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23

Chapter 2
Hardware and software
Learning objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

m define hardware
evaluate internal and external hardware devices
explain the purpose of and evaluate storage devices
explain the purpose of input and output devices
evaluate input, storage and output devices for a given task
define soft ware
evaluate different types of soft ware
explain the purpose of system soft ware
evaluate application software
evaluate user interfaces
evaluate mental models
describe utility soft ware
compare custom-written and off -the-shelf soft ware
describe and evaluate a compiler and interpreter

ainiH
 Cambridge International AS and A level IT

2.01 Hardware
1 KEY TERMS
Hardware: a physical component of a computer system
Device: a hardware component of a computer system
consisting of electronic components
Output device: a device used to communicate data or
information from a computer system
Storage device: a device used to store data onto a storage
medium
Input device: a device that allows data to be entered into a
computer system
Storage medium: the medium On which data is stored
Volatile: data is lost when there is no power
Non-volatile: data remains When there is no power
Hardware
Q Remember
The central processing unit (CPU) is the brain of a
computer. It is the part of the computer that carries out
calculations, executes instructions and processes data. It
includes the arithmetic logic unit (ALU) and control unit (CU).
The ALU performs calculations and logical operations. The
CU runs the fetch-execute cycle which fetches instructions
from memory and executes them.
Input data is taken from input devices (such as a
keyboard) or storage and processed by the CPU, which
produces output data that can be stored or sent to an
output device (such as a monitor).
CPUs usually consist of multiple cores. Each core is
a separate processor, so a quad-core CPU has fpur
processors. Processors are measured by the number
of instructions they can process per second (hertz). A
3 GHz (gigahertz) processor can process up to 3 billion

© Remember
An item of hardware is a physical component that forms
part of a computer system. Items of hardware are often
instructions per second.

Motherboard
known as devices because they comprise electronic
components. Hardware devices can be internal to the
computer system (such as the central processing unit,
memory or motherboard) or they can be external to the
computer system (such as the monitor, keyboard or mouse). iv
Hardware is categorised into input, output and storage SB&
devices. Input devices allow data to be sent to a
computer (e.g. keyboard). Output devices allow the
v
communication of data/information from a computer (e.g.
monitor). Storage devices store data onto a storage
medium so that it can be used at a later time.
W
Internal hardware devices
Central processing unit
Figure 2.02 - A motherboard.

© Remember
The motherboard is a printed circuit board (PCB) which
connects the main components of a computer. Some
of these components may be an integral partofthe
motherboard. Such components can include Universal
Serial Bus (USB) ports, a network port and an integrated
graphics card. A motherboard will always include the main
bus which is used to transfer data between hardware
components.
Figure 2.01 - A central processing unit.

i

Other hardware components can be connected directly
to the motherboard, including random access memory
(RAM), the CPU and expansion cards. Expansion cards
offer additional functionality, such as enhanced graphics
processing and additional USB ports.
Random access memory
© Remember
Random access memory (RAM) is memory that is used
to store currently active programs and data. The more
RAM that is available to the computer, the more data and
programs can be used at the same time.
This is particularly important in multitasking
environments, when several programs may be open at the
same time.
When the RAM becomes full, programs or data that are
no longer active will be removed to make space for new
programs or data. Ifthe RAM becomes full and there are
no inactive programs or data to remove, then an area of
secondary storage (e.g. hard disc drive (HDD) or solid state
drive (SSD)) known as virtual memory is used to expand
the amount of memory available to the CPU. Virtual
memory is very slow because secondary storage access
times are thousands of times slower than RAM access
times.
RAM is volatile, which means the content of the memory
is lost if there is no power to the RAM. When you are using
a computer and experience a power cut, this is why the
data you are currently using is lost unless it has recently
been saved to secondary storage.
Read only memory
Read only memory (ROM) is memory that, once it has been
written to, can no longer be changed. It is permanent and it
is non-volatile, which means that when there is no power
to the computer, the contents of the ROM will be retained.
This is because it is powered by a small long-life battery.
TIP
In a computer, there is usually some ROM that stores the
instructions to boot (start) the computer.
ROM is also used in small devices such as calculators
where there is only one program or set of instructions.
Chapter 2: Hardware and software
TASK
Find out what is the purpose of programmable read only
memory (PROM) and erasable programmable read only
memory (EPROM).
Graphics card
A graphics card is also known as a video card, display
adapter or graphics adapter. It is a printed circuit board
that connects to one of the motherboard’s expansion
slots. Its purpose is to generate the signals needed to
display the output image from the computer. Often the
graphics adapter is integrated into the motherboard and
does not require a separate card. However, by using a
separate card, the graphics performance can be improved
as a separate processor can be used for graphics (a
graphics processing unit).
Figure 2.03 - A graphics card.
Graphics cards include a variety of options for output.
Standard video graphics array (VGA) output to a monitor
is achieved through the RGB port which transmits red,
green and blue signals to the monitor in an analogue
format. High definition display is achieved through a
high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) port. Another
option is Digital Video Interface (DVI) which supports high
resolution displays using digital signals.
Sound card
The purpose of a sound card is to generate the signals
needed to output sound from the computer to a speaker
or set of speakers. It is often an integrated part of the
motherboard and will include a single output for audio
(green socket), a single input for a microphone (red socket)
Cambridge International AS and A level IT
and a single input for line level devices (blue socket). If
higher quality or surround sound is required, then it is
usually necessary to have a separate sound card which
connects to one of the motherboard’s expansion slots.
This will enable multiple outputs for front, rear, centre and
sub-woofer speakers.
Hard disk drive
A hard disk drive (HDD) is the most common form of
secondary storage for a computer due to its relatively low
cost per MB (megabyte). In 2015, hard disk drives could
store up to 8TB (terabytes) of data with access speeds of
6GB/s. The hard disk drive consists of two main parts: the
device that is the electronics which store the data, and the
disk that is the medium onto which the data is stored. The
device (or drive) includes a read-write head which sits at
the end of an access arm and magnetises sectors on the
disk (platter).
Access arm Disk (platter)
v»
Read-write head
Figure 2.04 - A hard disk.
There is usually more than one platter and therefore
there will be several read-write heads for each side of
each platter as shown in Figure 2.05. Each platter will
have tracks and each track will be split into sectors. The
tracks that are in the same position on each platter form
a cylinder. Wherever possible, a computer will attempt to
store data on a single cylinder as this requires the least
access arm movement and the access arm is the slowest
part of the hard disk.
Data stored on a hard disk is non-volatile. This means
that when the computer is turned off and there is no
power then the data will still be safely stored on the
hard disc. Hard discs can be internally connected to
the computer using a Serial Advanced Technology
Attachment (SATA) or Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE)
cable.
n
1>
•°
Figure 2.05 - Multiple platters.
DISCUSSION POINT
Do you know where the phrase ‘my computer has crashed’
comes from? It relates to when the read-write head crashes
into a platter and causes damage to the hard disk, meaning
that data and programs can no longer be retrieved.
Solid state drive
A solid state drive (SSD) is another secondary storage
device that is non-volatile. However, there are no moving
parts and the data is stored onto flash memory. It is also
not necessary to store data in the same cylinder in order
to maximise access speed as the data can be stored
anywhere on the flash memory and access speeds will
not be affected. SSDs are also non-magnetic and so are
not susceptible to damage from to close, strong magnetic
fields.
In 2015, SSDs could store up to 8TB, but due to the newer
technology were far more expensive than HDDs and were
more common in capacities of 128, 256 or 512GB. SSDs
have access speeds of around 400-600 MBps (two to three
times fasterthan a HDD). This means they are used in
higher performance computers. A frequent compromise
between speed, capacity and price is to have a smaller
SSD to store the operating system and software (for speed
of access) and use a larger HDD to store data. SSDs also
require a lot less power than HDDs and so are preferred in
laptop and tablet computers.

TASK
Have a look at the inside of an old computer. Identify
each of the main components that can be seen on the
motherboard, the hardware devices that are connected
to it and any available connection ports.
External hardware devices
Cloud
Cloud computing is a term that refers to anything where
computing services are hosted over the internet and
not in the same physical location as the computer being
used. Data is stored on banks of servers that are accessed
remotely. The physical devices that store the data are
owned by a hosting company rather than the person or
organisation using the data.
When data is stored in the cloud, the hosting company
takes all responsibility for storing the data, managing the
data, securing the data and backing up the data, so that
people or organisations no longer have to be concerned
with this. As the data is stored remotely, it also means that
it can be accessed at any time in any place, so people do
not have to be sitting at a specific computer or within an
organisation to access that data.
Examples of cloud storage for personal use include:
• OneDrive
• Google Drive
• Dropbox
• Box
The downside is that it takes longer to access the data as
access times are limited by the bandwidth available to the
hosting company and other users who may be accessing
data on the same servers at the same time. It can also
be quite costly to store large amounts of data on cloud
storage.
Some cloud storage options allow synchronisation
to a computer, so the cloud acts as a backup to the
data stored on the computer. It also means that when
accessing the data from the allocated computer,
access times will be faster than accessing from cloud
storage.
Chapter 2: Hardware and software
Monitor
Although not an essential part of every computer
system, a monitor is certainly an essential part of most
computer systems as it enables the user to visualise the
output. It is connected to the computer using one of the
ports on a graphics card. Monitor sizes are measured
diagonally and, apart from some very old ‘legacy’
monitors, they now have flat screens which minimalise
the amount of desk space that is used and they are
light enough to be mounted on a wall or a desk using a
bracket or on a shelf.
A monitor will be limited by its resolution. This is
the number of pixels it can display and is measured
horizontally by vertically. For example, a high definition
(HD) monitor can display 1920 x 1080 pixels. Some monitors
also include a touch interface (known as a touch screen),
which means that the user can select items by directly
interacting with the display on the screen. These are often
integrated into tablet computers and mobile phones.
Keyboard
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Figure 2.06 - A Chinese keyboard.
Akeyboard consists ofa number of buttons which are
used to input text or to control parts of an interface. Its
main limitation is the number of keys available. With a
Roman alphabet, this isn’t too much ofa problem because
the alphabet only contains 26 letters and ten digits.
However, some alphabets, such as Arabic or Chinese
contain many more characters and so combinations of
keys have to be used.
A keyboard can be connected to a computer using a USB
port, by wireless Bluetooth or by other wireless technology.
Keyboards vary in style and shape, and ergonomic
keyboards are available to provide more comfort and
protection for the user from repetitive strain injury (RSI).
Cambridge International AS and A level IT
Mouse
A mouse is a pointing device which allows objects to be
selected and manipulated on the screen. The mouse
controls a pointer which is displayed on the screen. When
the mouse is moved, the pointer moves and objects
such as menus can be selected on the screen using one
of the mouse buttons. Like a keyboard, a mouse can be
connected using a USB port, by wireless Bluetooth or by
other wireless technology.
Printer
A printer produces a hard copy (printout) from a
computer usually onto paper. A simplex printer can print
on a single side of paper, whereas a printer with a duplex
unit can print on both sides of each sheet of paper.
Some printers include additional functions such as a
scanner.
Laser printer
A laser printer negatively charges a cylindrical drum
which then attracts electrically charged toner (powdered
ink). The toner is then heated so that it melts onto the
paper.
Inkjet printer
Cartridges full of ink in four different colours (black, cyan,
magenta, yellow) are used to ‘squirt’ ink onto the paper to
form the required printout.
Dot matrix printer
Before laser and inkjet printers, dot matrix printers
were commonplace. They are a type of impact printer
which means that the printout is achieved by hitting
the paper and the operation is very noisy. This is done
by a set of pins being driven onto a ribbon which then
transfers its ink to the paper. The main advantage of
dot matrix printers is that they can print on duplicate
and triplicate paper (carbon copies) due to the impact.
They are also very robust printers and so last for a
longtime.
Plotter
In the 1990s, a plotter used to ‘plot’ lines onto large sheets
of paper by moving the paper backwards and forwards
and drawing using pens to create vector drawings. Today,
plotters are inkjet printers designed to be used with large
sheets of paper, typically A2, A1 and AO. If only black and
white printouts are required, then light-emitting diode
(LED) plotters are much faster and have cheaper running
costs than inkjet plotters.
iU,
f *
Figure 2.07 - Modern inkjet plotter.
Speakers
Speakers are used to provide sound output from a
computer. These can be as simple as a pair of stereo
speakers or full surround sound.
TASK
Find out the difference between mono sound, stereo
sound, 5.1surround sound, 6.1 surround sound and 7.1
surround sound.
Camera
A camera can be used to capture still or moving images
(movies). When connected to the computer, the images
or movies can be transferred from the camera to the
computer’s storage. The images can then be viewed on
screen, manipulated and shared. A digital still camera is
optimised for capturing still images but usually has the
capability of capturing movies too, whereas a digital
video camera is optimised for capturing movies but can
also capture still images.
Webcam
A webcam is a camera that is connected to the computer
for the purpose of capturing still or moving images while
using the computer. It will not be as high quality as a
dedicated digital camera or digital video camera. It will
usually have an integrated microphone for capturing
sound. Its main purpose is for users to engage in online
video chat or video conferences. They can also be used as
security cameras.
 Chapter 2: Hardware and software
r

Laser Inkjet Dot matrix Plotter

Typical printing The laser printer is the Standard inkjet Very slow compared The time per page
speed fastest of all printers, printers can usually with other printers. to print is quite slow
with some industrial print around 15-20 because a much larger
models reaching 200 ppm in black and area needs to be
pages per minute white, but colour covered.
(ppm) and office speeds are a bit
printers achieving slower.
around 50 ppm.
Typical A laser printer is Inkjet printers are the These used to be Plotters are the most
purchase cost typically twice the cost cheapest of all printers very cheap, but are expensive type of printer
of an inkjet printer available, but they now more expensive due to their physical size
with similar features. vary depending on than an inkjet printer and the need to cope
the features that are because they are not with large sheets of
included. mass produced. paper.
Typical running Although toner Inkjet cartridges Very low as the ink The running costs are the
cost cartridges are more vary in price and ribbon lasts for a long same as inkjet printers,
expensive than inkjet ‘compatible’ versions time. but of course per page
cartridges, they last a can be purchased costs are higher because
lot longer and so the more cheaply than the page sizes are
cost per page is less original manufacturer larger. LED plotters have
than other printers. versions. cheaper running costs
than inkjet plotters.
Colour Most are monochrome Almost all inkjet It is very rare to find Plotters can print in
but colour laser printers can print in a dotmatrix printer colour.
printers are available. colour. that uses coloured
ribbons.
Quality The highest quality of A reasonably good Quality is usually Same issues as inkjet
all printers due to the quality, but ink can poor due to the printers, but if pens are
way it melts toner and show through thin bitmapped nature of used then the quality of
attracts it to the page. paper and smudges printing characters. line drawings is high.
can occur.
Typical uses Letters, bulk printing, Photographs, charts, Invoices or receipts Architectural drawings,
general office and small maps, general requiring duplicate large maps, canvas prints
home printing. office and home or triplicate paper, and signs.
printing. automated teller
machines (ATMs),
point of sale systems,
data logging, hot and
dusty environments.

Table 2.01- Different types of printer.

Scanner designed to take close-up images of 2D documents. Flat¬

A scanner is used to capture two dimensional (2D) bed scanners can capture a full-colour image and save
documents in the form of an image. They perform a the image as a file on the computer’s storage. If the image
similar function to a digital camera but are specifically contains lots of text, then it is possible to run optical
Cambridge International AS and A level IT
character recognition (OCR) to recognise the text. Some
flat-bed scanners include an automatic document feeder
(ADF) that enables documents with multiple pages to be
scanned in one operation.
Li* 4 reflect a beam of light onto the marked sheet and
Figure 2.08 - Flat-bed scanner with an ADF.
Optical character reader
An optical character reader (OCR) is a device that
enables characters on a document to be identified
and understood by the computer as letters, numbers,
characters and words. This isn’t really a device in itself,
but is a scanner combined with software that performs
optical character recognition (also OCR). The picture of the
document is analysed and characters are recognised by
the software and turned into a document so that the text
can be searched or edited.
Magnetic ink character reader
A a book or other product. The barcode scanner usually
Magnetic ink
Figure 2.09 Checkbook with magnetic ink.
Magnetic ink is used to print numbers at the bottom of
checks. The numbers are printed using the MICR E-13Bor
CMC-7 font. The ink contains iron oxide which means that
it is easily detected when using a magnetic ink character
reader (MICR) and the characters can be understood.
It is important that mistakes aren’t made and so MICR
provides a much better level of accuracy than OCR.
Optical mark reader
An optical mark reader (OMR) detects the marks
that are made on a multiple choice document
such as a multiple choice answer paper for an
examination. A scanner-like device is used to
detect where the marks have been made. Software
is then used to translate the position of the mark
to the information that it represents. OMR devices
are only realty suitable for multiple choice
responses as they cannot interpret letters that
form words.
s
\
Figure 2.10 - Multiple choice OMR exam paper.
Barcode reader
A barcode reader is used to detect the width of lines and
gaps that form a barcode. A laser beam is shone onto the
barcode and a photodiode is used to measure the amount
of light that is reflected back. Black lines will not reflect
any light but white gaps will. A barcode represents letters
and numbers which usually identify something, such as
includes its own hardcoded circuitry so that it can send
the letters and numbers directly to the computer without
the need for additional software.

DISCUSSION POINT
Barcodes are limited in terms of the amount of data that
can be stored, which is why quick response (QR) codes are
now being used for items of data beyond a string of letters
and numbers.
Pen drive
A pen drive is a nickname for a USB flash drive. It is a small
data storage device about the size of a thumb which
stores data on flash memory and includes an integrated
USB interface. The USB interface means that the flash
drive is recognisable on all computers with a USB port
and therefore data can be transported easily between
computers. Flash memory is very fast and so the limiting
factor is the speed of the USB port. As a flash drive does
not have any moving parts it is safe to transport, although
its size means that it can be easily lost. It also does not rely
on magnetising and therefore is not susceptible to damage
if it comes in contact with a strong magnetic field.
Portable hard disk drive
Hard disk drives were introduced earlier in this chapter. As
well as an internal HDD, it is possible to have an external
HDD. An external HDD can be connected to the computer
using a USB or External Serial Advanced Technology
Attachment (eSATA) port. An external HDD can store
a lot more data than a USB flash drive, but it is more
susceptible to damage due to it having moving parts and
its vulnerability to strong magnetic fields.
Blu-ray disc drive
A Blu-ray disc is an optical storage medium. It is the same
size and shape as a compact disc (CD) and digital versatile
disc (DVD). The Blu-ray disc was introduced because it can
store HD video and therefore a whole film can be stored
on the Blu-ray disc. A single layer Blu-ray disc can store
25GB of data and a dual-layer Blu-ray disc can store 50 GB
of data. This compares to a DVD which can store 4.7 GB
of data and a CD which can store 700 MB of data (or 80
minutes of audio).
A Blu-ray disc drive is required to read data from or
write data to a Blu-ray disc. It uses lasers to read data
that has been written in 'pits'. A basic Blu-ray disc
drive can read data at 4.5 MB/s, whereas a 16x Blu-ray
drive can read data at 72 MB/s. This is much slower
than a HDD but the discs are very cheap to purchase
compared with a whole HDD.
Chapter 2: Hardware and software
A standard Blu-ray disc is read only and used to distribute
HD movies. However, it is possible to buy recordable (Blu-
ray) discs that can be written to once and are useful for
archive and backup purposes, or rewritable (Blu-ray) discs
which can be rewritten to and erased making them useful
for both backup and data transfer purposes.
DISCUSSION POINT
Find out about the next advancement in optical storage,
the holographic versatile disc (HVD).
Memory card
A memory card is flash memory on a small card. They are
typically used in digital cameras, digital video cameras
and mobile phones. They take up very little space so are
well suited to fitting into a small device, as well as being
portable so that data can be transferred to a computer.
There are many different formats of cards, but most
devices favour Secure Digital (SD) and microSD cards.
MicroSD cards are only 15 x 11 x 0.1mm in size.
TASK
Categorise each of the internal and external hardware
devices into input, output and storage devices.
Storage devices
Q Remember
The main purpose of a storage device is to store data or
software that can be used by a computer. A storage device
is known as secondary storage, which is non-volatile and
so data is not lost when the computer is turned off.
There are many reasons why a user may want to save data
to secondary storage:
• when creating a document, a user is likely to want
to make changes to that document in the future
and therefore it is necessary to save it to secondary
storage
• the user may want somebody else to edit or read the
document and so it will be saved to secondary storage
to allow the person to do that
• users are likely to want to keep documents for archive
purposes so they can be referred to in the future
Cambridge International AS and A level IT
• when using a database, each new record or change
to a record will be saved to the database in secondary
storage
• the user may want to back up thedata so that a spare
copy is available.
Other reasons for secondary storage include:
• each program will be stored on secondary storage ready
to be loaded into RAM when the program is opened
• the computer will use secondary storage to save a
virtual memory file which extends the amount of RAM
available, albeit making the virtual part of the memory
very slow.
Magnetic tape drive
Magnetic tape is used for backing up and archiving data.
Data is stored serially which means one item after another.
The tape is wound through the tape drive and as it
winds through data is written to it. The low cost and high
capacity of tapes makes them ideal for backing up and
archiving data because the data is simply stored in
a sequential manner.
When retrieving data, it does take a while to find the
data that is required because the tape has to be
wound to the exact position where the data is
stored. This makes it unsuitable for everyday use.
Backups and archives are not intended for everyday
use. If data does need to be restored from backup,
it may take a while but it is at least available when
needed. If the whole of a computer’s secondary
storage needs to be restored, then this can be done
by reading the tape sequentially.
Tapes are ideal for backing up the whole of secondary
storage for a computer or server because they can hold
several terabytes (TB) of data. In 2014, Sony developed a
tape capable of storing 185TB of data.
TASK
Find out how the grandfather-father-son backup
rotation system works using magnetic tapes. How many
tapes would be needed if the monthly backups were
kept for three months at a time?
Optical
Optical storage was introduced earlier in this chapter
under the heading Blu-ray. In 2015, there were three main
types of optical storage.
Compact Digital versatile Blu-ray
disc (CD) disc (DVD) disc
Capacity 700 MB 4.7 GB 25 GB
(single
layer)
Original Music Films HD films
purpose
Table 2.02 - Types of optical storage.
In addition to distributing music and films, optical storage has
been a popular medium to distribute software due to the low
cost of each disc, the fact that read-only versions of each disc
exist and the low cost of posting them. Using recordable and
rewriteable versions of optical discs makes them suitable for
backups and archives. It is quickerto restore a single file from
an optical disc backup ratherthan a tape backup because
the file can be accessed directly ratherthan havingto read
through a whole tape. This also makes optical discs more
suitable for archived data because files can be found quickly.
The capacity of optical discs is much less than tapes, which
means they are only suitable for backing up a selection of
files rather than the whole of secondary storage.
Hard disk drive
HDDs were introduced earlier in this chapter. Their principal
purpose is to act as the main secondary storage device for
a computer. Data and programs are stored on the HDD so
that they can be accessed as and when required. External
HDDs can also be used to back up data (although this is
an expensive way of doing it) or to transfer data to another
computer. Moving parts within a HDD make it vulnerable to
damage if dropped.
Solid state drive
SSDs were introduced earlier in this chapter. Similar to a
HDD, a SSD can store the data and programs that are used
by a computer. SSDs are faster than HDDs, but also more
expensive. SSDs require less power than a HDD so they are
often used in tablet computers and high-end laptops to
extend the battery life. Storing the operating system and
programs that are used most on a SSD instead of a HDD
will significantly improve the performance of a computer.
TASK
Compare the prices of SSDs and HDDs. Work out an
approximate cost per megabyte (MB) for each.
 Chapter 2: Hardware and software

Hard disk Solid state Cloud Pen Drive

Cost of purchase The cheapest cost More expensive per MB Usually a subscription Designed for
per MB for everyday than a hard disk (e.g. charge that varies portability and so
storage (e.g. $0.06 per $0.10 per GB). depending on cost per MB varies
GB). supplier. depending on size.
Running Requires constant Does not require Running costs are Power only required
cost / power supply of electricity constant source of included within a when in use.
consumption when the disk is spinning power as only needed subscription charge. Portability means that
but if not in use can be when in use. they may get damaged
temporarily turned off. and need replacing.
Moving parts mean that
it may fail in the future.
Speed of access Depends on SATA Up to 30% faster Depends on Depends on whether
connection used. access speed than broadband using USB 2 or USB
hard disk. bandwidth of user 3 ports. USB 3 offers
and that offered by faster data transfer
supplier. than USB 2.
Interoperability If internal, can only If internal, can only Can logon from any Can be connected to
be used in device be used in device device including any device with a USB
connected to unless connected to unless mobile devices. port.
moved permanently, moved permanently,
but if external can be but if external can be
used in any device with used In any device :
a USB port. with a USB port.
Typical use In a desktop computer. Laptop and tablet Collaboration with For transferring data
computers. other users, backups, between devices.
sharing of files and
general storage.

Table 2.03 - Comparing storage devices.

TASK Input I Processing I *) Output

Complete a tablesimilar to that shown in Table 2.03 for
memory cards, magnetic tape drives and Blu-ray disc drives.
0
Storage
Input and output devices

o TIP
Input devices allow data to be sent to a computer (e.g.
Figure 2.11 - IPOS diagram.

Data that has been stored can also be processed and then
output from the computer.
keyboard). Output devices allow the communication of
data/information from a computer (e.g. monitor). When
data is input into a computer, it is processed and then
either output from the computer or stored for later use as
EXAMPLE
J
Multiple choice answers from an examination are
shown in Figure 2.11and is known as an input-process-
output-storage (IPOS) diagram. scanned using an OMR and the answers for each
student are stored. Once all the answers have been