8. Make notes about the features of the computer that you would most like to have. Think about the features in the box.

CPU Speed Optical disc drives Wireless connectivity Minimum/maximum RAM Monitor Ports and card memory slots Hard disk Software

Useful language:

It's got...

It's very fast. It runs at...

The standard RAM memory is... and it's expandable...

The hard disk can hold...

I need a large, flat LCD screen because...

As for the Internet,...

9. In pairs, describe your ideal computer system. Give reasons for your choices.

TOPIC: INPUT DEVICES

1. Read and translate the description of input devices.

Input Devices

A variety of input devices can be connected to a computer to allow the user to input different kinds of data and to control the computer in different ways. Some common input devices and their functions are shown in the tables below:

Standard input device
keyboard	Main input device controlling the computer and inputting text and numerical data.
Cursor control input devices
mouse	Common input device for use with a graphical user interface. The mouse has a ball underneath that is rolled on a mousemat.
tracker ball	It is like a mouse turned upside down. The trackerball remains in one position while the user rotates a small ball on top. Often used instead of a mouse on portable computers.
joystick	A vertical lever allows the user to control the cursor precisely and at high speed. Particularly good for playing fast action games.
touch screen	The user interacts with the computer by lightly pressing their finger on a touch-sensitive area of the monitor screen.
Optical input devices
light pen	It detects differences in reflected light. It can be used for drawing directly on the monitor screen or for reading printed optical characters or barcodes.
graphics tablet	Used with a lightpen for drawing. The user draws on the tablet with a lightpen as if they were drawing on a sheet of paper.
barcode reader	A special kind of lightpen for reading barcodes. Barcodes are used to identify items for stock control and pricing.
scanner	Used to input text and graphics from a printed page.
digital camera	Used to take pictures of an object. The picture is stored electronically and can be edited using a computer.
Voice input device
microphone	Used to input sound.

2. Label the pictures of input devices (a-l) with their names (1-12).

1. joystick 2. trackball 3. keyboard

4. barcode reader 5. scanner 6. mouse

7. graphics tablet 8. touchscreen 9. lightpen

10. digital camera 11. microphone 12. game controller

d)

a)

i)

b)

c)

e)

f)

g)

h)

j)

k)

l)

3. Each text describes one of these devices: trackball, joystick, light pen, scanner. Identify the device each text describes. Write your answers in the gaps.

1) A ______ is another input device you can connect to a computer system. The ______ is able to move in eight directions. ______ s are mostly used in computer games to control the way a picture on the screen moves. Sometimes two ______ s are connected to a computer so two people can play the game at the same time.

2) A ______ works in exactly the same way as a mouse, except that the ball is on top. The user rolls the ball around with her hand to operate it. If you use a ______, you don’t need any extra space on your desk to move it around (like you do with a mouse). ______ s are often used on small portable computers and on some video game machines.

3) A ______ can be used to draw pictures directly on to a computer screen or to read the pattern on a barcode. A ______ that can read barcodes detects the difference between the light reflected from a black barcode line and its lighter background.

4) Using a ______, you can input printed drawings, photographs, or text directly into a computer. A ______ works like a photocopier – a light is shone on the material and the ______ detects the reflected light. You can use a ______ with optical character recognition (OCR) software to input the scanned text into a word processing package.