Topic 1- personal digital devices

Topic 1- personal digital devices

1. personal computers

   • desktop computers
     • needs an input and output peripherals such as monitor, mouse and speakers
     • Have a hard disk drives and optical drives. such as cd and dvd drives, as storage devices
     • powerful processors
     • good connectivity (USB, FireWire and HDMI)
     • Can have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi cards fitted for wireless communication
     • easy to upgrade and enhance by adding extra functions
   • Laptop computers
     • Batter powered or can use an electricity supply
     • Monitor, pointing device and webcam built in
     • Has hard disk drives and optical drive such as cd drivers, and slots for SD cards
     •  Have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi built in
     • Good connectivity
     • less easy to dismantle and upgrade
     • Notebooks are similar but are even more compact
   • Netbooks
     • Strong and robust
     • Small and lightweight
     • Boot up quickly because they have solid state SD cards as storage devices
     • Wi-Fi built in for internet connection
     • Tend not to have hard disk or optical drives
     • Designed for using the internet and 'could' computing
   • Tablet computers
     • Very light and portable
     • Battery powered
     • touch screen interface
     • Virtual keyboard
     • Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and 3G for wireless communication
     • cameras for still and moving images
     • Designed for playing media, internet use and reading ebooks
     • Can download and run apps as on mobile phones
   • Features
     • Processor speed: a quick processor means a faster computer
     • Sound/Graphic card: allows you to see/hear graphics, videos, music and games
     • Wi-Fi: a Wi-Fi enabled computer can form part of wireless network
     • RAM- a lot of RAM will allow the computer support more applications
     • Storage capacity: a large storage capacity means you can store more files
   • ergonomics
     • how comfortable using the device is?
   • health risks
     • Eye strain
       • causes
         • looking at the screen for too long sunlight/artificial light shining on monitor
       • solutions
         • take regular breaks away from the screen Adjust the screen use an antiglare screen
     • Repetitive strain injury
       • causes
         • preforming repeated and actions, for example clicking the mouse
       • solutions
         • use wrist rest to support hands take breaks
     • Neck and back problems
       • causes
         • sitting in the wrong position sitting in the same position for a long time
       • solutions
         • change height of the chair or screen adjust the lumbar support move the computer closer or further away
     • Pain in knees and legs
       • causes
         • sitting in the wrong position sitting in the same position for a long time
       • solutions
         • adjust the chair so that your feet are flat on the ground, or use foot rest take regular breaks to stretch your legs

2. cameras and camcorders

   • resolutions
     • images are made up of pixels. a pixel is a tiny point in an images. a megapixel is one million pixels
     • generally, the more pixels, the more detailed the image so the more the image can be enlarged the more pixels in an image, the larger the file size is

3. game consoles

   • peripherals
     • wireless controllers
     • wireless headsets
     • hard drive transfer cable
     • webcam/speaker/microphone
     • motion sensors
     • high definition equipment
   • features
     • high resolution output for high definition games
     • CD,DVD and Blu-ray optical drives
     • Connectivity- USB.Bluetooth, WI-FI and Ethernet network cable
     • Capable of multi-player online gaming
   • Current development
     • Smart tv- also called connected TV because they have an internet connection. used for online interactive media and on-demand film and game streaming
     • Smartphones and tablets- have wired and wireless HDMI connectivity so you can use the devices to play games on an HD television
   • Future development
     • Controlling a game using thoughts alone is the aim of many developers
     • an iphone app is available that allows user wearing neuro headset to move and control objects on the screen using thoughs

4. home entertainment systems

5. media players

   • digital right management
     • prevents you from making copies of the file
   • streaming videos
     • Advantages
       • saves time and uses less storage space
     • Disadvantages
       • cannot keep a local copy limited availability for some streamed videos user experience depending on connection and quality
   • key features
     • small and easy to carry long battery life can set playlists can lock to prevent accidental activation simple interface

6. navigation aid