Skip to main content

What are Dual Devices or Both Input/ Output Devices

The devices that can be used to perform both functions -input and output- are called Dual Devices. These devices are also called Dual Purpose Devices or Both Input/Output Devices. With the help of a dual purpose device, we can enter data into computer as well as we can output data from the computer to outside world.  For example, Dual devices include:  Touch Screen Monitor, Modem, Network Interface Card, Sound card, Hard disk drive, Floppy disk Drive, Magnetic Tape Drive CD-Writer and DVD-Writer etc. These are also called Input/output devices, because they perform both functions.
  • Touch Screen Monitor
Dual Devices or Both Input / Output Devices - Touch screens
Dual Devices or Both Input / Output Devices - Touch screens
Touch Screen Monitor is an input/output device. It uses a special touch sensitive screen. The User can enter data by touching icons or menus on the screen. As soon as the user selects a command from menu, output is displayed on screen. Commonly touch screen monitors use sensors to detect touch of finger.

  •      Headset

A headset may be considered as both Input / Output device, because it has a microphone for voice input and small speaker phones for  sound output.

Examples of Dual Devices or Both Input / Output Devices - headsets
Example of Both Input / Output Devices - headsets

Headsets are used for video conferences and video calls through SKYPE and other such free software to make video calls.
  • Modem
Modem is example of Dual device
Internal modem

External modem

Modem stands for Modulator / Demodulator. Modem is a communication device.  It makes possible receiving data from internet into our computer (input) and sending data from our computer to another computer on internet(output).  It performs two functions: Modulation (converting digital signal into analog signal) and Demodulation(converting analog signal to digital signal). It makes possible receiving data from internet into our computer (input) and sending data from our computer to another computer on internet(output). Modem sends and receives data from one computer to another through telephone lines. It links your personal computer to the Internet through your ISP (Internet Service Provider). A telephone line supports only analog signals, whereas computer accepts only digital signals. So when a computer wants to send data to another computer, digital data is converted into analog data before placing on telephone line. The process of converting digital signal into analog signal is called Modulation. Similarly, on the receiving computer, modem converts analog data (from telephone line) into digital data, before it is entered into receiving computer. The process of converting analog signal into digital signal is called Demodulation.
  • NIC - Network Interface Card
NIC is Example of Dual devices
NIC or LAN card - NIC is Example of Dual devices

NIC stands for Network Interface Card. It is used to link network computers for transmitting data. With the help of NIC our computer can receive  data, instructions and information from another computer (input). NIC will also be helpful to send data from our computer to another computer on the network (output). NIC is also called a LAN card, local area network card or LAN adapter.

  • Sound Card
Sound card is Example of Dual devices
Sound card or audio card

A sound card is a computer component that facilitates the input and output of audio signals to and from a computer. A speaker produces audio output with the help of sound card. In addition we use microphone to input our voice into computer with the help of sound card. 
  •     Hard disk Drive
Dual devices or both input output devices

Hard disk drive is an input/output device. It has read/write heads to read data from hard disk(input) and to write data to hard disk(output).
  • Floppy disk Drive
Dual devices or both input output devices

Floppy disk drive is an input/output device. It has read/write heads to read data from floppy disk(input) and to write data to floppy disk(output).   
  • Magnetic Tape Drive
Dual devices or both input output devices

Magnetic Tape drive is an input/output device. It has read/write heads to read data from magnetic tape(input) and to write data to magnetic tape(output).
  • CD-Writer / CD-Recorder
Dual devices or both input output devices
CD-Writer is an input/output device. It is used to store data on CD. It is used to read data from CD(input) and to write data to CD(output).
  • DVD-Writer / DVD-Recorder
Dual devices or both input output devices

DVD-Writer is an input/output device. It is used to store data on DVD. It is used to read data from DVD(input) and to write data to DVD(output).

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Uses Of Computer In Education Field

Computer can be used in education in the following ways:  Computers In Teaching and Learning Process ( Computer Aided Learning - CAL ) Computers are being used actively in educational institutes to improve the learning process. Teachers can use audio video aids through computer to prepare lesson plans. They can use Microsoft Power Point to prepare electronic presentations about their lectures. These electronic presentations will be displayed on multimedia projectors in class rooms. This will be interesting and easy to learn for students. Multimedia presentations are easy to deliver for teachers too, These presentations save a lot of effort and time. Moreover multimedia presentations are interesting to view and hear sound and visual  effects. Computers will be helpful for:                        Instructing the students using PowerPoint slides, Word documents or Web pages and using hyperlinks for better concept clarity.      2.  Helps in improving pronunciation of

Explain different types of storage devices

Topic: Explain different types of storage devices in Computer systems Storage Devices Storage devices are used to store data and instructions permanently. Storage devices are also called secondary storage devices / backing storage devices / external storage devices or auxiliary storage devices. Examples of storage devices include Hard Disk, CD and DVD etc. Why Secondary Storage Devices are Used? Secondary storage devices are used because: Primary memory(RAM) is volatile and temporary. When computer is switched off, all data in ram is erased. Storage devices can store large amounts of data and instructions permanently whereas Primary memory has less capacity of storing data. Types Of Storage Devices There are three main types of storage devices:  Magnetic Tape   Magnetic Disk   Optical Disk   Flash Memory storage devices 1. Magnetic Tape Magnetic tape is the oldest storage device. It is made of plastic coated with magnetic material. Data is stored on mag

Discuss Differences Between RAM and ROM

We have already discussed the topics: 1. What is RAM, Explain Different Types of RAM 2. What is ROM Explain Different Types of ROM Here we discuss differences between RAM and ROM 13 Differences Between RAM and ROM Thirteen Differences Between RAM and ROM Sr # RAM ROM 1 RAM stands for Random Access Memory ROM stands for Read Only Memory. 2 RAM is a temporary memory. ROM is a permanent memory. 3 RAM is a volatile memory. ROM is a non volatile memory. 4 When computer is turned off, all data and programs are erased from RAM.  When computer is turned off, all data and programs are retained in ROM. 5 RAM is a Read / Write memory. Data can be read and written to RAM. ROM is a read only memory. Data from ROM only can be read and not written. 6 Data and programs in RAM can be changed. The contents of ROM cannot be changed. 7 Data or