What Makes Something a Computer?
We learned in the last section that a computer is a device that:
1. takes input
2. processes it
3. produces an output
4. many computers also store information
Hardware and Software
A computer needs both hardware and software.
The figure below shows the difference between hardware and software
Peripheral Devices
Peripheral devices are computer hardware that are external to the computer i.e they are outside of the computer.
They connect to the computer via wires (e.g. USB, HDMI, VGA)
or wirelessly (e.g. Bluetooth).
Most peripheral devices can be categorised as either:
- Input devices
- Output devices
Input Devices
An Input device is a peripheral device that sends data into a computer system.
Output Devices
An Output device is a peripheral device that sends information out of a computer system.
Peripheral Devices that are both Input AND Output
Some peripheral devices could be considered to be both an input device and an output device.
These includes touch screens and video game controllers.
Accessibility Devices
Accessibility (assistive) devices refers to computer equipment that have been designed to allow people with disabilities to have access to computers. Many of these are input or output devices.
Examples include:
- Braille Keyboards
- Foot Mice
- Microphones
- Sip / Puff Switch
- Eye Trackers
- Adaptable videogame controllers
- Adaptable User Interfaces
- Screen Reader Software
- Braille Display
- Text-to-speech software
Storage Devices (not input or output)
Storage devices are NOT an input or an output device. Instead, their job is to store the operating system, applications and files.
