You are on page 1of 7

KEYBOARD-The keyboard is the piece of computer hardware used to input text, characters, and

other commands into a computer or similar device.

Even though the keyboard is an external peripheral device in a desktop system (it sits outside the
main computer housing), or is "virtual" in a tablet PC, it is an essential part of the complete
computer system.

Microsoft and Logitech are the probably the most popular physical keyboard manufacturers, but
many other hardware makers also produce them.

HISTORY OF KEYBOARD-The invention of the modern computer keyboard was born out of the
invention of the typewriter. It was Christopher Latham Sholes who patented the typewriter that we
commonly use today in 1868. Soon after, the Remington Company mass began marketing the first
typewriters starting in 1877. But before the typewriters evolved into computer keyboards, there were
a few key technological developments that paved the way for the transition to take place.
DIFFERENT PARTS OF KEYBOARD

ALPHANUMERIC KEYS

Every standard keyboard features alphanumeric keys, which are also called character keys. The
alphanumeric region includes letter keys for the alphabet, the horizontal number keys and utility
keys such as the space bar. While the alphanumeric keys are usually aligned, ergonomic keyboards
may split the keys down the middle for comfortable two-handed typing.

OPTIONAL NUMERIC KEYPAD

A typical full keyboard includes a numeric keypad on the far right of the device. The numeric keypad is
designed to resemble a calculator keypad, which makes it possible for people to type numbers faster than
they can using the number keys in the alphanumeric section of the keyboard. Laptops and small form-factor
keyboards often drop the numeric keypad to save space and add a toggle function to reassign alphanumeric
keys to work like a numeric keypad.

DIRECTIONAL AND CURSOR KEYS

Keyboards can include all or some of the directional and cursor keys, which are also referred to as navigation
keys. The directional arrow keys are used to move the cursor or scroll a document. The cursor control keys
are used to toggle character insert mode and quickly navigate between document pages.

MULTIMEDIA AND FUNCTION KEYS

Some keyboards include multimedia and function keys, which serve as task shortcuts. Multimedia keys are
customized one-touch buttons that launch programs and adjust system volume. Laptops often employ a
"Function" or "Fn" key that when pressed in conjunction with another key performs a special function such as
adjusting the screen brightness.

BACKLIGHTING AS AN OPTION

High-end keyboards can may include backlights that illuminate the keyboard's keys when in use. Backlights
are designed to make the keyboard easier to see in a dark room instead of relying on the light from the
monitor. Backlights are usually toggled with a keyboard shortcut.
PC VERSUS MAC KEYBOARDS

PCs and Macs use slightly different keyboards that feature some different keys and have somewhat different
layouts. PCs have "Alt" and "Windows" keys whereas Macs have "Apple/Command" and "Option" keys. PCs
use the word "Enter" and most Macs use the word "Return," but those two keys are functionally identical.

Key/Symbol Explanation

Windows PC keyboards have a Windows key that looks like a four-pane window
Command Apple Mac computers have a command key.
Menu PC keyboards also have a Menu key that looks like an cursor pointing to a
Esc Esc (Escape) key
F1 - F12 Information about the F1 through F12 keyboard keys.
F13 - F24 Information about the F13 through F24 keyboard keys.
Tab Tab key
Caps lock Caps lock key
Shift Shift key
Ctrl Ctrl (Control) key
Fn Fn (Function) key
Alt Alt (Alternate) key (PC Only; Mac users have Option key)
Spacebar Spacebar key
Arrows Up, Down, Left, Right Arrow keys
Back Space Back space (or Backspace) key
Delete Delete or Del key
Enter Enter key
Prt Scrn Print screen key
Scroll lock Scroll lock key
Pause Pause key
Break Break key
Insert Insert key
Home Home key
Page up Page up or pg up key
Page down Page down or pg dn key
End End key
Num Lock Num Lock key
~ Tilde
` Acute, Back quote, grave, grave accent, left quote, open quote, or a push
! Exclamation mark, Exclamation point, or Bang
@ Ampersat, Arobase, Asperand, At, or At symbol
# Octothorpe, Number, Pound, sharp, or Hash
Pounds Sterling or Pound symbol
Euro
$ Dollar sign or generic currency
Cent sign
Chinese/Japenese Yuan
Micro or Section
% Percent
Degree
^ Caret or Circumflex
& Ampersand, Epershand, or And
* Asterisk and sometimes referred to as star.
( Open parenthesis
) Close parenthesis
- Hyphen, Minus or Dash
_ Underscore
+ Plus
= Equal
{ Open Brace, squiggly brackets, or curly bracket
} Close Brace, squiggly brackets, or curly bracket
[ Open bracket
] Closed bracket
| Pipe, Or, or Vertical bar
\ Backslash or Reverse Solidus
/ Forward slash, Solidus, Virgule, or Whack
: Colon
; Semicolon
" Quote, Quotation mark, or Inverted commas
' Apostrophe or Single Quote
< Less Than or Angle brackets
> Greater Than or Angle brackets
, Comma
. Period, dot or Full Stop
? Question Mark
As you can see in the picture below, your left-hand fingers should be
placed over the A, S, D, and F keys and your right-hand fingers should
be placed over the J, K, L, and ; keys. These keys are considered
the home row keys. Your thumbs should either be in the air or very
lightly touching the spacebar key.

A computer mouse is an input device that is most often used with a personal computer. Moving
a mouse along a flat surface can move the on-screen cursor to different items on the screen. Items can
be moved or selected by pressing themouse buttons (called clicking).
Evolution of the Computer Mouse
PREV NEXT
It is amazing how simple and effective a mouse is, and it is also amazing how
long it took mice to become a part of everyday life. Given that people naturally
point at things -- usually before they speak -- it is surprising that it took so long for
a good pointing device to develop. Although originally conceived in the 1960s, a
couple of decades passed before mice became mainstream.
In the beginning, there was no need to point because computers used crude
interfaces like teletype machines or punch cards for data entry. The early text
terminals did nothing more than emulate a teletype (using the screen to replace
paper), so it was many years (well into the 1960s and early 1970s) before arrow
keys were found on most terminals. Full screen editors were the first things to
take real advantage of the cursor keys, and they offered humans the first way to
point.

Different Types
Ball Mouse

The ball mouse is one of the earliest forms of mice. It contained a ball that could roll in
all directions and track movement. The main drawback of the ball mouse was that one
had to constantly clean the wheel of grime which would reduce the amount of friction.
Ball mice have been made largely obsolete by newer technology.
Optical Mouse

Optical mice use LED and photo technology to detect movement, rather than a
physically moving ball. It tracks the cursors movement through photo sensors which
take over 1,000 pictures per second. This instantly tells the computer the position of your
mouses cursor.

Most optical mice are plug and play, meaning you usually do not have to install any
software to make the mouse work. You simply plug it into its proper connector, and your
mouse is ready to be used.

Optical mice normally do not require a mouse pad. Only on rough, black, or glass
surfaces do the optical mice not detect movement as well.

Laser Mouse

Laser mice, as its name suggests, uses infrared laser technology to detect the mouses
movement. The laser mouse is very similar to optical mice, only instead of an LED to
track movement, it utilizes lasers to monitor the movements of the mouse and represent
them on the screen.

You might also like