What Is An Input Device?
Limiting the discussion of input devices to the world of computers should eliminate confusion. In fact, the term was probably created for the purpose of describing how information is put into a computer. There are input devices for putting information on music recordings as well as for injecting materials into molds during manufacture. But this is not the type of input device most people are concerned with.
From the beginning, it’s best to understand that computers are not smart. They are products made from plastic, a bit of metal, silicone and a few other materials. Using a computer is only possible if the information we have on the “outside” is somehow placed “inside.” Thus, we have to have a device to put the information in.
In the simplest of terms, a human being takes information in the form of words, photos or graphics and stores them on a hard drive that is installed inside a computer. There are many external storage units as well, and the input device will work just as well for those.
Some common input devices used in a computer system are a keyboard, a reader such as those used to read bar codes at the store, a scanner, a mouse or even a pen-like stylus used for writing on a screen. The computer user wants to put information in the computer or on the hard drive and the input device is the tool used for that purpose.
Even a camera can be an input device. A digital video camera can record images and transfer them directly to the computer system. In the same sense, the small card that stores the photos can be taken from the camera and, technically, become the input device. If a disc is used to record information on one computer then is taken to another location, the disc, like the camera card, can be an input device.
Most people are familiar with the computer keyboard. They may consider this the only real input device for their computer. A great deal of information is put into the computer system or on a storage device using a keyboard. In recent years, voice recognition software has helped some as a newer type of input device.
If you have been to the grocery store and used a credit card, chances are that you have had to sign your name on a screen with an input device that looks like a pen. This stylus has become a very important, and very common, device for getting information into storage on a hard drive or other storage unit.
The mouse is often taken for granted when considering components for the computer, but it shouldn’t be overlooked as a major input device. The simple act of clicking on a button or icon on the computer screen makes this item crucial to computer use.
A couple of other devices that have proved to be very popular as input devices are the microphone and the stylus-based drawing system. Computer technology has advanced to the point that live sound can be stored in much the same way as recorded music or other sound. Children especially like the drawing systems that allow them to draw, “paint” and design using a stylus.
This brief summary of input devices should help anyone to a better understanding of computer systems and will let them answer intelligently when asked, “What is an input device?”
Category: Computers, Technology