A touch pad is a pointing device usually found in laptops
|
There are many different types of pointing devices that you may encounter when using a computer, but each performs the same main functions which are: 1) to point the cursor to a location on the monitor, 2) to click, 3) to drag and 4) to select something. Show The two most common pointing devices that you will encounter on campus are the mouse (typically utilized with personal computers) and the touch pad (typically found on laptops). While we won't go into detail as to how to use these pointing devices (please see the Additional Resources below for specific how-to information) we will talk a bit about the terminology you may encounter and need to know when completing your work on campus. Useful Pointing Device Functions:Left Single Click: Refers to clicking once on the left mouse button. This action is typically used to place the insertion point (flashing line) in a document to indicate where you would like to begin typing. It can also be used to select something such as an image, icon, window or other item on the screen. Left Double Click: Double clicking is accomplished by quickly pressing the left mouse button twice while pointing to an item. Double clicking can be used to launch a program (if pointing to an icon on the desktop or start menu), open a folder (from within Windows Explorer or My Computer), open a file, or select an entire word from within a document. Right Click: Right Clicking is typically used to bring up a shortcut menu of common options associated with a particular item. For example if you were to position your mouse pointer over an icon on the desktop and click the right mouse button once, a small menu containing options would appear. To carry out one of these options, you would then need to point your mouse pointer to the item of your choice and click on it using the left mouse button. Scroll: Scrolling changes the view on the computer screen by moving the text and graphics that are displayed up and down or left and right. Scrolling can be accomplished using the scroll bars on the right side or bottom of a window. To scroll, you would position your mouse over the scroll bar (for example the scroll bar on the right), hold down the left mouse button and move the mouse in a downward motion. This would scroll the view down. Many computer mice also possess a scroll wheel that is found between the left and right mouse button. The scroll wheel can be used to scroll the view up and down. Drag: Dragging is used to select an area of the computer screen. For example, if you would like to select many icons on the desktop or many lines of text in a document, you could accomplish this by clicking the mouse in the upper-left corner of the area that you would like to select, hold down the mouse button and moving your mouse in a downward-right motion until all of the desired items were selected. Dragging can also be used to move items such as words in a document, icons on the desktop, or files in Windows Explorer. To accomplish this, you would click once on the individual item to select it (with the left mouse button), hold down the mouse button and move the mouse until the pointer is hovering above the new desired location. This action is known as "drag-and-drop". Question : Describe several pointing devices, giving examples of each. Pointing Device A pointing device is an input interface (specifically a human interface device) that allows a user to input spatial (i.e., continuous and multi-dimensional) data to a computer. CAD systems and graphical user interfaces (GUI) allow the user to control and provide data to the computer using physical gestures — point, click, and drag — for example, by moving a hand-held mouse across the surface of the physical desktop and activating switches on the mouse. Movements of the pointing device are echoed on the screen by movements of the pointer (or cursor) and other visual changes. A mouse moves the graphical pointer by being slid across a smooth surface. The conventional roller-ball mouse uses a ball to create this action: the ball is in contact with two small shafts that are set at right angles to each other. As the ball moves these shafts rotate, and the rotation is measured by sensors within the mouse. The distance and direction information from the sensors is then transmitted to the computer, and the computer moves the graphical pointer on the screen by following the movements of the mouse. Another common mouse is the optical mouse. This device is very similar to the conventional mouse but uses visible or infrared light instead of a roller-ball to detect the changes in position. In computing, a mouse is a pointing device that functions by detecting two-dimensional motion relative to its supporting surface. Physically, a mouse consists of an object held under one of the user's hands, with one or more buttons. The mouse sometimes features other elements, such as "wheels", which allow the user to perform various system-dependent operations, or extra buttons or features that can add more control or dimensional input. The mouse's motion typically translates into the motion of a pointer on a display, which allows for fine control of agraphical user interface. Mini Mouse 
A joystick is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. A joystick, also known as the control column, is the principal control device in the cockpit of many civilian and military aircraft, either as a center stick or side-stick. It often has supplementary switches to control various aspects of the aircraft's flight. A cursor (also called a puck) is similar to a mouse, except that it has a window with cross hairs for pinpoint placement, and it can have as many as 16 buttons. A pen (also called a stylus) looks like a simple ballpoint pen but uses an electronic head instead of ink. The tablet contains electronics that enable it to detect movement of the cursor or pen and translate the movements into digital signals that it sends to the computer. This is different from a mouse because each point on the tablet represents a point on the screen. A graphics tablet or digitizer is a computer input device that enables a user to hand-draw images and graphics, similar to the way a person draws images with a pencil and paper. These tablets may also be used to capture data or handwritten signatures. It can also be used to trace an image from a piece of paper which is taped or otherwise secured to the surface. Capturing data in this way, either by tracing or entering the corners of linear poly-lines or shapes is called digitizing. The stylus is the primary input device for personal digital assistants and smartphones that require accurate input, although devices featuring multi-touch finger-input with capacitive touchscreens are becoming more popular than stylus-driven devices in the smartphone market. In computing, a stylus (or stylus pen) is a small pen-shaped instrument that is used to input commands to a computer screen, mobile device or graphics tablet. With touchscreen devices, a user places a stylus on the surface of the screen to draw or make selections by tapping the stylus on the screen. It uses a two-layer grid of electrodes to measure finger movement: one layer has vertical electrode strips that handle vertical movement, and the other layer has horizontal electrode strips to handle horizontal movements. Several technologies can be used to detect touch. Resistive and capacitive touchscreens have conductive materials embedded in the glass and detect the position of the touch by measuring changes in electric current. Infrared controllers project a grid of infrared beams inserted into the frame surrounding the monitor screen itself, and detect where an object intercepts the beams. Modern touchscreens could be used in conjunction with stylus pointing devices, while those powered by infrared do not require physical touch, but just recognize the movement of hand and fingers in some minimum range distance from the real screen. Touchscreens are becoming popular with the introduction of palmtop computers like those sold by the Palm, Inc. hardware manufacturer, some high range classes of laptop computers, mobile smartphones like HTC or theApple Inc.iPhone, and the availability of standard touchscreen device drivers into the Symbian, Palm OS, Mac OS X, and Microsoft Windows operating systems. Is a touch pad a pointing device usually found in tablets True or false?A touch pad is a pointing device usually found in tablets. The "brain" of the computer is the CPU.
What kind of computer is a touchpad most often used for?Touchpads are a common feature of laptop computers as opposed to using a mouse on a desktop, and are also used as a substitute for a mouse where desk space is scarce.
Which type of computer is a laptop that can convert to a tablet?Hybrid laptop / 2-in-1 detached
This device includes a keyboard that can be removed easily to allow the 2-in-1 to be used more like a tablet via the touchscreen. The terms "convertible laptop," "touchscreen laptop" and "hybrid laptop" are often used interchangeably to refer to 2-in-1s.
What sensor is found in certain smartphones?Motion Sensors –
Motion sensors are useful for monitoring device movement, such as tilt, shake, rotation, or swing. Smartphones identify their orientation through use of an accelerometer. The motion sensors present in accelerometer can be used to detect earthquakes or in medical devices.
|
