Unit 3: Input / Output Devices. 3D Graphics. Office Hardware. Computer Networks
Unit 3: Input / Output Devices. 3D Graphics. Office Hardware. Computer Networks
Unit 3: Input / Output Devices. 3D Graphics. Office Hardware. Computer Networks
3D
graphics. Office hardware.
Computer networks
3.1 INPUT / OUTPUT DEVICES
The main input devices everyone uses nowadays are obviously mouse and keyboard.
Both devices can we connected via PS/2, USB or Bluetooth interface. The mice come
in many shapes and sizes. The number and shape of mouse buttons can also vary
depending on what the mouse is used for. Here is a basic optical mouse looks like:
The keyboard is also a very important device for any user. Keyboards also come in
many sizes and shapes but most of them have the general set of keys shown below:
1. Character Keys (Alphanumeric keys). Most of the keys that you use to type are
character keys. These are letters, numbers, and punctuation keys.
3. Navigational Keys. These keys help you move in your document. They include
Space, Enter, Tab, Directional Arrows, Home, End, Page Up/Page Down.
4. Modifier Keys. These keys - Ctrl, Shift, Caps - help you make capital letters and
keyboard shortcuts.
5. Function Keys. These keys do special things depending on your keyboard. You
will not use the Function Keys for typing text.
Output Devices is a device which allows the computer to communicate the results
of processing with the user. Here are examples of such devices:
A standard or PCI sound card is an external expansion card that you put into a PCI
slot on your motherboard. PCI sound cards have their own processor chips, while a
motherboard sound chip relies on the computer processor to perform some of the
calculations required to produce sound. A standard sound card creates less of a load
on the main processor, which can result in improved performance when playing
games. Additionally, some standard sound cards have features that motherboard
sound chips do not, such as 24-bit recording or multiple channel surround sound.
External Sound
Nowadays microphones
DSLR cameras, at concert halls, in movie production, on radio and TV, for speech
recognition, voice chats and so on. As everything in this book, microphones also
come in all kinds, shapes and sizes. In this chapter, you will learn about common
types of microphones, their use and specifications.
First, a microphone (also called “mic” or “mike”) is a device that converts sounds
into an electrical signal. There are many types of microphones, which use different
methods to convert the air pressure variations of a sound wave to an electrical signal.
The most common types of microphones (based on their transducer type) are:
Polar Pattern or Pickup Pattern defines how microphone responds to sound from
different directions. This is important when you choose a microphone for a specific
purpose. The most common patterns are:
Omnidirectional
Bi-Directional
Cardioid
This polar pattern is used for live broadcasting or for singer’s performances on stage
because the sound waves can only be picked up from the front, so the audience’s
noise does not affect the quality of the sound coming from the microphone. Perfect
for documentary recording, weddings, events.
Hyper-Cardioid
Much like the cardioid but due to having the small back
sound pickup it produces a better sound because it has
the all-round frequency response. Perfect for on-camera
mics, documentary recording, and instrument recording.
Supercardioid (Shotgun)
Lobar (Unidirectional)
Bit Depth: again, the more the number the more dynamic your sound will be. The
standard numbers are 16 bit or 24 bit.
lavalier microphone (also known as a lav, lapel mic, clip mic, body mic, collar mic,
neck mic or personal mic) is a small microphone used for television, theatre, and
public speaking applications in order to allow for hands-free operation. They are most
commonly provided with small clips for attaching to collars, ties, or other clothing.
The cord may be hidden by clothes and either run to a radio frequency transmitter
kept in a pocket or clipped to a belt, or routed directly to the mixer or a recording
device
A binaural microphone is used for recording audio that sounds really close to what
we hear in real life. That kind of sound is currently used for ASMR (Autonomous
Sensory Meridian Response) recordings and video games to increase the immersion
and create a certain mood or atmosphere.
A mini mic is used as an alternative for ordinary microphones when you need
something portable. The sound quality is usually low. You can connect it to your
camera or laptop.
3D graphics is a very broad area and it’s really popular nowadays. It is used in
videogame industry, for visual effects in movies, in architecture, engineering, product
design, commercials, TV shows, for reconstruction and historical preservation,
cybernetics, medicine and so on. People use 3D to prototype and test their ideas
before putting them on Kickstarter, or for capturing real life environments. For
example, 3D scans are to be used for reconstruction of Notre-Dame de Paris that
caught fire on April 15 2019. People print different objects like houses, human
figures, mechanisms or tools using 3D models. We create robots by modeling and
printing them piece by piece. Prosthetic limbs are created using 3D programs.
In this chapter, you will learn how 3D graphics works and what its basic
elements are. You will also learn about different programs that are used nowadays for
3D modeling. Let’s begin.
The models that contain a big number of polygons are called highpoly models.
These are usually used in movies and commercials. They take up way more memory
space and cannot be used for videogames.
Textures
Many more texture maps are used to create an illusion of metal surfaces, or to add
transparency, reflections, height, translucency, dents, shadows etc. They are standard
for many programs and game engines so knowing how to use them is the key to
beautiful visuals.
There are lots of 3D programs for various purposes. Software such as 3Ds Max,
Maya, Blender, Modo, Cinema 4D, 3D Coat, Houdini etc. are used for modeling,
animation, rigging, texturing and rendering.
Programs like Mudbox and Zbrush (as well as sculpting tools in other programs like
Blender) are used for digital sculpting and creating highly detailed models.
3D industry is really huge and diverse. You can visit sites like Artstation or Sketchfab
to see what people create. The sky is the limit when it comes to creating 3D worlds or
objects for printing. There are 3D communities and sites that you can visit to learn
about the latest news in the industry and workflows for various tasks and programs.
As technology is getting more and more powerful and accessible, we are getting
closer to creating virtual worlds that closely match the reality we live in. Techniques
like photogrammetry and laser scanning have become easier to use. They allow
people to take photos of almost anything and create a rough model within a few hours
which can be 3D printed afterwards or used for other purposes. Thus, 3D becomes a
part of everyday life for many people.
Cold laminators
These are used for materials which will get damaged when exposed to heat, such as
photos, old and frail documents, vinyl or plastics. This machine uses the energy
derived from pressure generated by its plates or rollers to make the laminating sheet
adhere to the material on either side.
These make use of plates or rollers to do the job. Most hot laminators function with
the user inserting a material, usually paper, into a lamination pouch. The pouch is
then run through the machine to fasten the lamination to the material through heat
and pressure. The pouch has an optional laminating carrier which is useful in
protecting the document from being damaged by too much heat.
Roll Laminators
Also known as film laminators, these are the kinds of machines that you will find in
larger organizations such as schools. These machines use large rolls of film to
laminate documents that are of just about any size, and you can even laminate many
documents consecutively and trim them when you are finished. Items are placed at
the opening on one sheet of plastic (the plastic sheets that are lined with adhesive).
There is a roller on top that holds the top layer of laminate in place. As the machine
starts, the item is run though and the two sheets of adhesive-lined plastic are heated to
the extent that they will glue permanently together around the document.
A printer is an external hardware output device that takes the electronic data stored
on a computer or other device and prints it out on a paper or some other material.
Today, the most common printers used with a computer are Inkjet and laser printers.
Here is the full list of printer types:
2. Sheet-fed scanner - similar to flatbed scanners except that the document is moved
and the scan head is immobile
3. Handheld scanner - uses same basic technology as a flatbed scanner, but depends
on the user to move them. This type of scanner does not provide good image quality
Coil machines
Thermal binding
Tape machines
These machines are quite costly and complex, and hence, exclusively
used by dedicated printing companies.
Saddle stitching machines punch, wire and
staple through the folded edges of pages.
Velobind binding
Velobind binding machines are perfect for binding legal-sized documents out of the
box. These binding machines
come with different
functionalities to bind books
that are thick up to one inch.
Perfect binding
1. Running the Setup. Double click the setup program .exe file to begin
installation process, then follow the instructions of the program.
2. Scanning for new hardware. You can use Add/Remove Hardware Wizard to
detect hardware and install the drivers for it.
3. Manual installation. You can use the Add/Remove Hardware Wizard to
specify the device you want to install, or you can right-click the .INF file that
comes with the driver and choose Install.
Note: You must have administrative privileges to install device drivers.
A computer network is a set of devices, which communicate and share resources.
These devices are mostly computers, and sometimes standalone hard disks,
telephones, printers and terminals.
This means that there are Client-Server networks and Peer-to-Peer networks.
Computer network types depend on how large they are and how much of an area they
cover. There are the following types of networks:
This type of network is used on a personal level. It is used for connecting devices
such as smartphones, tablets and laptops. The devices can be connected through
wireless technologies such as Bluetooth, NFC and Infrared connection or through
USB cable. PANs are generally used for transferring small files such as music,
photos, etc..
It uses wireless communication. A WLAN will typically have a Wi-Fi router or Wi-
Fi access point.
It spans over a several buildings in a city or town. MANs are typically connected
using a high-speed connection such as fiber optic cable, allowing users to share files
within the city limits.
It’s a special high-speed network that stores and provides access to large amounts of
data. It usually consists of multiple disk arrays, switches and servers. They are not
affected by network traffic.
It’s a huge network that spans over a large geographical area. The Internet is an
example of WAN.
In a VLAN, the computers, servers, and other network devices are logically
connected regardless of their physical location. It is necessary for improving security,
traffic management and making a network simpler.
It is a way to recognize a computer outside the LAN as a trusted computer. The user
is identified with a password and his computer, even though connected to the
Internet, will be considered as part of the LAN until it disconnects from it. VPN is
typically required to identify portable computers via wireless connection.
Network Topologies
This topology uses a combination of wired and wireless devices. It’s similar to a star
topology where you have wired devices connected to a switch. Besides, you have a
wireless point that is also connected by the cable to the same switch which allows
laptops, tablets or smartphones to connect to the same network. This means that a
wireless access point acts like a bridge between the wired network and the wireless
network.
Ad-hoc topology
It does not rely on cables, servers, routers or WAPs, which means all the devices, are
connected to each other in a simple peer-to-peer network (P2P). They directly
connect to each other without using a centralized device such as a Wi-Fi router or
access point. That also means that each device is responsible for its own security and
permissions.
Wireless Mesh Topology
It is similar to wired mesh topology but devices are wirelessly interconnected. There
are many access points scattered across the building that are connected to each other.
When you try to access the Internet, you are connected to a nearest access point,
which relays the connection to the next point and then eventually finds its way back
to the modem. This kind of topology is very reliable.
The Internet is the worldwide collection of networks that use the Internet Protocol
Suite or TCP/IP.
The World Wide Web or WWW, is the collection of web pages hosted on web
servers. The web runs using HTTP protocol.
That means that the Internet = Hardware, the Web = Resources hosted on the
Internet. Every Internet resource has a URL address for example:
Here http is the protocol prefix, www means you access the site as a web server,
thesite.com is the domain name and the rest is the directory path where the file is
located. The name of the site may contain its country code such as .us or .ua
So data travels around the Internet through routers that forward it in the form of
packets. There are normal routers that we use in everyday life and industrial size
routers that belong to ISP or Internet Service Provider companies. These routers
send huge amounts of data across all continents. The connections between ISPs are
called a backbone of the Internet. So, the purpose of routers is just to forward
packets between networks. On their way they stop at the gateways. An Internet
gateway is a network "node" that connects two different networks that use different
protocols (rules) for communicating. In the most basic terms, an Internet gateway is
where data stops on its way to or from other networks. Thanks to gateways, we can
communicate and send data back and forth with each other.
Gateways can take several different forms from hardware to software - including
routers and computers - and can perform a variety of tasks. These can range from
passing traffic to the next 'hop' on its path to filtering traffic, proxies, or protocol
translations. Because gateways are, by definition, at the edge of a network, they are
often combined with firewalls, which keep out unwanted traffic or 'foreign'
computers from a closed network.
A switch is a device that allows us to connect more devices to the network using
Ethernet cables.
A website or Web site is a collection of related network web resources, such as web
pages, multimedia content, which are typically identified with a common domain
name, and published on at least one web server. Websites can be accessed via a
public Internet Protocol (IP) network, such as the Internet, or a private local area
network (LAN), by a uniform resource locator (URL) that identifies the site. Every
site has an IP address telling the network where to find it. All network adapters have
a unique identification number called MAC or Media Access Control address.
So sending data works from the highest layer down to the lowest layer and receiving
data works backwards.
To send voice messages or multimedia a special protocol called VoIP or Voice over
Internet Protocol is used. Programs such as Skype and Discord are good examples of
what this protocol can do.
There is also another type of connection
called ISDN (Integrated Services Digital
Network. Basically it combines
telephone and data exchange services. A
number of technologies called DSL is
used to transmit more digital data over telephone lines.
Business companies may use a thin client. It is a computer that runs from resources
stored on a central server instead of a localized hard drive. Thin clients work by
connecting remotely to a server-based computing environment where most
applications, sensitive data, and memory, are stored. Thin clients have a number of
benefits, including:
- Reduced cost
- Increased security
- More efficient manageability
- Scalability
Security can be improved through employing thin clients because the thin client itself
is restricted by the server. Thin clients cannot run unauthorized software, and data
can’t be copied or saved anywhere except for the server. System monitoring and
management is easier based on the centralized server location.
Thin clients can also be simpler to manage, since upgrades, security policies, and
more can be managed in the data center instead of on the endpoint machines. This
leads to less downtime, increasing productivity among IT staff as well as endpoint
machine users.
There is another network protocol called Telnet used for text messaging in terminals.
Modern message boards still use a network model called Usenet (user network).
Words like “nickname”, “emoticon”, “signature”, “moderator”, “trolling”, “flood”,
“flame”, “ban”, “FAQ” and “spam” came from that network. It was created in 1980
before Internet became popular and is still used in the form of user groups, image
boards and user communities.
All websites contain hyperlinks. A hyperlink, or simply a link, is a reference to data
that the reader can directly follow either by clicking or tapping. Also, all the pages
are written in HTML or HyperText Markup Language allowing to shape the
hypertext and pages as necessary. Every site has a certain structure called a site map.
It allows you to navigate it easily so you can always go back to the main page if
necessary.
Web browser
A web browser is a client program you use to access the Internet. It runs directly on
user’s computer as a client and connects to external web servers, identified with a
prefix in the Internet name, to retrieve web pages.
The most popular browsers are Google Chrome, Opera and Mozilla Firefox. When
opening a browser, at the top of the window you will see an address bar. You can
type an address of the site you want to visit in it. If you’ve been to this website
before, you browser may suggest or autocomplete whatever you type in the address
bar. If you agree with that, press Enter on your keyboard, or click on the suggested
word.
Most of the time you will go between pages by clicking on links. To go back to the
previous page you can click the “Back” button. To return to the first page click the
“Forward” button. If you see a link you want to open but you don’t want to leave the
page you are on, you can open that link in a new tab. Just right click the link and
select “Open in new tab” option. This opens a new page behind current page so it
doesn’t take you away from the original site. You can also create a new tab by
clicking on a button to the right of the last open tab and then type in a new address or
search request. To close a tab, just click the “X” button.
If you are on a website you want to go back to later, you can bookmark it. Most
browsers have a button right next to the address bar that lets you bookmark the page.
You can check your bookmarks by clicking the user menu button, going to
“Bookmarks” section, and then selecting the site you want from the list.
Even if you don’t bookmark the sites, you can still find them in a feature called
History. All browsers keep track of sites you visited. Just click the main menu button
and select “History”.
To search any information, you can just type words into search bar or address bar. To
download files you will have to look for download links or download buttons. The
downloaded files can be found in the Main Menu – Downloads section.
Creating an email
To create a Gmail address, you'll first need to create a Google account. Gmail will
redirect you to the Google account signup page.
You'll need to provide some basic information like your name, birth date, gender, and
location. You will also need to choose a name for your new Gmail address. Once you
create an account, you'll be able to start adding contacts and adjusting your mail
settings.
To create an account:
1. Go to www.gmail.com. 3. The signup form will appear.
2. Click Create account Follow the directions and enter the
required information.
When you first create your account, you will be automatically signed in. Most of the
time, however, you'll need to sign in to your account and sign out when you're done
with it. Signing out is especially important if you're using a shared computer (for
example, at a library or office) because it prevents others from viewing your emails.
2. Type your user name (your initial (if you've already selected an
email address) and password, avatar image, it will show the image
then click Sign in. instead). To sign out, click the circle
and select Sign out.
3.9 MAIL PROGRAMS
One of the most popular mail programs is Microsoft Outlook. It is used primarily in
business companies where e-mail management is important. To use Outlook use must
register an account.