CS10001 Class Note: Chapter 3Hardware Basics: Peripherals

Objectives
 List several examples of input devices and explain how they can make it easier to get
different types of information into the computer
 List several examples of output devices and then explain how they make computers more
useful
 Explain why a typical computer has different types of storage devices
 Diagram how the components of a computer system fit together
Bill Gates Rides the Digital Wave
 Formed Microsoft with Paul Allen
 Targeted software for personal computers
 Operating Systems: MS-DOS, Windows
 MS Office and Internet Explorer
Input: From Person to Processor
 Keyboard
 The most familiar input device
 QWERTY
 Used to enter letters, numbers, and special characters
 Types of keyboards
 Standard keyboard
 Ergonomic keyboards
o To address possible medical problems
 Wireless keyboard
 Folding keyboards
o Used with palm-sized computers
 One-handed keyboards
 Keyboards printed on membranes
 Pointing Devices
 Mouse
 Touchpad
 Pointing stick
 Trackball
 Joystick
 Graphics tablet
 Touch screen
 Stylus
 Reading Tools
 Read marks representing codes specifically designed for computer input
 Optical-mark readers
 Magnetic-ink character readers
 Bar-code readers
 Pen scanners
 Tablet PC
 Smart whiteboard
 RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Readers)
 Digitizing the Real World
 Scanners capture and digitize printed images.
 Flatbed
 Slide
 Drum
 Sheet fed
 Digital camera
 Snapshots captured as digital images
 Digital images stored as bit patterns on disks or other digital storage media
 Video digitizer
 Capture input from a:
 Video camera
 Video cassette recorder or television
 Convert it to a digital signal
 Stored in memory and displayed on computer screens
 Videoconferencing
 People in diverse locations can see and hear each other
 Used to conduct long-distance meetings
 Video images transmitted through networks
 Audio digitizers
 Digitize sounds from
 Microphones
 Other input devices
 Digital signals can be
 Stored
 Further processed with specialized software
 A digital signal processing chip compresses the stream of bits before it is
transmitted to the CPU.
 Speech recognition software
 Converts voice data into words that can be edited and printed
 Sensors
 Designed to monitor physical conditions
 Temperature, humidity, pressure
 Provide data used in:
 Robotics
 Environmental climate control
 Weather forecasting
 Medical monitoring
 Biofeedback
 Scientific research
Output: From Pulses to People
 Screen Output
 Monitor size: Measured as a diagonal line across the screen
 Resolution: The number of pixels displayed on the screen
 Pixels (or picture elements): tiny dots that compose a picture
 The higher the resolution, the closer together the dots
 Image quality affected by resolution and color depth (bit depth).
 Color depth refers to the number of different colors a monitor displays at
one time
 Screen Output
 Monitor classes
 CRTs (cathode-ray tubes)
 LCDs (liquid crystal displays)
o Overhead projection panels
o Video projectors
o Portable computers
 Screen Output
 Video adapter—connects the monitor to the computer
 VRAM or video memory—
 A special portion of RAM to hold video images
 The more video memory, the more picture detail is displayed.
 Paper Output
 Printers produce paper output or hard copy.
 Two basic groups of printers:
 Impact printers
o Line printers
o Dot-matrix printers
 Nonimpact printers
 Laser printers
o Laser beam reflected off a rotating drum to create patterns
of electrical charges
o Faster and more expensive than dot-matrix printer
o High-resolution output
 MFP (Multifunction printer), or all-in-one device, combines a scanner, printer, and a fax
modem.
 A plotter can produce large, finely scaled engineering blueprints and maps.
 Fax Machines and Fax Modems
 Fax (Facsimile) machine
 Sending:
o Scans each page as an image
o Converts the image into a series of electronic pulses
o Sends those signals over phone lines to another fax
 Receiving:
o Uses the signals to reconstruct the image
o Prints black-and-white facsimiles or copies of the originals
 Fax modem
 Connect from PC to fax machine via modem and phone line
 Translates a document into signals
 Output You Can Hear
 Sound card
 Enables the PC to:
o Accept microphone input
o Play music and other sound through speakers or headphones
o Process sound in a variety of ways
 Synthesizers
 Used to produce music, noise
 Controlling Other Machines
 Output devices take bit patterns and turns them into nondigital movements.
 Robot arms
 Telephone switchboards
 Transportation devices
 Automated factory equipment
 Spacecraft
 Force feedback joystick
 Rules of Thumb:
Ergonomics and Health
 Choose equipment that’s ergonomically designed.
 Create a healthful workspace.
 Build flexibility into your work environment.
 Rest your eyes.
 Stretch.
 Listen to your body.
 Seek help when you need it.
Storage Devices: Input Meets Output
 Magnetic Tape
 Can store large amounts of information in a small space at a relatively low cost
 Limitation: sequential data access
 Used mainly for backup purposes
 Magnetic Disks
 Random access capability
 Floppy disks (1.44 MB)
 Provide inexpensive, portable storage
 Hard disks
 Nonremovable, rigid disks that spin continuously and rapidly
 Provide much faster access than a floppy disk
 Optical Disks
 Use laser beams to read and write bits of information on the disk surface
 Not as fast as magnetic hard disks
 Massive storage capacity
 Very reliable
 CD–ROM
 Optical drives that read CD–ROMs
 Holds 700 MB of information
 CD–R
 WORM media (write-once, read many)
 CD–RW
 Can read CD–ROMs and write, erase, and rewrite data onto CD–R and
CD–RW disks
 DVD (digital versatile disks)
 Store and distribute all kinds of data
 Hold between 4.7 and 17 GB of information
 DVD–ROM drives
 Can play DVD movies, read DVD data disks
 Read standard CD–ROMs and play audio CDs
 Read-only: can’t record data, music, or movies
 DVD–RAM drives
 Can read, erase, and write data (but not DVD video) on multi-GB DVD–R
(but not CD–R or CD–RW) media
 BD drives (Blu–ray)
 Hold up to 50 GB of information on two layers
 Enough for a full-length HD movie
 BD–R
 Can read Blu-ray discs, DVDs, and CDs
 BD–RW drives
 Can read and record on Blu-ray discs, DVDs, and CDs
 Internal and External Drives
 Internal drives
 Reside in bays inside the system unit
 External drives
 Connected by USB or Firewire ports
 Contained in their own case
 May be compatible with more than one OS
 Flash Memory Storage Devices
 An erasable memory chip
 Compact alternative to disk storage
 Contains no moving parts
 Designed for specific applications such as storing pictures in digital
cameras
 Likely to replace disk and tape storage
 Large capacity, over 1 GB
 Portable
 SD (secure digital) cards, CF (compact flash), and memory sticks
 USB flash drives, also thumb or jump drives

Computer Systems: The Sum of Its Parts

 Personal Computer Design Classes
 Tower systems
 Tall, narrow boxes, generally have more expansion slots and bays than
other designs
 Flat desktop systems
 Designed to sit under the monitor like a platform
 All-in-one systems (like the iMac)
 Combine monitor and system unit into single housing
 Laptop computers
 Include all the essential components, including keyboard and pointing device, in
one compact box
 Ports and Slots Revisited
 Legacy ports–outdated due to slow speeds:
 Serial Port for attaching devices that send/receive messages one bit at a
time (modems)
 Parallel Port for attaching devices that send/receive bits in groups
(printers)
 Keyboard/Mouse Port for attaching a keyboard and a mouse
 Other ports are typically included on expansion boards rather than the system
board:
 A video port is used to plug a color monitor into the video board.
 Microphones, speakers, headphones, MIDI ports are used to attach
sound equipment.
 An SCSI port allows several peripherals to be strung together and
attached to a single port.
 A LAN port uses faster connections to a LAN (local area network).
 With the PC open architecture and the introduction of new interfaces, you can hot
swap devices.
 USB (Universal Serial Bus) transmits a hundred times faster than a PC
serial port
 Firewire (IEEE 1394) can move data between devices at 400 or more MB
per second. The high speed makes it ideal for data-intensive work, like digital video.
 FireWire 800, which offers 800 Mbps transfer speeds, was recently introduced on
high-end Macintosh systems.
 SATA (Serial-ATA or Serial Advanced Technology Attachment)
 Used to connect internal hard drives and optical drives
 Can transfer data up to 1200 Mbps
Inventing the Future: Tomorrow’s Peripherals
 Tomorrow’s Storage
 Smaller disks that hold more
 A single electron memory chip the size of a thumbnail that can store all of
the sounds and images of a full-length feature film
 Tomorrow’s Output
 Goggles that block out everything around you
 Retinal displays that work without a screen
 Tomorrow’s Input: Sensors
 More sophisticated devices will serve as the eyes, ears, and other types of sense
organs for computer networks.

Lesson Summary
 Peripherals allow computers to communicate with the outside world and store information
for later use.
 The most common input devices today are the keyboard and the mouse. A variety of other
input devices can be connected to the computer.
 Output devices perform the opposite function: They accept strings of bits from the computer
and transform them into a form that is useful or meaningful outside the computer.
 Storage devices are capable of two-way communication with the computer. Because of their
high-speed random access capability, magnetic disks are the most common forms of storage
on modern computers.