Keyboard. Keyboard Entry. Direct Entry

CHAPTER IV. HARDWARE: INPUT AND OUTPUT

Competencies:

After you have read this chapter, you should be able to:

1) explain the difference between keyboard and direct entry input devices;

2) describe the features of keyboards and the internet terminal;

3) describe direct-entry devices used with microcomputers;

4) discuss voice recognition systems;

5) describe monitors;

6) describe printers (ink-jet, laser, thermal).

Text. Input: Keyboard versus Direct Entry. Output Activity 1.

Pronunciation drill:

Data, purpose, area, storage, access, digital, frequently, micro, character, laser, constructed, punctuation, binary, machine, process (v),

process (n), processed, processor, particular, command, touch, identify, automatically, facsimile, format, microphone, appropriate

keyboard, media, rotate, requirement, circuit, reliable, record (n), record (v), technology, comprehend, convert, exclusively, require, CPU, reduce,

error,  attached, surface, thumb, characteristic, type, cathode, typically, directly, advantage, thermal, quiet, quality, essential.

Activity 2.

Read and translate the text. *Fill in the chart.

The part of the computer | Its function

keyboard

How does the user get data to the CPU? How does the user get information out? As far as these questions are concerned, there are two most important places with the help of which the computer interfaces with people. It must be noted people understand language, which is constructed of letters, numbers, and punctuation marks. However, computers can understand only the binary machine language of Os and Is. Input and output devices are essentially translators. Input devices translate symbols that people understand into symbols that computers can process. Output devices do the reverse: They translate machine output to output people can comprehend.

Competent end users need to be knowledgeable about the most commonly used input devices including keyboards, mice, and scanners. Additionally, they need to be knowledgeable about the most commonly used output devices including monitors, printers.

It can't help being pointed out that input devices take data and programs people can read or understand and convert them to a form the computer can process. This form consists of the machine-readable electronic signals of Os and Is. Input may be by keyboard or direct entry.

1. Keyboard Entry

You communicate with your computer with the keyboard. The most common way in which you will input data is by using a keyboard. With it, you type instructions and commands for the computer, and information to be processed and stored. These devices convert numbers, letters, and special characters that people understand into electrical signals. These signals are sent to and processed by the system unit.

Keyboards. A computer keyboard combines a typewriter keyboard with a numeric keypad. Many of the keys on the keyboard are like those on a typewriter: letter keys, punctuation keys, tab, and the spacebar. Additionally, it has many special-purpose keys. Some keys such as the Caps Lock key are toggle keys. These keys turn a feature on or off. Others such as the Ctrl key are combination keys that perform an action when held down in combination with another key.

Terminals. A terminal is a form of input (and output) device that connects you to a mainframe or other type of computer called a host computer or server. An Internet terminal, also known as a Web terminal, provides access to the Internet and displays Web pages on a standard television set. These special-purpose terminals have recently been introduced to offer Internet access without a microcomputer. Internet terminals are used almost exclusively in the home.

2. Direct Entry

Direct entry is a form of input that does not require data to be keyed by someone sitting at a keyboard. Direct-entry devices create machine-readable data on paper or magnetic media, or feed it directly into the computer's CPU. Consequently, this reduces the possibility of human error being introduced (as often happens when data is being entered through a keyboard). Moreover, it is also an economical means of data entry. Direct-entry devices may be categorized in three ways: pointing devices, scanning devices, and voice-input devices.

a. Pointing Devices

Mouse. A mouse works by sliding it around on a flat surface. It does not work if you hold it in the air like a remote control