INPUT

What is Input?
Input refers to any data or instruction that you enter into a computer’s primary memory,
known as the RAM. Data is a collection of unprocessed text, numbers, images, video, or
audio. Instructions entered into a computer can be in the form of programs, commands, or
user responses.

 Program – A set of instructions that tells the computer how to execute a task.
Programs are stored in a storage medium and loaded into the computer’s memory
when a user executes a program.
 Command – An instruction that makes the computer perform a particular action.
 User Response – An instruction given by the user which instructs the program to
perform certain actions.

INPUT DEVICES

Used to enter data or instructions into a computer.

INPUT OUTPUT
PROCESS
(Data) (Information)

KEYBOARD
 An input device that contains keys that the user presses to enter data into the
computer.
 Most keyboards are physically connected to the system unit using a serial port,
keyboard port or USB port.
 Other keyboards are connected wirelessly via a Bluetooth connection.

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Advantages:

 Specialised keyboards are available, depending on the user and the use of the
computer.
 Standard keyboards are inexpensive.

Disadvantages:

 Accurate typing skills

 Prolonged use can cause hand and wrist injuries known as CTS (Carpal Tunnel
Syndrome)

MOUSE
Pointing device that minimises the amount of typing.

Optical Mouse:

 Has no moving mechanical parts and uses light technology to detect the mouse’s
movements.
 More precise as there are no physical objects to break or jam its function.
 More expensive.

Wireless Cordless Mouse:

 Battery operated.
 Uses wireless technology such as Infrared light waves to transmit data.
 Operating of this mouse is dependent on the battery power.

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OUTPUT
OUPUT DEVICES

Any device that displays the result of any data which has been processed.

Examples Include: Monitors, printers, headsets, speakers, fax machines, fax modems, data
projectors.

Hardcopy: Physically printed copy of the information.

Softcopy: Electronic information displayed on a screen.

LCD MONITORS (Liquid Crystal Display)

 Device that displays text, graphics and videos.
 A progression from CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) which used a lot of electricity,
produced more heat, and took up more physical space.
 LCD monitors are flat panel displays that use liquid crystal technology.
 Size of the screen is measured diagonally across (from the bottom left corner to the
top right corner.
 Quality of the display depends on the screens resolution, dot pitch and refresh rate.
 Pixels are the smallest unit of a digital image.

RESOLUTION – Example: 800 x 600

800 pixels per horizontal inch. 600 pixels per vertical inch.

DOT PITCH – The distance between the pixels on the screen. The smaller the distance, the
clearer the picture.

REFRESH RATE – Measured in Hertz (Hz). Refers to the speed with which the monitor
redraws an image on the screen. Slow refresh rates causes the image to fade or flicker.

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PRINTERS
Produces a hardcopy of the information.

 Impact Printer – Produces a copy using mechanical parts that hit against and inked
ribbon, which strikes the paper.
 Non-Impact Printer – Does not physically hit the paper.

Laser Printer
 Non-impact printer.
 Works by:

A
Shines a Electrically
combination
laser beam Drum is Then rolled charged
of heat and
to produce rolled in in powered parts of the
pressure
an image on toner. ink. drum pick up
tranfers the
a drum. the ink.
ink to paper.

 High speed, high quality printer.

 Expensive to purchase, but cheaper than an Inkjet (as per calculation of the number of
pages which can be printed per ink cartridge).

Inkjet
 Non-impact printer.
 Works by tiny drops of ink being sprayed onto a page to create an image.
 Ideal for high-quality graphics and photograph printouts.

LCD & LED

 Similar to a laser printer, but uses liquid crystals or light-emitting diodes rather than a
laser to produce an image on the drum.

Line printer

 Contains a chain of characters or pins that print an entire line at one time.
 Line printers are very fast, but produce low-quality print.

Thermal printer

 An inexpensive printer that works by pushing heated pins against heat-sensitive paper.

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  Thermal printers are widely used in calculators and fax machines. (Monochrome
thermal printers are used in cash registers, ATMs, gasoline dispensers and some older
inexpensive fax machines.)

Plotters

 Since the pens output is continuous lines, they were able to produce technical
drawings of higher resolution than was achievable with dot-matrix technology.
 Some plotters used roll-fed paper, and therefore had minimal restriction on the size of
the output in one dimension.

Things to Consider When Buying a Printer

 Quality – the resolution of laser and inkjet printers is measured in dots per inch (dpi).
Higher dpi means higher print quality.
 Speed – Measured in pages per minute (ppm).
 Printer RAM (memory) – built-in memory to improve performance. Larger files
require more memory to enable problem-free printing.
 Cost – Laser printers are slightly more expensive than inkjet printers. But, printer
cartridges for inkjet are more expensive.

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STORAGE
Storage holds data, information, and instructions permanently. Secondary memory is referred
to as external, long term, or backup storage.

Storage media include: CD’s, DVD’s, hard disks, and USB Flash Drives.

Memory sizes:

 1024 bytes = 1 Kb (Kilobyte)

 1024 Kb = 1 Mb (Megabyte)
 1024 Mb = 1 Gb (Gigabyte)
 1024 Gb = 1 Tb (Terabyte)

STORAGE DEVICES AND STORAGE

MEDIA

HARD DISK
 Consists of several rigid circular platters made of metal and coated with a magnetized
substance to store data.
 Each platter has two read/write heads on either side to read data from and to write
data to the platter.
 Capacity is measured in Gigabytes (Gb)
 Platters rotate at a high speed which is measured in Revolutions Per Minute (rpm).
 Dirt destroys any data which is stored on the hard disk which causes the hard disk to
crash.
 Crash occurs when a computer or program stops functioning properly and requests
that the program be exited after identifying errors.

Portable Hard Disk

 Stand-alone device that connects to a USB port or a FireWire port.
 Can also be connected wirelessly.

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  Enclosed in a sealed case and obtains its power from the computer or from a separate
power source.
 Storage capacity of up to 4 terabyte (Tb).
 Easy to install.
 Must be kept away from humidity and strong electromagnetic fields.
 Slower than an Internal Hard Disk.

FLASH MEMORY STORAGE

 Non-Volatile Memory (any memory or storage that is saved regardless if the power to
the computer is on or off).
 Can be written to and erased repeatedly.
 Contains no moving parts.
 More durably.
 Shock resistant.

NB: Volatile Memory requires power to maintain the stored information; it retains its
contents while powered on but when the power is interrupted the stored data is lost very
rapidly or immediately.

USB MEMORY STICK (or FLASH DISK)

 Portable storage medium that you can insert into a USB port.
 Similar to flash memory (write and erase data repeatedly.
 Small, fast.
 Able to store large amounts of information.
 Capacity is lower than a portable hard disk.
 May become corrupted and unreadable.
 Easy way to spread viruses and corrupt computer systems.