INPUT DEVICES 1. Where does the name ‘QWERTY’ Keyboard come from? From the first 6 letters of the top left keyboard 2. Why do you think the QWERTY keyboard is the most popular method of data entry? It is laid out really well and convenient, many people are used to it 3. Who might make use of a concept keyboard? Little children 4. What are the benefits of using a concept keyboard? It is simple, and fast, because each button has a specific action programmed into it, you do not need to type the command in. 5. Explain why a mouse often called a pointing device It moves around the screen and is used to click and indicate at things 6. Describe the difference between a mouse and a tracker ball? A tracker ball is a ball rolling around to move, but a mouse needs a flat area to move around 7. Which type of input device would you choose if you were going to play a ‘shoot ‘em up’ computer game? Mouse 8. Who is likely to use a Graphics Tablet and why? Graphic designers, CG artists, because it is extremely accurate and it is just like drawing on paper 9. Explain briefly how scanners work It works by shining a light which gets reflected and the computer identifies the colour of light, then it slowly builds up with each dot of colour light 10. Explain why automated input devices allow more accurate input of data than manual input devices Humans make mistakes. E.g. scanning a picture is more accurate than redrawing onto the computer. E.g. 2. Sensors can automatically collect data, don’t need a human to stand outside checking the thermometer or something. 11.a What do the initials MICR stand for?
Magnetic Ink Character Recognition 11.b Where are you most likely to come across this type of input device? Banks, they use it to read cheques 12. Explain how OMR is used to help mark test papers Less light is reflected where there is a pencil mark and the pattern of marks is sent to a computer for interpretation. 13a. Why do Credit cards have a magnetic stripe on the back? It can hold personal data (up to 60 characters), when swiped into a magnetic stripe reader; your data shows up, it is also simple and easy 13b. What is used to read the information from the magnetic stripe? Magnetic stripe reader 13c. What are some of the problems with this method of data storage? Thieves can obtain the MSR and see your data; the magnetic stripe can be destroyed by strong magnetic force, limited data storage space 14 a. What device is used to capture the barcodes on products? Barcode reader 14 b. Explain why the price isn’t stored on the barcode. Because if there is a price change, you don’t have to go change every barcode on every product, you only need to change the data on the computer 15. Which input device would you suggest for the following situations:
Writing a story for homework
Keyboard
Drawing a cartoon
Graphics tablet
Checking your bank balance at the bank Storing information on your Credit card Changing the text from a page into digital format so you can edit it. Storing information on bank cheques.
Magnetic Ink Character Recognition Magnetic stripe reader Optical character recognition Magnetic Ink Character Recognition