What are Input Devices

Hi everyone, Today’s topic is “What are input devices?” Let’s dive right into it. An input device is a hardware component that enters data or content into a computer system. Manual input devices require direct human interaction; examples include keyboards, mice, and trackballs. On the other hand, automatic input devices gather data without human intervention. These devices include sensors, barcode scanners, and optical mark readers. Transitioning between these two types, one can observe that manual devices offer more control, while automatic devices provide efficiency.

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Consequently, both types play crucial roles in various applications, depending on the specific needs of users and tasks. Ultimately, I/P devices bridge the gap between users and computer systems.

Manual I/P devices:

• Mouse
• Keyboard
• Joystick
• Trackball
• Scanner
• Touch Panel
• Camera
• Microphone

Keyboard

The keyboard stands as the most common input device. Standard computer keyboards typically contain 101 keys, allowing users to input characters such as alphabets, numbers, symbols, and functions.. As technology advances, modern keyboards adhere to different standards, resulting in varying total keys, such as 101, 104, and 105.

Users can type letters and numbers by simply pressing the keys on the keyboard. Notably, most keyboards utilize the QWERTY layout, named after the first six keys in the alphabet row. Additionally, Christopher Latham Sholes, an American inventor, created the QWERTY keyboard, marking a significant milestone in the evolution of I/P devices. Consequently, the keyboard remains a versatile and essential tool for data entry and computing tasks. Each character has an ASCII value on the keyboard, which stands for American Standard Code for Information Interchange. Modifier Keys are Ctrl, Shift, and Alt keys.

Mouse

The mouse is a handheld pointing device, enabling users to effortlessly control the pointer’s movement to select items on a display screen. Invented by Douglas Engelbart in 1963, the mouse has since become an essential tool for interacting with computers. Typically, a mouse features two buttons, a right and left one, along with a central wheel that allows users to scroll up and down pages. Moreover, there are various types of mice, including mechanical, optical, and wireless options.

Joystick

• A joystick is an input device commonly used to control video games.
• A joystick consists of a base and a stick that can be moved in any direction.

Camera

A camera takes pictures and can typically record videos as well. The camera stores the images and videos captured in files for later use. Furthermore, a digital camera functions as both an input and output device (I/O) because it takes pictures (input) and sends them to your computer (output). This dual functionality makes digital cameras versatile and valuable tools for capturing and sharing moments

Microphone

• A microphone inputs sound.
• It inputs sound and stores it in a digital form.
• The microphone adds sound to multimedia presentations or mixes music.

Microphone

A scanner inputs documents such as photographs and pages of text. It converts a scanned document into digital form. There are two types of scanners: Flatbed Scanners and Handheld Scanners.

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