Unit 2 - Input and Output Devices - PDF

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Unit 2 – Input and Output Devices

Unit 2 Input and Output Devices

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Input and output devices allow the computer system to interact with the outside world by moving data into and out of the system. I/O refers to the communication between an information processing system (such as a computer) and the outside world – possibly a human or another information processing system. An input device converts incoming data and instructions into a pattern of electrical signals in binary code that are comprehensible to a digital computer and sends them into the CPU. An output device reverses the process, translating the digitized signals into a form intelligible to the user. Until the early 1960’s, one of the most frequently used devices for providing input data into a computer was the punched card, a major storage medium for computer programs and data. In 1890, Dr. Herman Hollerith recognised the value of the punched cards for this purpose, devised a code for representing data on the cards and invented the necessary machines to meet his needs. Dr Hollerith went on to found a company to produce these machines, which in 1924 became IBM. Nowadays, punched cards are rarely used. Today, most programming and data entry is done directly onto magnetic tape or disk eliminating cards and card readers. The instructions, or data, are typed on a keyboard, which records the characters magnetically, and a monitor or VDU shows what has been typed. Input devices may be classified into manual and automatic. The most common manual input devices are: • Keyboards, including concept keyboards; a concept keyboard is a flat board that contains a grid of buttons; each button can be programmed to do whatever you want; an overlay sheet with pictures or symbols is placed on the grid so that the user can tell what pressing on different areas will do; concept keyboards are used when fast input is needed and are ideally suited to selecting from a limited range of choices such as fast food restaurants; primary schools often use them with young children; the overlay could be a picture of a farmyard; pressing on an animal would cause the computer to make the right animal noise; concept keyboards are also very handy in locations where an ordinary keyboard might be damaged, e.g. by spillage or dust; • Digital cameras, which take pictures and store them as a digital photographic image that can be read by a computer; • Microphones, used to input sound information; they can also be used with a voice recognition system which processes information or as part of security systems – only certain digitally stored voices will gain access • Graphics tablets, which consist of a flat pad (the tablet) on which the user draws with a special pen; • Scanners, which is a cheap and common way of getting images into a computer; they can also be used with OCR software to scan in text. The two most important automatic input devices are:

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Unit 2 – Input and Output Devices

• Sensors • Barcode readers Barcodes represent different groups of vertical bars that can be read by a barcode reader. Barcodes are printed on nearly every products that you can buy. The barcode contains the product details such as product name, size, manufacturer, country of origin. The most common output devices are: • Monitors, which include: desktop monitors, also known as CRT, and LCD’s, also known as TFT’s • Printers, which may be classified into: laser printers (produce a very high quality output, are very quiet and very fast); inkjet printers (offer black and white or colour printing with reduced levels of quality and speed); dot-matrix printers (not so common today; they are comparatively noisy and low quality) • Plotters, which can be used to produce high quality, accurate A3 size or bigger drawings; they are usually used for CAD and CAM applications such as printing out plans for houses or car parts.

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Unit 2 – Input and Output Devices

I.

a) Give synonyms for the following words from the text: Device; to allow (l. 1); to convert (l.5); to provide (l. 9); purpose (l. 12); to devise (l. 12); to meet (l. 13); today (l. 16); to classify (l. 20); to be needed (l. 26); handy (l. 30); to buy (l. 48)

b) What do the following abbreviations stand for? IBM; VDU; CPU; CRT; LCD; TFT; CAD; CAM; CAE; OCR; QWERTY; AZERTY; EGA; GUI

II. Give as many examples as you can of input and output devices but do not repeat the ones that are already given in the text. Also write a short definition of each input or output device that you mention.

III. Match the following words (1 – 14) with their appropriate definitions (A – N): 1. Keyboard

A. special software packages required by peripherals

2. Trackball

B. component of the puck, which generates an electric field

3. Drivers

C. a component which increases the computer’s capacity

4. Card

D. dots per inch

5. Transducer

E. a program which allows for faster transfer rates

6. Modem

F. the measuring tool for modems

7. QWERTY

G. device used for accurate drawing, especially by artists

8. Light pen

H. a peripheral used to translate information transferred through telephone lines or cable

9. Joystick

I. characters per inch

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10. Data compression J. the most common keyboard layout for Latin-based languages 11. Graphics tablet

K. an input device used mostly for playing games

12. Baud rate

L. an input device which works directly with the display

13. CPI

M. the primary input device used to communicate with the computer

14. DPI

N. an upside-down mouse

IV. Fill in the blanks in the text below: To enter data into a computer there are several 1) ………… 2)…………. The most common of these devices is the 3) …………. It is just like a 4) ………… and it can be either 5) …………. or 6) ………… depending on the country you live in. Most keyboards have several sets of 7) …………: the main set is the alphanumeric keypad with all the alphabet letters, figures and a few other keys such as the 8) ………… or caps lock keys; it is actually the same set which you find on a 9) ………… typewriter. Besides this main block there are other 10) ………… which are specific to computer keyboards: the numeric keypad and the 11) …………. 12) …………. Instead of using the keyboard you can also use a 13) ………… which helps you move the 14) ………… on the 15) ………… and select functions by 16) ………… the button(s) situated on the 17) ………… of it. 18) ………… 19) ………… and 20) ………… 21) ………… also belong to the 22) ………… 23) ………… family but usually serve specific 24) …………: the former are used to read 25) ………… 26) …………, the latter to 27) ………… an area on a map displayed on the screen, for instance.

V. Fill in the gaps: Once processed, the data can be outputted in several 1) …………. The most common 2) ………… device is the 3) …………, often referred to as the 4) ………… 5) ………… 6) ………… (VDU for short) or monitor or even 7) ……….. 8) ……….. 9) ………….

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(CRT for short). Such a device 10) ………… the user to visualize the information which is 11) ………… and to edit it if he wishes to. The data displayed on a screen is usually called a 12) ………… 13) …………. If the user wants a 14) ………… 15) ………… of the data which is displayed on the screen, then a 16) ………… is 17) ……….. in order to print the data on 18) …………. There is a 19) ………… range of printers 20) ………… today. 21) ………… 22) ………… or X-Y plotters are very 23) ………… to architects or to people working in fields where graphs are an important part of their business. 24) ………… are becoming 25) ………… popular since you can 26) ………… sounds, music and even spoken language with their help.

VI. Read the text below. Find the original text by replacing the words or phrases in italics by their synonyms. The original text is a letter written to the Wall Street Journal by a computer addicted person to complain about their policy of using the word “hacker” only in a pejorative sense. Although; apology; breaking; change; clever; crash; difference; explain; earlier; impression, insist on; kind; learning; let; meant; misuse; ordinary; perpetuated; public; reason; repeat; response; shameful; sincerely; specifically; that is to say; used; violence; wish

Dear Editor, This letter is not meant for publication, 1) in spite of the fact that you can publish it if you 2) want. It is 3) intended 4) precisely for you, the editor, not for the 5) community. I am a hacker, 6) i.e. I enjoy playing with computers, working with, 7) studying about, and writing 8) smart computer programs. I am not a cracker. I don’t make a practice of 9) cracking computer security. There’s nothing 10) scandalous about the hacking I do. But when I tell people I am a hacker, people think I’m admitting something naughty because newspapers such as yours 11) ill-use the word “hacker”, giving the 12)

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Unit 2 – Input and Output Devices

feeling that it means “security breaker” and nothing else. You are giving hackers a bad name. The saddest thing is that this problem is 13) extended deliberately. Your reporters know the 14) discrepancy between “hacker” and “security breaker”. They know how to make the distinction but you don’t 15) allow them! You 16) persist in using “hacker” pejoratively. When reporters try to use another word, you 17) replace it. When reporters try to 18) clarify the other meanings, you cut it. Of course, you have a 19) motive. You say that readers have become 20) accustomed to your insulting usage of “hacker”, so that you cannot change it now. Well, you can’t undo 21) former mistakes today but that is no excuse to22) reproduce them tomorrow. If I were what you call a “hacker”, at this point I would threaten to crack your computer and 23) break it. But I am a hacker, not a cracker. I don’t do that 24) sort of thing! I have enough computers to play with at home and at work. I don’t need yours. Besides, it’s not my way to 25) retort to insults with 26) brutality. My 27) reply is this letter. You owe hackers an 28) excuse, but more than that, you owe us 29) customary respect. 30) Frankly, …

VII. Translate the following text into English: Mimio Interactiv

Fiecare componentă a sistemului mimio este foarte uşoară, dar totuşi foarte rezistentă, uşor de mânuit şi de transportat. Bara interactivă Mimio Interactive Xi conŃine senzori infraroşu şi pentru detecŃia ultrasunetelor, tehnologie patentată de mimio. •

Se poate monta vertical sau orizontal pe tabla albă.

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Se poate plia pentru a facilita transportul şi depozitarea.

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Are 5 butoane care pot controla modul interactiv, bara de instrumente, notiŃele de pe ecran sau diverse efecte în timpul prezentărilor. Stiloul Mimio Interactive se comportă ca un mouse, deci puteŃi controla funcŃiile

calculatorului dumneavoastră direct de la tabla interactivă. Nu mai este necesar să vă plimbaŃi de la tablă la calculator pentru a putea folosi mouse-ul! •

Cele două butoane de pe stilou au acelaşi rol ca şi butoanele unui mouse, click dreapta, click stânga, drag and drop.

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Vârful solid din teflon va asigura acŃiuni sigure şi de precizie.

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Carcasa rezistentă asigură protecŃie la lovituri sau şocuri. Mimio Studio este o suită de programe care activează tabla interactivă mimio şi

extinde aproape nelimitat posibilităŃile de a preda interactiv. •

AlegeŃi din galerie lecŃii pregătite pentru prezentarea în clasă, împărŃită pe subiecte şi pe diferite nivele de dificultate. Le puteŃi folosi aşa cum sunt sau le puteŃi modifica pentru a se adapta nevoilor dumneavoastră.

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CreaŃi lecŃii dinamice integrând materiale audio, video, şi animaŃii Flash.

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ImportaŃi lecŃii existente în alte formate – PowerPoint, Word, Excel si Adobe Acrobat -- în softul mimio Studio.

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Disponibil pentru Windows, Macintosh şi Linux.

Tabla interactivă mimio este făcută să reziste mai mulŃi ani, în condiŃii de utilizare activă. Dacă apar vreodată probleme tehnice, componenta defectă poate fi trimisă prin curier, eliminând costurile mari provenite din apelarea serviciilor de pe suport telefonic.

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Unit 2 – Input and Output Devices

GRAMMAR SPOTLIGHT Complex Noun Phrases In grammar, a noun phrase is a phrase whose head is a noun or a pronoun optionally accompanied by a set of modifiers. EXERCISES

I. The following words have been scrambled. Arrange them to form complex noun phrases: •

New interface design user

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Level performance high

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Integrated access digital

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Telephone Internet software

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32-bit space address

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Research human-computer interface

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Tools web-based search

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Front component page

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Extensions server page front

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Document office format interchange

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Earth orbit low

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Number serial electronic

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Application interface programming

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Common access user

II. Arrange the following complex noun phrases in the correct order and then translate them into Romanian: •

Authoring web program

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Interface web user

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Server name domain

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Cache proxy server

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Map server-side image

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System profile default

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Compression standard algorithm

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Communication data equipment

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Simple management network protocol

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Services online commercial

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Page information Web

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Update Windows files

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Devices input alternate

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Colour active profiles

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Control drive disk

III. Translate the following noun phrases into Romanian: •

File transfer access and management

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HTML logical character tag

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Number assignment module

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Short messaging service

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Object request broker

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Object-oriented programming

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Delimited field file

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Bit error rate

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Frequently asked questions file

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Internet access sharing

IV. Translate the following complex noun phrases into English: •

Unitatea centrală de procesare

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Proiectare asistată de calculator

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Calitatea de a menŃine sistemul stabil

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VariaŃii ale parametrului sensibil la tensiune

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Efortul de a aplica criteriul de performanŃă corespunzător

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