The Keyboard Is the Primary Input Device - Essay Example

Keyboard: Summary:- Within a computer system, there are a few devices which are responsible for giving the input to the computer in the form of instructions or data. These are called as input devices. There are a few other devices to which the computer sends its feedback after the instruction processing. These are called as the output devices. Keyboard is one of the primary input devices that most of the modern computers use for the input of data/instruction. There are a series of changes that a keyboard has gone through within a span of around 130 years that a keyboard was first invented. The keyboard has seen various formats including the one that had the letters arranged sequentially and the others most of which were designed in such a manner so as to increase the typing speed and reduce the movement of fingers as far as possible. But the one that has been used prominently and very frequently, the QWERTY keyboard, is the one that has been designed for just the contrary. It has been designed so that the typing speed could be as slow as possible. The reason behind this is that with the increased efficiency of typing the keys of the keyboard used to get stuck when pressed in quick succession. Therefore Sholes, with one of his relatives who was adept at mathematics, derived a keyboard placing the most frequently keys as far apart as possible. Thus reducing the typing speed considerably and removing this problem and the keys getting stuck. Introduction:- A computer system is generally an apt combination of four kinds of devices:- 1. Input Devices 2. Processing Units 3. Storage Units 4. Output Devices 1. Input Devices: - The devices that are connected to the computer to provide input to the computer system are called as input devices. The input may be in the form of either data or control instructions. Input devices are also used so that the user may interact with the application program. The examples of input devices include keyboard, mouse, punch card reader etc. 2. Processing Units: - The devices that are responsible for the processing of data to obtain the intended results are called the processing unit. The CPU is the Central Processing Unit for the computer. It is also commonly called as the processor. 3. Storage Units:- The devices that are responsible for storing the results of the operations and sometimes even the application program and data are called the storage units or memory devices. Examples are Hard disk, Compact Disk, Floppy Disk etc. 4. Output Devices:- The devices responsible for displaying the results of the operation are called as the output devices. Examples include monitor or VDU, printer, punch card reader etc. Keyboard is the primary input device for a computer. In rather technical terms, keyboard is associated with the serial ports of a computer and is considered a serial device. The device could have been made to accept data in parallel as well. However, even if the device is made parallel, practically there will be no use of it owing to the limitations of the speed with which a user can type the data. The input from the keyboard may be in the form of data information like text, numbers, special characters etc. or in the form of special commands (which are also called as interrupts) to the operating system. There are a few keyboards which have extra keys as compared to the conventional 104 keys keyboard and are called as multimedia keyboards. These keyboards have special buttons like a mute button, volume button, button for web browsing etc for the quicker access to these functions. On the others, these functions could be implemented through other routes provided by the operating system alone. The keyboard is the friendliest input peripheral. It consists of a set of key switches. There is one key switch for each letter, number, symbol etc, much like a typewriter. When a key is pressed, the key switch is activated. The keyboard has an electronic circuit to determine which key has been pressed. Then a standard 8 bit code is generated and sent to the computer. Detecting which key is pressed and generating the corresponding code is known as encoding. A serial keyboard sends the data, bit by bit, in a serial fashion. The computer converts the data into a parallel byte. The wireless keyboard is a recent development which does not need any physical cable and allows convenient location of the keyboard. There are 4 major types of keys on a standard keyboard: 1. Function keys (F1-F12) 2. Numeric Keys 3. Cursor control and editing keys 4. Alphanumeric keys Keyboard Function:- Generally, the key switches are connected in a matrix of rows and columns. Each key switch has a fixed set of coordinates: row number and column number. The functions to be performed by the keyboard electronics are: 1. Sensing a key depression. 2. Encoding 3. Sending the code to computer. A standard technique known as scanning is followed by the keyboard electronics. The rows are used as inputs to the matrix. The keyboard electronics sends signals to the matrix through the rows. The columns are used as output from the matrix. The column lines are sensed by the electronics circuit. There are different types of key switches. Some of the common types are: 1. Mechanical key switch. 2. Membrane key switch 3. Capacitive key switch. Keyboard of the present day computer were invented primarily following the invention of the typewriter. The keyboard that we use today has been patented by Christopher Latham Sholes in the year 1968. The first typewriter was mass marketed by Remington Company from the year 1877. There have been a few technological developments that have resulted in the transition of the keyboard as an input device for computers. A combination of technology for the typewriter which was used as an input and a printing device, and the telegraph, was done to introduce teletype in the year 1930. Elsewhere, typewriters were combined with punched card systems to create keypunches. Keypunches were precisely the early adding machines and the turnover of IBM was more than one million dollars by selling just these adding machines in as early as 1931. The computer keyboards earlier were adapted first from these teletype technologies and the punch card. In the year 1946, the punch card reader was used as input and output device by Eniac computer. In 1948, electromechanically controlled typewriter was used by the Binac computer to both to print results and to input data directly onto magnetic tape (for feeding the computer data). The technological marriage between the typewriter and the computer was further improved by the emerging electric typewriter. Discussion:- In the year 1964, Multics was created with the help of General Electric and Bell Laboratories. Multics was a time sharing and multi user system. The development of video display terminal as new user interface was encouraged with the usage of Multics. Cathode Ray Tube also called as the CRT tube that got used in the televisions and the electric typewriter started to be used in the video display terminals (VDT). This was then a boon to the computer users who could now see and evaluate whatever they were typing on their screens. It then became much more feasible to create, edit and delete texts and the computer system much easier to program and use. Computer Keyboards to send Electronic Impulses:- Earlier computer keyboards had been based either on teletype machines or keypunches. There were many electromechanical steps in transmitting data between the keyboard and the computer that slowed things down. With VDT technology and electric keyboards, the keyboard's keys could now send electronic impulses directly to the computer and save time. By the late '70s and early '80s, all computers used electronic keyboards and VDTs. Nevertheless, the layout of the computer keyboard still owes its origin to the inventor of the first typewriter, Christopher Latham Sholes who also invented the QWERTY layout. QWERTY keyboard: - The very first six letters at the top left on the keyboard will be spelled like QWERTY. A strange thing, however, is that the arrangement of letters, along with the other 20 on the traditional keyboard were arranged in that manner so as to make the job of typing appear more difficult. Christopher Latham Sholes developed the very first commercially successful typewriter in the year 1873. He made the start by arranging the keys alphabetically. However, there came a problem soon. People become such an adept at typing that the quick typing led to jamming of keys because they would stick when pressed in quick succession. Therefore Sholes implemented the idea of making the job of typing as slow as he could. To implement this he placed the most frequently used keys as far apart from each other as he could and his keyboard came to be known as the QWERTY keyboard. So, this is the reason, although very strange that the keyboard has been designed to foster inefficiency rather than efficiency. So we have to stick to the 127-year old system designed for inefficiency where every other aspect has been designed to provide maximum possible efficiency. Touch typing was not possible for QWERTY. The keys which are not in the centre or home row are difficult to type and have to be touched diagonally. This was error prone and thus led to higher rate of error. And inefficient it certainly is. For one thing, QWERTY was not designed for touch typing, which came much later. For keys that are not in the middle or home row it is necessary to reach across diagonally. This is difficult and leads to a high error rate. Chiclet Keyboard - Chiclet keyboard became significant but for a very short duration. These were very small keyboard that was introduced with the PC Jr. with small keys spread out. DVORAK Keyboards- There are a few claims that the DVORAK style keyboard is much better. This keyboard was designed in the 1930s by August Dvorak. This keyboard, in the middle row of the keyboard, put nine letters which are most frequently used. This allows the typist to write over 3,000 words without the fingers reaching whereas, only about 50 words could be typed on a keyboard without reaching on QWERTY's middle or home row. This leads to a much reduced workload on the DVORAK keyboard. This has been achieved because of the distributed workload amongst the fingers. As a result the fingers of a typist on a DVORAK keyboard moves about one mile per day whereas the same typist on a conventional QWERTY keyboard will move his fingers between 12 and 20 miles per day. There was a debate whether the DVORAK system really improves performance. August Dvorak retrained 14 Navy typists during World War Two in order to prove that it does. He was successful in his endeavor when within just one month their work productivity rate improved by a humungous74 percent. Not only that, their accuracy improved by a whopping 68 percent. Therefore there was an increased notion that people would be switching from QWERTY to DVORAK. Surprisingly, this is not the case. DVORAK keyboards are although available readily for many computers and typewriters but people are reluctant to use those. Another probably better keyboard than the DVORAK version is the MALT keyboard which has been invented by Lillian Malt. The keyboard has the specialty to do away with the staggered rows and gives an increase use of thumb and makes the use of backspace and other keys really easy. However the MALT version, unlike the DVORAK keyboard, will require special hardware in order to be installed onto the computer system. Novel designs are also available on both the DVORAK and the MALT keyboards which are specially contoured to alleviate the physical problems associated with the traditional typewriter style keyboard. DVORAK has also put out one handed keyboards which give a free hand for other tasks while typing. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, after the invention of the manual typewriter, people began to practice typing skills. There were arguments raged over the size of keyboard to be used and the method of typing. There was a technique called touch-typing, which was learning where the letters were on the keyboard and using all fingers while looking at the paper. This involved operating a single keyboard. There was a second technique which was based around the double keyboard and which involved using two or four fingers while still looking at the keys. Twice the amount of keys was present on the double keyboard which has the capitals above and lowercase letters below. Both of them claimed that they provided the fastest way to type. This dispute was resolved finally through a competition between a Mr. McGurrin (an advocate of touch-typing) and a Mr. Tubb using the two methods. This challenge took place in July 1888 in Cincinnati and attracted worldwide attention. The winner was Mr. Gurin who beat Mr. Tubb with a big margin and at thus introduced the method that could be used by typists in various forms from then on. Although the competition settled the argument but it did not stop further competitions. The euphoria of these competitions earned very good returns for the manufacturers and thus it seemed never ending. However, there was only one person and one type of machine that prevailed. Charles. E. Smith continually won the speed-typing competition on an Underwood machine and finally the public lost interest and the contests stopped. Wireless technology: - As the name suggests, with the use of this technology information can be transferred from place to another without the involvement of any electrical conductors or 'wires'. The distance between the two places may be a few meters just like a remote control for the television or it may even be thousands of kilometers for radio transmission. It includes various types of fixed, mobile, and portable two way radios, cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and wireless networking. Other examples of wireless technology include GPS units, garage door openers and or garage doors, wireless computer mice, keyboards and headsets, satellite television and cordless telephones Wireless keyboard is the latest development in the field of computer keyboards. Wireless Keyboards There are various types of wireless keyboards which are listed as follows:- 1. Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard 2. Infrared Wireless Keyboard 3. Radio Frequency Wireless Keyboard Line of sight in between the keyboard and the receiver is not mandatory in the case of Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard. Line of sight is required between the keyboard and the receiver in the IR (Infra Red) Wireless Keyboard. The RF (Radio Frequency) Wireless Keyboard does not require line of sight (the keyboard does not have to point toward the receiver). Example: - Apple has provided a wireless keyboard without any USB connectors or ports. Both generations have low-power features when not in use. It has been observed that the job of the typist has almost always been dominated by the fairer sex. The reason for this can be attributed to the fact that this new source of employment started to feed people by the year 1980. This new source did not attract too many males as the wages were low. It was in the United States that the idea of employing women for the job of typewriting was first formed. In the year 1881 six typewriters were bought by the Young Women's Christian Association and typing class for eight women became functional. Within five years 60,000 were employed in the profession throughout the United States. With the growth of the typing classes, even the typing schools gradually started to appear. These include schools from typewriter manufactures including Remington. It was within these schools that the skill of shorthand began to be taught alongside the all-finger touch-typing technique. In some cases companies would train up women and then offer their skills when selling their machines to an office. The evolution of women in the office has had impact on the development of women's rights in all areas of professional life. Before the introduction of the job of the typist most women were working in shops, factories or domestic service. Earlier they could move into a higher level of job only through higher education but typing gave them the platform to practice a higher level of respectable job without having much educational qualification. The development of typing job was not the only reason for the increased number of women in the workplace. Although that provided the platform through which the career path of the women grew further. However, there was also a drawback to the rise of the typist. Many women began to be stereotyped as only able to carry out this level of work and had to struggle to improve their position. Conclusion: It could be easily concluded that keyboard was vital in two ways. It provided the platform through which the fairer sex could earn a respectable job and mark their entry in the workplace. Secondly it proved that not only logical thinking could pave a way for the development. The logical thinking that a keyboard must be designed in such a manner that it reduces the pain of the typing and makes the job faster did create some keyboards but they could not last long. The one that survived until this time is the one that did just the opposite. QWERTY keyboard which was entirely different from the conventional belief is the most commonly used today. Thus indeed the development of keyboard has been a significant event for the development of the mankind, both in terms of thinking and in providing a better platform for the women in the society. Work Cited: Bellis, Mary. "History of the ComputerKeyboard." About.com. 12 April 2009 . Govindarajalu. IBM PC and Clones- Hardware, Troubleshooting and Maintenance. 2nd ed. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill, 2007. "History of the keyboard." Essortment.com. 9 April 2009 . "Keyboard (computing)." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 5 Apr 2009, 02:23 UTC. 12 Apr 2009 . "keyboard_history History of computer keyboard." Blogofstuff.com. 11 April 2009 . Read More