Joystick

A joystick is an input
device that allows the user to control a
character or machine in a computer program,
such as a plane in a flight simulator. They
look similar to the control device you would
find on an arcade game, but nearly always
include extra buttons for additional
functionality. The picture shows
the Logitech Freedom 2.4, an example of a
joystick.
The first joystick was invented at the U.S.
Naval Research Laboratory by C. B. Mirick and
patented in 1926. It was a two-axis electronic
joystick, similar to the joysticks in use today,
and was original designed for remotely
piloting aircraft.

Computer joystick ports

Today, most computer joysticks connect to
the computer using a USB port. Below is a
listing of all of the type of ports that have
accepted a joystick.
\\

Graphics tablet

Alternatively referred to as
a drawing tablet and pen tablet,
a graphics tablet is a hardware input device
that enables an artist to draw or sketch
digitally using a pen or stylus. They are
helpful because they provide a more natural
and precise feel than a standard
computermouse. The picture to the right
shows an example of a Pen Graphics Tablet
from Wacom.

The first graphics tablet for home computers

was the KoalaPad. Developed by Koala
Technologies in 1984, the KoalaPad was
originally designed for use by the Apple II
computer, but later was available for the IBM
PC compatible computer as well.
Similar to an artist drawing with a pencil and
paper, a user draws on the graphics tablet
with a stylus. The computer will convert the
drawing strokes into digital form, displaying
them on the computer screen.
9. Graphics tablet
Advantages
of graphics
tablets
A great
level of
accuracy
can be
achieved

Disadvantages
of graphics
tablets
Graphics
tablets are
much more
expensive than
a mouse

trackball

Part of the Peripherals glossary:

A trackball is a computer cursor control device

used in many notebook and laptop
computers. The trackball is usually located in
front of the keyboard toward the user.
Essentially, the trackball is an upsidedown mouse that rotates in place within a
socket. The user rolls the ball to direct the
cursor to the desired place on the screen and
can click one of two buttons (identical to
mouse buttons) near the trackball to
select desktop objects or position the cursor
for text entry.
IBM's ThinkPad series of notebook computers
uses a "pointing stick", called a TrackPoint,
that is integrated into the middle of the
keyboard keys.

OCR (optical
character
recognition)

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VIN Scanning Saves Man Hours Intermec

OCR (optical character recognition) is the

recognition of printed or written text characters by a
computer. This involves photoscanning of the text
character-by-character, analysis of the scanned-in
image, and then translation of the character image
into character codes, such as ASCII, commonly
used in data processing.
In OCR processing, the scanned-in image
orbitmap is analyzed for light and dark areas in order
to identify each alphabetic letter or numeric digit.
When a character is recognized, it is converted into
an ASCII code. Special circuit boards and computer
chips designed expressly for OCR are used to speed
up the recognition process.

OCR is being used by libraries to digitize and

preserve their holdings. OCR is also used to process
checks and credit card slips and sort the mail.
Billions of magazines and letters are sorted every
day by OCR machines, considerably speeding up
mail delivery.
Advantag
es of OCR
Much
faster than
someone
manually
entering
large
amounts of
text

Disadvantag
es of OCR
All
documents
need to be
checked over
carefully and
then manually
corrected

barcode
reader
(POS
scanner,
bar code
reader,

price
scanner)

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A barcode reader, also called a price scanner

or point-of-sale ( POS ) scanner, is a hand-held
or stationary input device used to capture and
read information contained in a bar code . A
barcode reader consists of a scanner , a
decoder (either built-in or external), and
a cableused to connect the reader with a
computer. Because a barcode reader merely
captures and translates the barcode into
numbers and/or letters, the data must be sent
to a computer so that a software application
can make sense of the data. Barcode
scanners can be connected to a computer
through a serial port , keyboard port , or an
interface device called a wedge . A barcode
reader works by directing a beam of light
across the bar codeand measuring the
amount of light that is reflected back. (The

dark bars on a barcode reflect less light than

the white spaces between them.) The scanner
converts the light energy into electrical
energy, which is then converted into data by
the decoder and forwarded to a computer.
There are five basic kinds of barcode readers
-- pen wands, slot scanners, Charge-Couple
Device ( CCD ) scanners, image scanners, and
laser scanners.

A pen wand is the simplest barcode

reader. It contains no moving parts and is
known for its durability and low cost. A pen
wand can present a challenge to the user,
however, because it has to remain in direct
contact with the bar code, must be held at a
certain angle, and has to be moved over the
bar code at a certain speed.
A slot scanner remains stationary and the
item with the bar code on it is pulled by
hand through the slot. Slot scanners are
typically used to scan bar codes on
identification cards.

dot
matrix
printer
Definition
Type of computer printer
that uses tiny hammers in its print
head to strike pins over an inked
ribbon to
formcharacters or images on paper,
and is used mainly for
multipart forms. For general printing,

dot matrix printershave largely been

replaced by cheaper, quieter, and
faster non-impact printers such as ink
jets and lasers which
alsoproduce output of far
better quality (resolution).

Use dot matrix printer in a sentence

I was excited to use the dot

matrix printer for the fist time,
because no one else had done it
before and I would be the first.

20 people found this helpful

You may want to try using a dot

matrix printer if you want to put
something out that looks different
than usual.

17 people found this helpful

Our dot matrix printer has since

been replaced by an ink jet printer,

making the quality of our printed

documents much better.

plotter
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A plotter is a printer that interprets

commands from a computer to make line
drawings on paper with one or more
automated pens. Unlike a regular printer , the
plotter can draw continuous point-to-point
lines directly from vector graphics files or
commands. There are a number of different
types of plotters: a drum plotter draws on
paper wrapped around a drum which turns to
produce one direction of the plot, while the
pens move to provide the other direction;
a flatbed plotter draws on paper placed on a
flat surface; and anelectrostatic plotter draws
on negatively charged paper with positively
charged toner.

Plotters were the first type of printer that

could print with color and render graphics and
full-size engineering drawings. As a rule,
plotters are much more expensive than
printers. They are most frequently used
for CAE (computer-aided engineering)
applications, such asCAD (computer-aided
design) and CAM (computer-aided
manufacturing). Hewlett-Packard is the
leading vendor of plotters worldwide.
This was last updated in May 2010
Posted by: Margaret Rouse

Related Terms
DEFINITIONS

image
- An image is a picture that has been created or copied and
stored in electronic form. Common formats that are supported
online include JPEG, GIF, BMP and PNG files. (WhatIs.com)

peripheral drift illusion

- The peripheral drift illusion is a perception of movement in a
static image; the illusion is caused by the brains interpretation of
patterns seen outside of the eyes area of focus. (WhatIs.com)

augmented reality (AR)

- Augmented reality (AR) is the integration of digital information
with live video or the user's environment in real time. (WhatIs.com)
GLOSSARIES

Multimedia and graphics

- Terms related to multimedia, including graphics, animation and
video definitions and words and phrases about images and sound.

Internet applications
- This WhatIs.com glossary contains terms related to Internet
applications, including definitions about Software as a Service
(SaaS) delivery models and words and phrases about web sites, ecommerce ...

Dig Deeper
CONTINUE READING ABOUT PLOTTER

Epinions provides consumer ratings of

various plotters.

Hewlett-Packard provides a page about its

large-format printer/plotters.
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MICR
(magnetic
ink character
recognition)
Posted by: Margaret Rouse
WhatIs.com

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MICR (magnetic ink character recognition) is a

technology used to verify the legitimacy or originality
of paper documents, especially checks. Special ink,
which is sensitive to magnetic fields, is used in the
printing of certain characters on the original
documents. Information can be encoded in the
magnetic characters.
The use of MICR can enhance security and
minimize the losses caused by some types of crime.
If a document has been forged - for example, a
counterfeit check produced using a color
photocopying machine, the magnetic-ink line will
either not respond to magnetic fields, or will produce
an incorrect code when scanned using a device
designed to recover the information in the magnetic
characters. Even a legitimate check can be rejected
if the MICR reader indicates that the owner of the
account has a history of writing bad checks.
Retailers commonly use MICR readers to minimize
their exposure to check fraud. Corporations and

government agencies also use the technology to

speed up the sorting o

OMR
Short for Optical Mark Reading or Optical
Mark Recognition, OMR is the process of
gathering information from human beings by
recognizing marks on a document. OMR is
accomplished by using a hardware device
(scanner) that detects a reflection or limited
light transmittance on or through piece of
paper.
OMR allows for the processing of hundreds or
thousands of physical documents per hour.
For example, students may recall taking tests
or surveys where they filled in bubbles on
paper (shown right) with pencil. Once the
form had been completed, a teacher or
teacher's assistant would feed the cards into
a system that grades or gathers information
from them.
Also see: Input device, Punch card

scanner

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A scanner is a device that captures images

from photographic prints, posters, magazine
pages, and similar sources for computer
editing and display. Scanners come in handheld, feed-in, and flatbed types and for
scanning black-and-white only, or color. Very
high resolution scanners are used for
scanning for high-resolution printing, but
lower resolution scanners are adequate for
capturing images for computer display.
Scanners usually come with software, such as
Adobe's Photoshop product, that lets you
resize and otherwise modify a captured
image.
Scanners usually attach to your personal
computer with a Small Computer System
Interface ( SCSI ). An application such as
PhotoShop uses the TWAIN program to read in
the image.

Some major manufacturers of scanners

include: Epson, Hewlett-Packard, Microtek,
and Relisys.
This was last updated in May 2010
Posted by: Margaret Rouse

Related Terms
DEFINITIONS

photocopier
- A photocopier is an electronic machine that makes copies of
images and documents. Photocopiers were once single-function
devices. Now, enterprise-grade photocopiers are usually
networked and perfo...(WhatIs.com)

PARC (Palo Alto Research Center)

- PARC is Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center, located in Palo Alto,
California, in the high-tech area that has become known as Silicon
Valley. PARC was incorporated as an independent, wholly-owned
s... (WhatIs.com)

Xerox
- Xerox is a provider of