Chapter 6 Input and Output

Cordless Mouse

A battery-powered mouse that typically uses radio waves or infrared light waves to communicate with the system unit. also known as wireless mouse.

Pointing device

A device that provides an intuitive interface with the system unit by accepting pointing gestures and converting them into machine-readable input.

Portable Scanner

A handheld device that slides across an image to be scanned, making direct contact.

Resolution

A measurement reflecting the quality of an image.

Optical Mouse

A type of mouse that emits and senses light to direct mouse movement.

Duplex Printing

Allows automatic printing on both sides of a sheet of paper.

Laptop Keyboard

Almost all laptops have attached keyboards and screens.

Flatbed Scanner

An input device similar to a copying machine.

Input

Any data or instructions used by a computer.

Multitouch screens

Can be touched with more than one finger, which allows for interactions such as rotating graphical objects on the screen with your hand or zooming in and out by pinching and stretching your fingers.

optical scanner

Device that identifies images or text on a page and automatically coverts it to electronic signals that can be stored in a computer to copy or reproduce.

Printer

Device that produces printed paper output.

Mouse

Device that typically is moved across the desktop and directs the cursor on the display screen.

Virtual Keyboard

Displays an image of a keyboard on a touch-screen device. The screen functions as the actual input device, which is why the keyboard is considered virtual.

dot pitch

Distance between each pixel. The lower the dot pitch, the shorter the distance between pixels, and the higher the clarity of images produced.

Traditional Keyboard

Full-sized, rectangular keyboard that includes function, navigational, and numeric keys.

Clarity

Indicated by the resolution, or number of pixels, on a monitor The greater the resolution, the better the clarity.

Contrast Ratio

Indicates a monitor's ability to display colors. It compares the light intensity of the brightest white to the darkest black.

Hard copy

Information presented on paper; also referred to as printer output.

Keyboard

Input device that looks like a typewriter keyboard but has additional keys

Combination Key

Keys such as the CRTL key that perform an action when held down in combination with another key.

Touch Screen

Monitor screen allowing actions or commands to be entered by the touch of a finger.

Soft copy

Output from a monitor.

Input device

Piece of equipment that translates data into a form a computer can process. The most common input devices are the keyboard and the mouse.

Dots per inch (dpi)

Printer resolution is measured in _____. The higher the ____, the better the quality of images produced.

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Printers

3D Scanners

Scanner that uses lasers, cameras, or robotic arms to record the shape of an object.

Thumb Keyboard

Small thumb-operated keyboard for smartphones and other portable devices. Designed primarily for texting and connecting to the web.

Pixels (picture elements)

Smallest unit on the screen that can be turned on and off or made different shades. Pixels are individual dots that form images on a monitor. the greater the resolution, the more pixels and the better the clarity.

Wheel Button

Some mice have a wheel ___________ that can be rotated to scroll through information displayed on the monitor.

Grayscale

The most common black ink selection in which images are displayed used many shades of gray.

Toggle Keys

These keys turn a feature on or off, like the Caps key.

Mouse pointer

Typically in the shape of an arrow.

Touch Pad

Used to control the pointer by moving and tapping your finger on the surface of a pad.

Game controllers

a device that provides input to computer games.

Document Scanner

similar to a flatbed scanner except that it can quickly scan multipage documents. It automatically feeds one page at a time though a scanning surface.