desktop, you move the
trackball with the tips of your fingers.

Trackballs are especially suited to portable computers, which are often used in confined
places such as on airline tray tables.
Joystick:

A joystick is a pointing device that consists of a vertical handle like a gearshift lever mounted on a
base with one or two buttons.

Touchpad:

About the same size as mouse, touch pads are flat, rectangular device that use a very weak electrical
field to sense your touch.

Touchpad let you control the cursor/pointer with your finger. As you move your fingertip, the cursor
follows the movement. You “click” by tapping your finger on the pad’s surface or by pressing buttons
on the top, back, or side of the pad. Many portable computers and desktop computers now include
touch pads built into the keyboard.
Light Pen:

The light pen is a light sensitive stylus, or pen like device, connected by a wire to the computer terminal. The user brings
the pen to a desired point on the display screen and presses the pen button, which identifies that screen location to the
computer. Light pens are used by engineers, graphic designers, and illustrators.

Digitizing Tablet:

A digitizing tablet consists of a tablet connected by a wire to a stylus or puck. A stylus is a pen-like device with which the
user “sketches” an image. A puck is a copying device with which the user copies, or traces, an image.

When used with drawing and painting software, a digitizing tablet and stylus allow you to do shading and many other
effects similar to those artists achieve with pencil, pen, or charcoal. Alternatively, when you use a puck, you can trace a
drawing laid on the tablet, and a digitized copy is stored in the computer.
Digitizing tablets are used primarily in graphic design, computer animation, and engineering.

Source Data Entry Devices:

Source-data input devices do not require keystrokes to input data to the computer. Data is entered from as close to the
source as possible. One of the most common source-data entry devices is the scanner.
Scanning Devices:
Scanners use laser beams and reflected light to translate hardcopy
images of text, drawings, photos, and the like into digital form. The
images then can be processed by a computer, displayed on a monitor,
stored on a storage device, or communicated to another computer.
Scanning devices include:

 Bar-code readers
 Mark- and character-recognition devices

Bar-code readers:

A barcode is a machine-readable representation of information in a

visual format on a surface. Originally barcodes stored data in the widths
and spacing of printed parallel lines, but today they also come in
patterns of dots, concentric circles, and hidden in images. Barcodes can
be read by optical scanners called barcode readers.

Bar code readers are photoelectric (optical) scanners that translate the
symbols in the bar code into digital code (ASCII or EBCDIC).
Mark- and character-recognition devices:

There are three types of scanning devices that translate certain types of marks and characters. They are usually
referred to by their abbreviations MICR, OMR, and OCR.

Magnetic-ink character recognition: In magnetic-ink character recognition (MICR), a scanner translates the
magnetically charged numbers printed at the bottom of bank checks and deposit slips. MICR characters, which
are printed with magnetized ink, are read by MICR equipment, producing a digitized signal. This signal is used by
a bank’s reader/sorter machine to sort checks.

Optical mark recognition: Optical mark recognition (OMR) uses a device that reads pencil marks and converts
them into computer-usable form. Well-known examples are the OMR technology used to read the College
Board Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), and SCANTRON tests.

Optical character recognition: Optical character recognition (OCR) uses a device that reads special OCR
character sets called OCR fonts, as well as typewriter and computer-printed characters, and converts them into
machine readable form. Examples that use OCR characters are utility bills and price tags on department-store
merchandise. Shortly convert image to text.
“Output hardware”
Output hardware:
Output hardware consists of devices that translate information processed by the
computer into a form that humans can understand.
One of the most common output devices you will encounter is the monitor; another
is the printer.
Printer:
A printer is categorized according to whether or not the image produced is formed
by physical contact of the print mechanism with the paper. Impact printers have
contact; non-impact printers do not.

Impact Printer:
An impact printer makes contact with the paper. It usually forms the print image by
pressing an inked ribbon against the paper with a hammer-like mechanism. The
following are the major types of impact printers:
 Dot Matrix Printers
 Daisy Wheel Printers
 Line Printers
 Chain Printers
 Non-Impact Printer:

Most printers in use today are non-impact printers. These printers do not strike characters against
ribbon or paper when they print. These printers generate much less noise than impact printers. The
main categories of non-impact printers are:

 Thermal Printers
 Ink-jet Printers
 Laser Printers
Plotter:

A plotter is a piece of equipment connected to a computer that prints images by using a pen that
moves across the paper. It uses vector graphics, a series of straight lines to produce an image. This
means that plotters are restricted to line art, rather than raster graphics as with other printers. They
can draw complex line art, including text, but do so very slowly because of the mechanical
movement of the pens.
Monitor:

The computer monitor is an output device that is part of our computer’s display system. A cable connects the monitor
to a video adapter (video card) that is installed in an expansion slot on computer’s motherboard. The computer sends
a signal to the video adapter, telling it what character, image or graphic to display. The video adapter converts that
signal to a set of instructions that tell the display device (monitor) how to draw the image on the screen.

The three most common types of monitors that are being used today are:

 CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) Monitors

 Flat Panel Monitors
 Touch Screen Monitors
CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) Monitors:

A CRT monitor contains millions of tiny red, green, and blue phosphor dots that glow when struck by an electron
beam that travels across the screen to create a visible image.
Flat Panel Monitors:

Flat Panel Monitors take less space and are lightweight. These monitors use much less power than CRTs. It does not
emit harmful radiations. It is much expensive than CRT. Notebook computers, PDA and cellular phones use flat panel
monitors. Flat panel monitors are available in different sizes such as 15”, 17”, 18” & 19” etc.
Flat panel display is made up of two plates of glass. These plates contain a substance between them. The substance
is activated in different ways.

There are two types of technologies used in flat panel display screens.

Liquid Crystal Display

Liquid crystal display screen contains a substance called liquid crystal. The molecules of this substance line up in such
a way that the light behind the screens blocked or allowed to create an image.

Gas plasma Display

Gas plasma display uses gas plasma technology. This technology uses a layer of gas between two glass plates. The
gas release ultraviolet light when voltage is applied. The pixels on the screen glow due to this ultraviolet light
and form an image.
Touch Screen Monitors:

There are different types of touch screen technology. The most common types are:
Resistive Touch Screens
Surface Wave Touch Screens
Capacitive Touch Screens

Comparison between LCD and CRT technology:

Advantages of LCD Monitors:

Require less power - Power consumption varies greatly with different technologies. CRT displays are
somewhat power-hungry, at about 100 watts for a typical 19-inch display. The average is about 45
watts for a 19-inch LCD display. LCDs also produce less heat.

Smaller and weigh less - An LCD monitor is significantly thinner and lighter than a CRT monitor,
typically weighing less than half as much. In addition, you can mount an LCD on an arm or a wall,
which also takes up less desktop space.

More adjustable - LCD displays are much more adjustable than CRT displays. With LCDs, you can
adjust the tilt, height, swivel, and orientation from horizontal to vertical mode. As noted previously,
you can also mount them on the wall or on an arm.

Less eyestrain - Because LCD displays turn each pixel off individually; they do not produce a flicker
like CRT displays do. In addition, LCD displays do a better job of displaying text compared with CRT
displays.
Advantages of CRT Monitors:

Less expensive - Although LCD monitor prices have decreased, comparable CRT displays still cost
less.

More responsive - Historically, CRT monitors have had fewer problems with ghosting and blurring
because they redrew the screen image faster than LCD monitors. Again, LCD manufacturers are
improving on this with displays that have faster response times than they did in the past.

Multiple resolutions - If you need to change your display's resolution for different applications, you
are better off with a CRT monitor because LCD monitors don't handle multiple resolutions as well.

More rugged - Although they are bigger and heavier than LCD displays, CRT displays are also less
fragile and harder to damage.

strongly made and capable of withstanding rough handling.

Smart Cards:

A smart card resembles a credit card in size and shape, but inside it is completely different. The inside
of a smart card usually contains an embedded microprocessor. The microprocessor is under a gold
contact pad on one side of the card.
The most common smart card applications are:

 Credit cards
 Electronic cash
 Computer security systems
 Wireless communication
 Loyalty systems
 Banking
 Government identification

Smart cards contain unique features like:

 Chip is tamper-resistant.
 Information stored on the card can be PIN protected and/or read-write protected.
 Capable of processing (not just storing) information.