Every computer needs a peripheral
By Zatni Arbi
JAKARTA (JP): Come to think of it, a computer system is so much like our stomach. It typically consists of one or more input devices, one central processing unit (CPU), and one or more output devices.
The main different is perhaps that, unlike the output of the computer system, the output of our stomach is not normally to be displayed.
Generally, the input devices include the ubiquitous keyboard and mouse, a less commonplace joystick, a game console, a graphics tablet, a digital pen, a video camera, a microphone, an MP3 player, an external TV tuner, a scanner (including a biometric scanner for security purposes) or a card reader -- anything that feeds data into the CPU. Depending on our commands, the CPU will process, store or output the data that it has processed or received through the input devices.
The output device, of course, can be the display monitor, a pair of speakers, the printer (including a photo printer to print full-color photos off your PC), a goggle, a pair of headphones or a projector. There is one type of computer whose output we all love very much, and that is the computer that is inside your ATMs.
Sometimes the input device also serves as the output device. The touchscreen, for example, not only displays information, but also allows us to issue commands to the computer by gently pressing a particular area on it. The modem is another peripheral that is both an input and an output device.
Nonetheless, the keyboard and the mouse have been the most essential input device for many, many years. The mouse, which was invented by Douglas C. Engelbart of Xerox' Palo Alto Research Center in 1963, came after the keyboard, of course, but today no computer will be complete without one.
If you go to a computer shopping center such as Gajah Mada Plaza, Ratu Plaza and Mangga Dua Mall, you will see a wide variety of keyboards.
Some use a transparent plastic housing to give themselves a space-age look, others use infrared links instead of cable to connect them to the CPU.
Some are slightly contoured, others are boxlike. Some are large, others are small and save the space on our desk top. Some only have the standard keys, others have multimedia control buttons and dials as well.
Their colors may be different, but you will generally have no difficulty knowing that they are the keyboards for the computers.
The mice come in a richer variety. You have mice with two, three, four and even more buttons. They also come in different sizes to fit our palm.
Like the keyboard, the mice can also be wired or wireless. Again, basically you know a mouse when you see one, regardless of the shape, color and design.
Are these all that we have? Let us do some browsing of the Internet universe and see what other peripherals there are for our computers -- useful or merely exotic.
Input peripherals
If you think that the place for the keyboard is on your desktop or on a special tray attached to it, think again.
The much-coveted Explorer e-cliner from La-Z-boy (www.lazboy.com) will take the keyboard off the desktop and closer to your lap. Like all other La-Z-boy chairs, this one comes at a price (US$1,049 to $1,299), and comes with, among others, a built-in Sony infrared keyboard.
You will need to use it with a notebook, although I guess you can also fit your desktop PC with a keyboard infrared receiver.
Even on the desktop, the keyboard does not have to come in one single piece. Take a look at Goldtouch Adjustable Keyboard from Goldtouch (www.goldtouch.com).
It looks so much like my favorite old Lexmark split keyboard that I can no longer use now because I have broken its cable. If you browse the Internet, you will find many other split keyboards like the Goldtouch, and who knows the thriller that you type with it will eventually turn into gold. Too bad the price of the complete set is pretty staggering: $329.75!
Perhaps one of the weirdest keyboards on earth is the one from Datahand (www.datahand.com). This keyboard, called Datahand Ergonomic Keyboard, does not have keycaps like our normal keyboards. Instead, each of our fingers and thumbs is placed inside a three-dimensional switch.
Push the left index finger North, and that will be equivalent to pressing the R key. Press it down, and it will be the F key. Press it to the West, and it will be the key for the double quote (") sign. Push the finger to the right (East), and it will be the G key. Push it South, and it will register a V.
This key will surely require a lot of learning before you can become really productive with it. However, as the fingers do not really have to dance over the keyboard, it may enable you to type faster. It must be the right keyboard for fast-thinking writers working on pressing deadlines after deadlines.
For the feet
While our fingers are busy pounding on the keyboard, our feet usually rest idly on the floor as we type -- unless we are nervously trying to make the deadline and we keep rocking them to ease our tension.
Some companies have thought of ways to utilize the idle limbs, and one of the results is Bilbo's Step on it! pedal.
This peripheral can augment or replace the keyboard. For example, it can be programmed to serve as the Shift key, and it will help HTML programmers who use a lot of capital letters in their work.
The pedal can also be used in places where the hands cannot touch the Enter key on the keyboard, for example, and one of such places would be the operating room where the surgeon may be able to use the computer without compromising the sterility of their hand gloves.
Unfortunately, Bilbo has not expanded the idea by making the pedal area-sensitive, which would enable one single pedal to serve as two or even more keys on the keyboard by having us tip on different areas on the pad. Another company that makes pedals -- or foot switches -- is DMB Ergonomics (www.dmb- ergonomics.com).
The mouse has also come in various shapes and designs. Some companies have made touchpads and trackballs to take over the place of the rodent on your desktop, but it is clear that the incumbent still prevails. That is why we have such a wide variety of mice on the market.
One company makes mice of different sizes because they believe one size does not fit all.
The Contour Design Perfit mouse, also from DMB Ergonomics, comes in five different sizes for the right-handed and three for the left-handed computer users. The programmable mouse can serve up to seven different functions if more than one button is pressed at the same time.
Incidentally, if you want to mix and match slices of music, but do not have the money to buy the equipment that professional DJs have, do not worry.
Beatnik Mixman DM2 Digital Music Mixer from Mixman (www.mixman.com) will make you a professional DJ in a couple of days.
This peripheral actually works like a keyboard or a mouse that allows you to create your own mix.
The process itself takes place inside your multimedia PC, so no CD -- or vinyl records -- will have to be damaged as you train to mix your scratches.
Spoiled children who spend more hours playing computer games than studying can also ask their wealthy parents for the $399 GameSeat (www.gameseat.com).
The richly cushioned seat not only has the pads for the joystick and throttle, but can also be connected to the sound source (computer, TV, VCR or home amplifier) so that junior couch potatoes can feel the rumbles and shakes of the landslide that is unfolding on the screen.
Fortunately, the GameSeat can also be fitted with a keyboard tray, so when it is time for serious homework, the children can still stay in the seat that will fit their body "like a glove". The keyboard tray, which will turn the GameSeat into a cheaper La-Z-Boy Explorer, costs $55, though.
Talking about the keyboard tray, which is not actually a computer peripheral, will remind us of how creative people can be.
The AKP (www.akp-inc.com) is a wheeled tray that will allow you to sit at a safe distance from the monitor.
You can adjust its height so that you can comfortably use your keyboard -- even while standing on both feet. When you are not typing, you can stow the keyboard under your desk. Obviously, the AKP rolling keyboard tray is a perfect solution for people with a very limited desktop space.
If you are into video chatting, you can order the EZPhone Cam from Ezonics.com (www.ezonics.com).
The cellphone-like video camera will tell you if you have an Internet call with its ring and flashing antenna. It connects to your PC through the USB port and is capable of capturing 30 frames per second.
We are still waiting for innovative research centers across the world to come up with ideas for computer peripherals that will wash the dishes, do the laundry, clean the house and pay the bills for us. Until then, there are already a slew of peripherals on the market that we can buy to expand the capabilities of our PCs.