Input Devices (Different input device)

In computer system, an input device is a piece of computer hardware equipment used to provide data and control signals to an information processing system such as computer or other IT appliance. Some commonly used input device are-

Keyboard-

The keyboard is a primary input device and it looks like a typewriter. The characteristics of keyboard are-

• It contains all the letters of the alphabet, numbers, and some special symbols.
• It operates like a typewriter and send an electronic impulse to the computer, which displays a character on the monitor.
• On key press it sends a ASCII code (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) to the CPU.
• Computer keyboard having Alphanumeric keys, Function Keys, Control keys, and Cursor keys. An standard keyboard have 80 to 104 keys.

Mouse-

It is a kind of input device that is used to control the insertion point or cursor in computer system. The most conventional mouse have two button, the left one is used most frequently for clicking.

Scanner-

A Scanner is an input device that scan any documents such as photographs and page of text. It is used to enter information directly into the computer memory. When a document is scanned, it is converted into digital format.

Joystick-

Joystick is a kind of input device which is used to give an input to computer system. That is mostly used in game applications.  

Light Pen-

Light pen is a pointing device which is similar to a pen. It is used to select a displayed menu item or draw pictures on the monitor screen

Track Ball-

Track ball is an input device that is mostly used in notebook or laptop computer, instead of a mouse. 

Digitizer-

Digitizer is an input device which converts analog information into digital form. Digitizer can convert a signal from the television or camera into a series of numbers that could be stored in a computer.

Microphone-

Microphone is an input device to accept sound and then stored in digital form. The microphone is used for various applications like adding sound to a multimedia presentation or for mixing music.

Magnetic Ink Card Reader (MICR)-

MICR is an input device, is generally used in banks because of a large number of cheque to be processed every day. The bank's code number and cheque number are printed on the cheque with a special type of ink that contains particles of magnetic material that are machine readable. This reading process is called Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR). 

Optical Character Reader (OCR)-

OCR is an input device used to read a printed text. OCR scans text optically character by character, converts them into a machine readable code and stores the text on the system memory. 

Bar Code Reader (BCR)-

Bar Code Reader is a device used for reading bar coded data (data in form of light and dark lines). Bar coded data is generally used in labelling goods, numbering the books etc.

Optical Mark Reader (OMR)-

OMR is a special type of optical scanner used to recognize the type of mark made by pen or pencil. It is used where one out of a few alternatives is to be selected and marked. It is specially used for checking the answer sheets of examinations having multiple choice questions.