Elementary Statistics and Computer Application

Commonly available hardware and their functions

The monitor

• The monitor is the video display we will be looking at, most of the time, to evaluate our work, find out whether the assignments are being carried out satisfactorily. A monitor is largely controlled by some pieces of hardware inside of the computer. But the monitor itself is mainly used to display our work in a graphical setting we can easily interpret. To display what is going on with the computer, the monitor is connected to the computer using a cable. The connection is usually done from the back of both machines.Monitors come in different sizes. The size of the monitor is measured diagonally on the screen and is given in inches. Based on this, monitors range in sizes of 14", 15", 17", 19", 21", 24', or 29", etc. Monitors are also characterized by the flatness of their screen. The flatter and the wider screens are usually the better. Whatever may be the size of the monitor the number of lines of text displayed will be same in all.

The Keyboard

• A computer keyboard is a wide object that is equipped with buttons on which there are letters and numbers. To provide a better management, the keys on a keyboard are divided in sections. This arrangement is by convention so the users would be familiar with them and be able to use any keyboard they come in contact with.

The mouse

• A mouse is an object that is meant to fit the proportions of a hand and is positioned on the table so the user can move it easily. Like the other parts, a mouse is connected to the computer, usually to the back, by a cable. Nowadays, it is not unusual to have a wireless mouse so that it doesn't need a cable. The mouse is one of several pieces of hardware you will be using when interacting with the computer. A mouse is primarily made of three parts: the buttons, the handling area, and the rolling object. By default, a mouse has two buttons: left and right. Most mice nowadays are also equipped with a wheel on top known as scroll mouse.

Printer

• A printer is an output device that produces text and graphics on paper.

Types of Printer

• Printers can be divided into two main groups, impact printer and non-impact printer. Impact printer produces text and images when tiny wire pins on print head strike the ink ribbon by physically contacting the paper. Non-impact printer produces text and graphics on paper without actually striking the paper. Dot matrix is an example of an impact printer. Laser and inkjet are the examples of non-impact printers