Scanners
Input devices such as scanners and
cameras allow you to capture and copy images into a computer.
A scanner is a peripheral that reads
images and converts them into electronic codes which can be understood by a
computer. There are different types.
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A flatbed is built like a photocopier and is for use on a desktop;
it can capture text, colour images and even small 3 D objects.
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A film scanner is used to film negatives or 35 mm slides – pictures on photographic film, mounted on a frame.
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A hand-held scanner is small T-shaped,
ideal to capture small pictures and logos.
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A pen scanner looks like a pen; you can scan text, figures,
barcodes and handwritten numbers.
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Barcode
scanners
read barcodes on the products sold in shops and send the price to the computer
in the cash register. Barcodes
consist of a series of black and white stripes used to give products a unique
identification number.
The resolution of a scanner is measured in dpi or dots per inch. For example, a 1.200 dpi scanner gives
clearer, more detailed images than a 300 dpi scanner.
Most scanners come with Optical Character Recognition software.
OCR allows you to scan pages of text and save them into your word processor;
they can be edited.
Digital cameras
A digital camera doesn't use a film.
Photos are stored as digital data
(bits made up of 1s and 0s), usually on a tiny storage device known as flash memory card. You can connect the camera or memory card to a PC and then alter the images using a program like
Adobe Photoshop, or you can view the images on a TV set. Many printers have a
special socket so that you can print images directly from a memory card or
camera.
Digital video
cameras and webcams
Complete
the picture by: transfer, input, ,
output, processing.
Webcams (short for
web cameras) let you send and receive live video pictures through the Internet.
They are primarily used for video
conferences – video calls – but they can be used to record photos and video
onto your hard disk.
The resolution of webcams is expressed
in megapixels (million pixels).
Webcams connect to the PC via a USB
or FireWire port; they display video at 24 to 30 frames (pictures) per second.
Some include a headset with a
microphone and earpiece.
A. Solve the clues and complete with the words
from the reading.
1. Scanners and cameras are
_______________ devices used to transfer images into a format that can be
understood by computers.
2. A _____________ lets
you copy photos and printed documents into your PC.
3. It has become one of life's most
familiar sounds – the beep of the supermarket till whenever a
__________________ is scanned.
4. If you need to scan 35 mm _________________ you
should go for a dedicated 35
mm film scanner which concentrates all its dots into a
tiny area.
5. This scanner has a resolution of
300 x 600 ______________ .
6. A _______________
scanner is small enough to hold in your hand.
7. A ______________
scanner is used to capture lines of text, barcodes, numbers.
8. Most digital cameras use flash
______________ cards to store photos.
9. _______________ scanners have a
flat surface and take at least A4-sized documents.
10. To scan photographic negatives or
slides you will need a ______________ scanner.
B.
Decide whether the sentences are true or false.
1. The details detected by a scanner
are not determined by its resolution. ______________
2. A barcode scanner is a
computer peripheral for reading barcode labels printed on products.
______________
3. Scanners can not handle optical
character recognition. _____________
4. A digital camera uses
a light sensitive film instead of a memory card for storing the images.
________________
5. A digital video (DV) camera is used to take
still photographs. _____________
6. Video editing software allows you
to manipulate video clips on the computer.
______________ .
C.
Complete the advertisement with words from the webcam section.
Having _________________ 1) with
friends and family has never been easier or more enjoyable. You get the
highest-quality audio and video, no matter which chatting solution you use.
With the WebCam Live! Ultra, its CCD image
sensor with 640 x 480 /VGA)
resolution produces rich, vibrant colours. Combined with its _______________ 2)
2.0 HiSpeed connection, the result is top-quality, full-motion video at 30
_______________ 3) per second for all your web conversations, even in dimly lit
rooms.
The WebCam Live! Ultra lets you do
more. Let your voice be heard clearer than ever before with the included ________________ 4) unlike the built-in
microphones in most other _________________ 5). Take still pictures at up to
1.3 _________________ 6) resolution (interpolated), and enjoy the many great
features that accompany the bundled award-winning WebCam Center software, such
as motion detection, remote security monitoring, timelapse video capture and
much more.
What
are the reasons for using a scanner at home or at work?
What basic features and the things you do with it?
D.
A digital pen – Advertisement
Read the text and fill in the blanks
with the words: sends, cables, computer,
chip, digital, data, Internet.
Anoto is a
________________ 1) pen that allows you to store and transmit anything you
write or draw on paper to any ________________ 2). The components of it are: 1)
a digital camera which scans the patterned paper, 2) an image processor, 3) a
memory ______________ 3) which can store several written pages, and 4) a
Bluetooth radio transciever which ______________ 4) the information to your PC,
mobile phone or handheld computer. It also contains an ink cartridge so that
you can actually see the characters and pictures that you are making. As you
write or draw on the Anoto patterned
paper, the digital pen converts your notes and diagrams into digital
________________ 5) which is stored and then transmitted to your computer or,
by using a Bluetooth device such as a mobile phone, to another PC, database or
the _______________ 6). Bluetooth is a wireless technology which doesn't need
_________________ 7) in order to send and receive information.
Complete
the following picture below after reading the text above.
What is common to all
input devices?