3.4 Input and Output

Camera lens

A camera component that focuses the light that enters it into a point. Behind the point, the light spreads out again, eventually creating an upside-down image of the light that entered.

Camera shutter

A camera component that sits between the lens and the sensor, allowing light to enter for a short time.

Registered Jack 45 (RJ-45) connector

A connector used to connect a computer to a wired network.

Thunderbolt

An interface primarily used on Apple computers that connects a monitor to a computer and can also provide DC power.

Universal Serial Bus (USB)

A common interface used to connect peripherals, such as mice, keyboards, printers, and digital cameras to a computer.

Infrared

A communication technology that uses light waves to transmit information through the air.

High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) connector

A connector now available on a wide variety of devices such as computers, monitors, TVs, Blu-Ray players, and more. HDMI is used to transfer high-definition signals. It supports both audio and video data.

Video Graphics Array (VGA) connector

A connector, identified by its blue color and three rows of pins, that is used to connect older monitors to a computer.

Scanner

A device that scans paper documents and converts them into digital files.

Peripheral

A device, usually external to a computer, that is plugged into a computer's communication port or is connected wirelessly. Common peripherals are keyboards, mice, monitors, speakers, and printers.

Touch screen

A display device that allows a user to interact with a computer by touching, tapping, and swiping areas on the screen.

Keyboard

A keyboard allows you to send alphanumeric information to the system by pressing keys. When you press a key, the corresponding character is sent to the computer hardware. The software running on the system then does whatever it has been programmed to do with that keystroke.Key point regarding keyboards are: External keyboards are required for desktop systems, but are optional for laptop and mobile devices that use integrated keyboards or on-screen keyboards. For desktop and laptop systems, keyboards typically connect using a USB port, but they can also be connected wirelessly. External keyboards can be connected to mobile devices using a wireless connection. Not all keyboards have the same layout of keys. There are many variations in where each letter or symbol may be placed on the keyboard. For example, in German, additional letters use the spaces commonly used by the ; ' [ and = keys on a typical US English keyboard. The operating system can typically be mapped to multiple keyboard layouts.In Windows 10, you press Start + Spacebar to use the keyboard shortcut to quickly switch between keyboard layouts.These settings can also be set using the Settings app by selecting Date & time, and then selecting Region.Control Panel also provides the ability to set the region.Some keyboard settings can be customized using the Settings app by selecting the Ease of Access option and then selecting Keyboard.Windows 10 also includes other settings that can be configured through the Control Panel and Keyboard. With this method, you can configure such things as the repeat delay, repeat rate, the cursor blink rate.

Photosensitive material

A light sensitive surface used to capture the image focused by the lens.

Inkjet printer

A printer that sprays small dots of ink from an ink reservoir onto a sheet of paper.

Laser printer

A printer that uses electrical charges and heat to fuse tiny plastic particles (called toner) to the paper.

Bluetooth

A short-range wireless communication technology used to connect peripherals such as wireless headphones, speakers, keyboards, mice, smart watches, printers, and game controllers to a computer, including smartphones.

FireWire

An interface used to connect peripherals such as digital cameras and external hard drives to a computer. It is no longer commonly used.

Speakers

Another type of output is audio. Modern computing devices can send audio output to a set of speakers that can be integrated into the device itself or plugged into an external connector.On a desktop system, speakers can be connected using a USB cable, an audio jack, or a wireless connection. Some speakers can be configured using a stereo set up (right and left). More and more systems also support surround sound, where multiple speakers are arranged in various locations in a room giving you the feel of being in a cinematic environment.One of the more common surround sound systems is referred to as a 5.1 digital system, also known as Dolby Digital or Digital Theater System (DTS). These systems usually have two rear speakers (a left and a right), three front speakers (right, center, and left), and a subwoofer speaker for a deep bass sound. There is also a 7.1 system that includes two extra side speakers.To configure the audio settings in Windows 10, you can use the Settings app or Control Panel. Some of the settings include the speaker to use (internal or external), volume, etc.With the sound system installed and configured, you can easily adjust the sound using the speaker icon located in the Notification Area. Most laptops also include a function key that can be used to adjust the volume.

Digital Camera

Digital cameras and webcams can be connected to input digital images and video into the system. These devices are commonly connected to desktops and laptops using a USB, FireWire, or wireless connection.Mobile devices already include integrated cameras, so they are not commonly used with external digital cameras and webcams. Webcams are most often installed in a laptop, just above the screen. The quality of webcams differs greatly from model to model, but can have a resolutions as low as 25 frames per second (fps) or a high definition resolution as high as 60 or more fps. Digital cameras can also include such devices as a phone or a hand-held camera (used for taking pictures). These devices store their images on a memory card, also known as a flash card, CompactFlash, or Secure Digital (SD) card.Some computers include the ability to plug the devices directly into a computer, letting you copy images from the device. If the memory card can be removed, computers often have a way to plug the memory chip into the computer directly or through a USB adapter. Many of the newer devices even support transferring data using wireless technology.

Digital Projectors

In today's world there is often a need to project images from a computer to a larger output, such as a wall or screen. These are often used a team meeting or for training purposes. The devices used to do this are called digital projectors or video projectors.Depending on the need, these can be purchased as small portable devices or more expensive, larger ones are often mounted permanently on the ceiling or wall. These projectors can use LCD or CRT, but the better projectors use the digital light processing, which is a set of chipsets based on optical micro-electro-mechanical technology that uses a digital micromirror device.When used in conjunction with a computer, projectors can be connected to the computer using many of the same interfaces used by other devices, such as Thunderbolt, HDMI, VGA, and DVI.

Scanner

Scanners can be connected to a computer to allow you to scan paper documents into digital files.Many newer scanners use both Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software to scan text documents into editable text files and Windows Image Acquisition (WIA) software to capture images.Scanners can be connected to desktops or laptops using a USB or FireWire connection.Wireless scanners are also available. There are many types of scanners, such as: Flatbed scanner - Provides a flat, glass surface on which you place the item to be scanned; similar to making a copy on a copy machine. It works as follows:White light, usually provided by a cold cathode florescent lamb (CCFL), shines on the object being scanned and creates the image by reading the intensity and color of light that is reflected from the object.The image is recorded using a charge-coupled device (CCD), which is an integrated circuit. The quality of the image is determined by the number of pixels per inch (ppi) that are captured.Most scanners let you determine how many pixels to use. Each pixel is a sample of an original image, therefore the more samples (pixels) being capture increases the quality of the image. Multi-function Devices - Multi-function devices (MFD) may provide for flatbed scanning, but may also (or instead of) provide a way to feed the document to be scanned using a sheet feeder.Some sheet feeders support only thinner paper, so check with the manufacture for the specific thickness supported.

Mouse

The hardware within the mouse can keep track of its physical location on a hard surface. Using this information, it can determine how far you have moved the mouse and in what direction. This information is sent to the computer that moves the cursor on the screen accordingly.An external mouse can be connected to a desktop or laptop using a PS/2 port (for older systems), a USB port, or a wireless connection.Although the software (drivers) needed to use the mouse are typically installed by default, you can use the Windows Settings app or Control Panel to make changes to how the mouse functions. To configure a mouse, go to Mouse Properties from Control Panel/Settings. To change the speed of the double click in Windows, select the Activities tab. Then move the slider left to slow down the click speed and right to speed it up.

Monitor

The most common type of output device is the monitor. Information is usually displayed on a monitor screen as it's being processed by the computer. Laptop and mobile devices use an integrated screen, while most desktop systems use an external monitor connected to a video port.For desktop computers, the most common monitor is the flat-screen displays. Flat-screen displays/monitors are known as Liquid Crystal Display (LCD). While the old-styled cathode-ray tube (CRT) screens produced the image using electron guns, the flat-screen monitors use fluorescent or light emitting diode (LED) light to illuminate each pixel, each with the subpixels capable of generating the primary colors (red, green, and blue).Desktop and laptop computers can often support multiple monitors. This can be done if the existing graphic card supports multiple output devices, there are multiple graphic cards installed, or by using a display interface that lets you daisy-chain monitors, such as Thunderbolt or DisplayPorts.In Windows 10, the easiest way to configure multiple monitors is to right-click on the desktop and select Display Settings. This opens the Settings app to the Display page. When using multiple monitors, you have the choice to duplicate what is on one screen to the other screens or to extend the desktop to all of the monitors. This means that you can view different content on each display.When extending monitors it's important to place the monitors in the correct order in the Settings app so the mouse will move in a natural way from screen to screen. Each monitor can also be configured with its own resolution settings.

Microphone

To record audio, a microphone can be connected to a desktop system using a USB connector, an audio jack, or a wireless connection.Laptops and mobile devices already have integrated microphones and are less likely to have an external microphone attached.Monito

Touch Screen

Touch screens are commonly used by mobile devices. A touch screen uses a special material overlaid on the top of the device's regular screen that can detect when you have touched it and where. As with a mouse, you can use touch screens to send data and commands to the device.Touch screen devices can also use a pen (sometimes called a stylus) to draw, tap, and select items on the screen. If you have the correct software, Windows can convert your handwriting into characters that can be used by other programs, such as a word processor.To configure the pen settings, open the Settings app and go to Devices > Pen & Windows Ink. A similar option is also available in Control Panel.

Printer

You use a printer to create a hard copy of the information processed by the computer. Data is sent through a wire or over radio waves to a printer. The printer receives the data, formats it, and transfers it onto a piece of paper.Printers are commonly connected using a USB port, a FireWire port, or a network connection.