Input Devices for a Computer

 Computer Hardware  No Responses »
Sep 202011
 

Computers are used by almost everyone for personal and professional purposes. Some years ago, Information Technology (IT) was not that developed, so the use of computer accessories and I/O devices was limited. However, today you will find a wide range of advanced input devices for a computer. If you are wondering what is input device, note that any computer hardware equipment which is used to add information or control PC functions is known as an input device. Let us get to know more about computer input devices without going much into the technicalities.

Types of Input Devices for a Computer

Keyboards
Computer keyboards are one of the most traditional input devices used even today. They have alphabetical, numerical, and functional keys which help the user to type in commands for computer operations. Nowadays, you will even find keyboards specifically meant to be used for gaming purposes. Backlit keyboards are also available for easy operation in dark conditions.

Mice
Just like the keyboard, mouse is another very important input device for a computer system. It is used to control the pointer on the screen for selecting matter and clicking on icons on the interface. The latest developments in computer mice are that they can even be used wirelessly on PCs and some are mainly used for gaming. Most of the interface operation controls are done by the mouse.

Joysticks
Joysticks are primarily used for computer gaming. These are input devices that are connected to a computer to manage game controls such as moving front, behind and sideways, shooting, or other gaming tasks. The devices are believed to make the gaming experience more enjoyable. As a result, hardcore games prefer joysticks over keyboard controls.

Headsets
Headsets are headphones with microphones for online verbal communication. Headsets particularly meant for talking have just one speaker, with a microphone. Whereas, others have two, which can also be used for communication purposes, listening to music, or gaming without disturbing others. You can connect these devices to the computer using either a standard 3.5 mm jack or a USB connection.

Scanners
Scanners are widely used for professional communication. Image scanners do the job of making a soft copy image of printed materials, pictures, or even objects. These are very useful in transferring documents from one office to the other in just no time. Today, scanning machines are even available in advanced printer combos available in computer stores.

Webcams
‘Webcam’ is a term referred to ‘web camera’. This is a small camera mounted on a desktop or built in a laptop, which does the job of viewing and capturing real-time live videos of the subject. These are mainly used for video chat such as in ‘Skype’. These devices function with the help of a software and an Internet connection. They can even be used to record a home video and post it on the web.

Touchpads
Touchpad or trackpad is a term that is typically associated with the input control on laptop computers. A touchpad is a sensitive surface which, when moved a finger on, detects the motion of the user’s finger and controls the pointer on the screen. On laptops, it works very much in the same way as a computer mouse. It is also used on iPod models with the click wheel.

Touchscreens
Touchscreens are one of the latest developments in the computer technology. As the name suggests, these screens can be operated by just touching the appropriate place on the screen surface. Such screens can be found on laptops, PDAs, mobile phones, entertainment devices, and many other latest gizmos. You can control touchscreen functions using your fingertips or using a stylus tool.

You can read these Buzzle articles for more information:

Different Types of Keyboards
What are the Main Parts of the Computer
Computer Parts List

Basic Computer Parts
Computer Parts Information
Basic Computer Components

These are some of the commonly used input devices for a computer. With the advancements in IT, many more of such input devices may be invented in the future. Hopefully, this article might have provided you with good information on input devices available today.

 Posted by at 1:24 pm  Tagged with:

Types of Network Hardware

 Computer Hardware  No Responses »
Sep 152011
 

A computer network is not made up of one machine or even one type of machine. It is a carefully designed system of different hardware components (networking devices) working in tandem with various rules and communication protocols. From the network scenario in a household, to a medium scale network in a school or mall to a large, border-crossing network of a corporation or service, a computer network is made up of various hardware parts, some standard and some rare and more complex. So, what are the different types of network hardware? Read on for a listing of such devices and a brief explanation of each.

Types of Network Hardware

Cables & Wires
Everything may be turning wireless nowadays but at least 2-3 wired connections have to exist somewhere in a computer network. Connecting a desktop to a router or the router to the modem, such connections are always wired and the common cable type used is CAT5 RJ-45. Wiring is typically thought of as being a Layer 1 (physical layer) device as raw data or signals are transferred from one end to the other.

NIC
Network interface cards is easily one of the most important components of a computer network. It is a hardware part that allows the computer to be identified amongst others in a network and allows the computer to connect to a network. It works in the physical and data link layer of the OSI model. This card provides the circuitry required to implement a networking standard. The most common NIC form used is Ethernet. Recent computers, both desktops and laptops have their NIC built on the motherboard, earlier computers needed an internal or external NIC to be added. Laptops with built-in Wi-Fi have wired and wireless NIC capability, but most desktops have only wired connection capabilities and will require a wireless adapter to connect wirelessly.

Hubs
Connecting more than one computer to a higher layer networking device like a router can be difficult, if you do not have a hub. A hub collects various devices through a wired connection and groups them into a segment. So, the network recognizes all devices connected to the hub, as one segment. Typical hubs allow Ethernet wired connections and have at least 4-5 ports on them and can have 8, 12 or even more ports. They are very simple devices, they do not manage or filter or function in any other manner, other than to act as a collection point. They operate in the physical layer of the OSI model.

Modems
A modem acts as a sort of converter or translator. It allows digital data or information to be transmitted over traditionally analog lines of transmission such as a telephone line. The word “modem” is a mix of two transmission terms, “modulate” and “demodulate”, which are the two main operations performed. The digital signal from a computer is converted into analog form, sent over the analog medium and then decoded back into its digital form at the receiving end.

Routers
Routers can be thought of as the mailroom of a network. They receive incoming data packets, decipher their addressing information (where did they come from, where do they have to go) and send them accordingly. Routers are essentially used for traffic management. They function in Layer 3 (network layer) of the OSI model. Routers are much smarter than hubs, they can implement security protocols, assign IP addresses, both static and dynamic and can function in both the wired and wireless transmission band. There are different router types based on their area of use, such as home or small-use routers to enterprise routers, which are used for complex routing functions in large corporations.

Gateways
A gateway acts as the meeting point or go between point between 2 different networks, using different protocols. e.g. Network A uses one protocol, Network B uses another. A computer from A wants to communicate with a machine from B but due to the difference in protocols, it does not know how to communicate. It can adopt or add B’s protocol but this is a tasking process and is not really efficient. Instead, a gateway will translate the request from the computer in A’s network, into B’s language and then translate the reply from B’s language into A’s. So, the 2 machines can communicate without any change in protocol. Gateways function in all layers of the OSI model, since they perform conversion or translation functions.

Wireless Access Points
An access point acts as a middle station for a network and helps in adding more users to it. They are connected to the network but act as a transmitter and receiver for the network signals, so other devices can connect to the access point and in turn will be connected to the main network. The best example for an access point scenario is a large house, where the router is located in the basement. So, the ground floor can receive the wireless signal but the first floor cannot, due to the network’s limited range. An access point connected on the ground floor will receive the router’s wireless signal and emit it to reach the first floor, enabling users on that floor to access the original network.

With advances in technology, the features and specifications of such devices may change or the device itself may become obsolete. But for now, this collection of types of network hardware remains constant; and at least one or two of the above devices can be found in any computer network.

 Posted by at 1:18 pm  Tagged with:

How to Access Your Computer’s BIOS Setup

 Computer Hardware  No Responses »
Sep 102011
 

What happens when you turn on your PC? Lights come on the keyboard and monitor, the computer’s brand logo may appear on the screen, then the operating system loading message appears. This is all occurring on screen, but in the background, your computer is actually powering on and preparing its external and internal parts. Many assume the Operating System (OS) is the first program a computer loads and operates on but the actual start-up program is the BIOS.

BIOS stands for Basic Input/Output System, which is inbuilt in every PC during manufacturing and is loaded, run and executed when you press the power ON button of your PC. The BIOS is a sort of firmware interface for a computer. Different components, such as pen drives, graphics card, keyboard and mouse and disc drives attached to a computer, need to be initialized and identified to the computer. The BIOS does this in the form of a check-list (“turn USB ports on”, done) and this procedure is known as POST (power-on self-test). The operating system itself is a program, which needs to be loaded and executed. This too is performed by the BIOS, which locates the OS program on the computer’s hard disk and runs the program. One needs to enter the BIOS interface to change various system-level settings, such as changing the system clock, changing the boot up drive and managing memory. Listed below are the steps on how to access the computer’s BIOS setup.

How to Get Into Your Computer’s BIOS?

Step 1: Start your PC or restart it. When the computer starts up, usually the manufacturer’s logo or the brand name of the PC is displayed on a black screen. In some cases, the screen turns into the logo of the operating system and a “loading” or “starting” message appears on the screen. At such booting screens, a small message is displayed, which has the combination of access keys needed to enter the BIOS. Examples of such messages are:

Press “key” to enter BIOS
“key” = Setup
To enter the BIOS setup, press “key” + “key”
Press “key” to access system configuration
Press “key” to enter the Setup menu

In some computers, the manufacturer’s logo or brand name shows up and no message for entering the browser occurs. So try pressing the Tab or the Esc key to remove it. You can either note the key down or if the screen changes too fast for you to enter the BIOS, press the Pause/Break key on your keyboard. This key will pause the booting screen, so you can understand which keys are needed to access the BIOS. To unpause such a screen, press any key.

Step 2: Once you know the access key combinations, then press that key or press the combination of keys during the booting screen to enter the BIOS interface. In some computers, just one press of the key is enough, with others, you may need to tap it repeatedly. Do not press and hold down the key with force or press it too many times. The system may hang or an error code will show up on screen and you will need to restart your PC. With certain machines, pressing the DEL key repeatedly at the boot up screen, before the OS loading screen appears, can bring up the BIOS screen. Other common BIOS keys are F1, F2, F10, F12 and ESC.

Step 3: The BIOS is not dependent in any way on the operating system. So whether you are running Windows 7 or Mac OS X, the OS has nothing to do with your BIOS and hence different operating systems does not mean different BIOS access keys. Instead, your computer’s BIOS depends on the manufacturer of the motherboard, like Acer or ASUS. So there are proprietary access keys to enter the BIOS screen, based on the brand of the computer. Some computer systems and their BIOS access shortcuts are:

Manufacturer     Access Keys
Acer     F1, F2, CTRL+ALT+ESC
Compaq     F10 (newer), F1, F2, DEL (older models)
Dell 400     F3, F1
Dell 4400     F12
Dell Inspiron     F2
Dell Latitude     Fn+F1, Fn+ESC
Gateway 2000     F1
Hewlett-Packard (HP)     F1, F2, ESC (for laptops)
IBM     F1, F2 (E-pro laptop)
Micron     F1, F2, DEL
Packard Bell     F1, F2, DEL
Sharp     F2
Sony VAIO     F2
Toshiba 335CDS     ESC
Toshiba Portégé     ESC
Toshiba Satellite     F1
Toshiba Tecra     F1 or ESC

Warning: The above mentioned access keys may differ from computer to computer, so always verify the information prior to usage. The correct access keys are provided as a part of the computer’s documentation. This site does not assume any responsibility for any issues that could occur by using the above information.

The BIOS is a rather sensitive part of your computer’s internal makeup, so pressing a lot of keys at the boot up screen is not a good idea, unless you know what you are doing. So do not press any or all keys in tandem or with force to enter your computer’s BIOS. Instead, refer to your computer’s manual and look for System Settings or similar headings to find the correct BIOS key. You can even search online using your computer’s model number and make.

Once you have actually accessed the BIOS and are facing the lovely light blue screen, here’s a word of caution; fiddling with BIOS settings is not for novices or the ill-informed. If you know what you are doing, then only change settings and to be safe, write down what you are changing, in case you need to go back and rechange it. Use the arrow keys and function keys to navigate and select options within the menu. Accessing the BIOS of a computer’s system can be done to change certain basic computer settings and workings, but should be carried out with caution.

 Posted by at 1:09 pm  Tagged with:
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