Data Input

Week 2 Individual Assignment

There are many different ways to input data into a computer. A few examples of types of data that need to be inputted into a computer are printed questionnaires, telephone surveys, bank checks, retail tags, and long documents. The best way to input a printed questionnaire into a computer system is by optical data readers. This method works the best because people just fill in circles with a pencil and a machine scans them and reads them, which automatically inputs the data in the system. The method of input for telephone surveys is by a voice-recognition device. This would work best because it doesn’t take individual people to call people and ask questions. The questions can be recorded and answers recognized by this input device and recorded into the computer system. Using Magnetic Ink Character Recognition Devices best scans bank checks. These devices just scan the bar code at the bottom of the check and tell the banks which check is being scanned. This works the best because it keeps the bank from getting swamped by the numerous checks that go through banks everyday. Using bar code scanners best scans retail tags. This system works the best because it tracks inventory on hand and also gives the company the ability to program the computer to automatically place orders of inventory that is running low. Long documents can best be inputted into a computer by using a page scanner. The page scanner will automatically scan a hardcopy piece of paper and created a soft copy version on the computer. Inputting data into a computer system is important and these devices make the job easier by not having someone have to key each and every piece of information by hand.

After the data is inputted into the computer it is processed and has to be outputted by a hardware device. The different types of hardware devices that are going to be covered, output these types of finished products; handheld computer, color photograph, resume, memorandum, statistical reports, and company annual reports. The information from a handheld computer is best outputted by a liquid crystal display (LCD). The LCD monitor is small with high resolution and can be used to run programs on a small handheld computer. A color photograph, resume, memorandum, statistical reports, and company annual reports are all best printed by a laser printer because each of these needs to be produced hardcopy at a high resolution. A laser printer prints a finished product that is high resolution and professional.

While using computer systems, data needs to be stored. Data can be stored on a variety of devices for example, hard disks, floppy disks, RAM, CD ROM, and tape. Hard disks give the user instant access to the data. This is the fastest of the types of storage devices for access