Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Hardware mindmap
- Hardware
- Input Devices
- Keyboard
- The most common input device to enter text, numbers
and instructions into computers
- Disadvantages
- Users with limited arm/wrist
use find keyboards difficult to
use.
- slow when compared to direct
data entry (e.g. optical mark
recognition)
- takes up physical space
- braille keyboard
- The braille keyboard has raised dots to identify
the keys. This will help the blind people input
data into the computer.
- concept keyboard
- The concept keyboard uses icons or phrases instead
of standard letters. They are often used in fast food
restaurants, supermarkets, shops where a single
key represents an item.
- Mouse
- Uses
- used for opening, closing and minimising software
- used for grouping, moving and deleting files
- very useful when editing images, for example
controlling the size and position of a drawing
- to select icons
- Advantages
- enables rapid navigation through applications and the Internet
- are small and so takes up little physical space
- Disadvantages
- people with restricted hand/wrist movement can have difficulty
- difficult to use if there is no flat surface
- Touchpads
- Touchpads are used in laptop computers
as a pointing device.
- Advantages
- enables rapid
navigation through
applications and the
Internet
- integrated into
the laptop, aids
portability
- can be used
when when
there are no
flat surfaces
- faster to select an option
compared to using a
keyboard
- Disadvantages
- people with restricted hand/wrist
movement can have difficulty
- more difficult to use
when compared with a
mouse
- can be more difficult to use
when doing certain
operations such as “drag and
drop”
- Trackerballs
- Uses
- has the same
pointing/cursor
control capability
as a mouse
- used in control room
environment where it
is faster and more
robust than a mouse
- Advantages
- easier for peope
with limited
hand/wrist
movement
- since it is
stationary, it
takes up less
desk space
- Disadvantages
- more expensive since they are not a
standard equipment
- Remote Control
- Uses
- commonly found
in home
entertaiment
devices
- used in industrial
applications to remotely
control processes, stop
and start machinery, etc
- Advantages
- can be operated from a distance
- some chemical processes are hazardous, so it is safer
to operate equipment from a distance
- Disadvantages
- people with restricted hand/wrist movement can have difficulty
- signal between the control and device can be easily blocked
- Joysticks
- most popular input device for computer
games ,used in simulators (e.g. flight
simulators) to mimic actual controls
- Advantages
- easier to control game actions
- can control game actions by varying the
pressure, speed and direction of the joystick
- Touch Screens
- User chooses an option
by touching the
button/icon on the
screen, without the need
for any pointing device.
- Advantages
- faster data entry of options
- easier to choose options
- a user-friendly method for keying in data
- prevents people from keying in information which could
potentially corrupt the computer system
- Disadvantages
- limited number of options available
- screen can get very dirty with constant touching
- Uses
- used where selections
are made on screen
used in PDAs mobile
phones and satellite
navigation systems
- Magnetic stripe readers
- The magnetic stripe found, for
example, on the back of a credit
card, debit card, ATM card contains
useful information such as the
account number, expiry date and
start date.
- Advantages
- faster data entry
- error free since no typing is involved
- Disadvantages
- if the magnetic stripe gets damaged, the data is lost
- since the information is
not human readable, this
can be a disadvantage in
some situations
- Barcode readers
- Uses
- used in supermarkets and other
shops where the goods are
marked with a barcode; libraries
to scan library cards and books
- Advantages
- faster data entry and fewer mistakes
- enables automatic stock control
- when an item price is changed, only the central
database needs to be updated. There is no need to
change the prices individually on each item
- Disadvantages
- can be relatively expensive to administer
- Optical Mark Recognition (OMR)
- Uses
- used to read questionnaires, multiple-choice questions, etc
where responses are in the form of shaded areas
- Disadvantages
- there can be problems if the
forms are not filled in correctly
- Advantages
- a very fast way of inputting the results of a test, survey, etc
- more accurate than keying in the data since there is no typing
- Optical Character Recognition (OcR)
- Software that takes scanned text and converts it into a computer readable form.
- Disadvantages
- may not be accurate as system still has difficulty reading handwriting
- Advantages
- faster data entry
- depending on the
source, number of
errors is reduced
since there is no
manual data entry
- MAGNETIC Ink Character Recognition
(MICR)
- Disadvantages
- only certain characters can be read
- Advantages
- no manual input, thus errors are reduced
- Read characters printed in a
special ink. For example, the
characters at the bottom of
a bank cheque.
- Digital Cameras
- Advantages
- easier to produce better quality
photographs than with a traditional
camer
- memory card can store several
hundred photographs
- easier and faster to
upload photographs to a
computer
- no need to develop film and print out photographs
- easy to delete an image from memory
- Disadvantages
- some artistry lost since software now corrects errors in
the photographs (e.g. incorrect exposure, removal of red
eye, etc)
- Webcams
- Disadvantages
- limited features and picture is often of poor quality
- needs to be connected to the computer (not so with laptops, though)
- Advantages
- allows people too keep in contact with each other without travelling
- Connected directly to the computer through a USB port and
they do not have a memory. Used to enable video
conferencing.
- Microphones
- Uses
- used to input speech/sounds to be used in various applications (e.g. presentation, special effects)
- used in voice recognition software (e.g. convert speech into text). This is useful for people with limited
hand/wrist movement.
- Advantages
- faster to read in text than to type it in using a keyboard
- Disadvantages
- sound files can use up
a lot of computer
memory
- voice recognition software is not
as accurate as typing in
manually (e.g. cannot distinguish
between words that sound alike)
- Sensors
- A device which measures some physical quantity
which is continuously changing (e.g. temperate, light,
etc) and inputs it to a computer. Sensors are usually
used in monitoring and control applications.
- Disadvantages
- faulty sensors can give false results
- Advantages
- readings ar continuous, so there is no break in the monitoring
- readings are
generally more
accurate than
readings taken
by human
operators
- Graphics Tablets
- Used with a stylus to produce freehand
drawings. The images produced can then
be stored in a file on a computer.
- Advantages
- an accurate method of drawing compard with using a mouse or
a trackerball
- Disadvantages
- more expensive than other pointing devices, such as a mouse
- Light Pens
- Light-sensitive pen-like device that contain
sensors that send signals to a computer
whenever light changes are detected. It is
placed against monitor when used and
used commonly to edit digital images.
- Advantages
- easy to use
- Disadvantages
- problems with lag when drawing on screen
- only work with CRT (cathode ray
tube) monitors at the moment
- Output devices
- Monitor
- Printers
- Laser printers
- best for fast high quality
high volumne printing
- Plotters
- can produce highly accurate,
very large drawings (blueprints
of buildings) and posters
- Inkjet printers
- printing may “smudge”
- Dot matrix printers
- an impact printer, alow, noisy and output is not good quality
- can produce carbon-copies
- Braille printer
- produce raised dots
printouts to help blind
people read output
from computer
- Speakers
- can help blind/partially sighted
people through audio output of text
- used to output sound from
multimedia presentations