Digital devices

• • Digital devices are pieces of hardware that are under the control of computers or micro processors.
  • A micro processor is a device that controls what a computer does.
• Examples are:

  1. Desktop computers
  2. Laptops
  3. Ipads
  4. Washing machines
  5. Microwaves
  6. Hi-Fi systems
• Mainframe computers are used by large organization for complex processing tasks such as statisstical analysis and bulk data processing.
• Personal computers are common in homes and offices. They come in many different shapes and sizes, such as desktops and laptops.
• Desktops have more space for components than laptops and often provide users with the option to upgrade them or add additional components.
• They are two types of mobile phones:

  1. Specialist phone- These mobile phones have specialist features to provide users with functions that meet particular user needs.
  2. Smart phones- Smart phones are small computers with WIFI and mobile phone connectivity to allow them to make phone calls and access the internet.
• Single-Board computers are affordable computers used in education, embedded computing projects and physical computing projects.
• • Digital cameras and camcorders use light sensors to capture images formed by light passing through the device's lens.
  • Traditionally, cameras are used to capture still images and camcorders are used to capture moving images however, most digital cameras can now film moving images and most camcorders can photograph still images.
• Digital images are made up of small dots called pixels. Better-quality sensors can capture more detail and produce images with a greater number of pixels.
• Home Entertainment Systems include:

  1. Television- Displays still and moving images in a screen.
  2. Smart Television- Uses apps and can download and stream from the internet.
  3. Sound Systems- They produce loud and rich sound using high quality speakers and amplifiers.
  4. Personal Video Recorders (PVR)- A PVR is a device that records broadcasted content so that it can be watched at a later date.
  5. Blu-Ray & DVD Players- They connect to televisions in order to play films and other content that is stored on DVD or Blu-Ray disks.
• Game consoles are designed to enable users to play video games on a television screen.
• • Media players provide video and audio content to a television. This content could be streamed directly from the internet or accessed from networked or local storage.
  • Personal media players are compact, portable devices with local storage to hold media files for playback. They are useful when travelling or exercising due to their small size and long battery life.
• • Navigation aids can calculate the best route between two or more locations and can provide updates to the route if it is not followed accurately.
  • Navigation aids use information from GPS satellites to determine the exact location of the device on Earth. Navigation aids also use orientation sensors to know which way the device is currently pointing, and the device will display the user's position and orientation on the map.
• When space in RAM runs out, storage is used as an overflow and this is known as virtual memory.
• A user interface is the system that allows a user to interact with the device. There are multiple user interfaces, such as:

  1. CLI- This is when the user is using or giving a command to the computer system and the computer system responds back with feedback or a text.
  2. Menu-Driven Interface- This is when the computer system displays a list of options as a menu.
  3. GUI
  4. Voice Interface- This is when the interface allows the user to give a spoken command to a device.
  5. Gesture Interface- This interface allows the user to control the device by zooming in or out by pinching their fingers.
• Connectivity is used to update software, back up files or play media from one device on another.
• Software security is to prevent unauthorised access to data. E.g a user having a password or a PIN before the device can be used. Another example is a user using biometric scanners to provide authorised users access to data on the device.
• Peripheral devices are devices that can be connected to a computer, such as a PC or a tablet device.
• Peripherals are grouped into three parts

  1. Input- Input devices are devices that send data to the computer. E.g keyboards, mouse, scanner etc.
  2. Output- Output devices are devices that are is a piece of a computer equipment that recieves data and from one source and converts it to another form. E.g printers, monitors, speakers etc.
  3. Storage- This is a piece of computer equipment where which can be stored. E.g RAM, ROM, Hard disk etc.