¶ … Data Input, Output, Storage Devices and Determining the Speed of a Computer This paper has made use of the different input and output methods for computers as well as studied the differences between primary and secondary storage. It also checks for the roles of different computer parts in the overall working of the computer.

In computer terminology, data is something that is unprocessed and raw, which does not have a series of clusters within it. On the other hand, information is more detailed and the better form than that of data. It is processed data, whereby it is meaningful data that can be used for manipulation in the computer networks as well as in the computer itself. This paper discusses the different types of methods of data input and output as well as storage devices and also aims at determining the speed of a particular computer.

Data is very significant to the operations of a computer and its architecture not only in the long run but also in the minutest of details required in the running of a machine. This data further progresses in the form of information when meaning and explanation is attached to it. There are certain data input methods, which could be best for the following devices:

Printed Questionnaires: For printed questionnaires, devices like Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and OMR can be used which can detect whether or not a particular area of the questionnaire is selected, unselected or left vacant. This holds true for Multiple Choice Questions which have a set of answers and it is pretty difficult to tally the exact answers that are filled in by the respondent. So for this purpose, OCR and at times, even OMR can be used and this ensures 100% validity of the data that is being checked through the computerized devices.

Telephone Survey: For the survey requiring the use of a telephone, first of all the need is to find the right kind of people who have the facility of using telephones as well as the criterion for fitting in the category of being chosen in it. People could be asked a number of questions, which could be recorded in a recording machine that is fixed with the central telephone device at the host node. Whatever the respondents answer can be recorded at this end without any glitches or errors, however there is a certain degree of error possibility if the phone line is faulty at either end or the respondent does not agree to comply with the survey at all.

Bank Checks: Bank checks can be input by using a particular type of computerized pen whose ink has the ability to remain there in the paper for as long as possible and it cannot be rubbed or diminished. For the same purpose, two signatures are taken of the person whose bank account it is to ensure that there is no forgery being committed. The bank checks can be further checked by passing them through certain optical machines present at the cashier's desk which not only find out whether the check is original or not but also ascertain the signature of the bank account holder.

Retail tags: Retail tags can be checked by optical scanners present at the counters whereby they read the 14-digit information embedded on the small paper alongside the retail product. This 14-digit code is the universally accepted figure for retail tags fitted on products. The checking is basically undertaken courtesy through bar code readers. These bar code readers also document the transactions that have taken place within a stipulated period of time as well as check for the authenticity of the retail tag on the product itself as well.

Long Documents: Long and profiled documents can be studied in the light of computerized search engines or by searching for a particular phrase and at times, even words and quotations. Take the case of Microsoft Word,...

[Author Unknown, 2004]
Methods of Output

It is true that convenience and quality of output hold ground for the success of a particular business as well as the machine through which it is being conducted. There are a number of output methods, which have to be taken into consideration. The methods of output for the following devices are:

Hand held computer: A hand held computer can bring out its information or colored pictures through connection to a nearby port of a printer. This is done because the screen of the hand held computer is not that big and one has problems finding out the exact information embedded in the picture or for that matter if he or she wants to view the text or picture in a big version. There are resolutions given in the hand held computer, which can manipulate with the final hard copy that will come out through the printer.

Color Photograph: A color photography could be best viewed on either a large flat screen monitor or perhaps if the desire is to store it for future documentation purposes, then it could be taken out a printer. It is important that the printer has an original color cartridge before the printing process has to be initiated. The pixels chosen for the photograph must be very small so as to ensure the clear visibility of the picture on the paper (hard copy).

Resume: A resume or a curriculum vitae can best be seen whilst it being printed on a paper. Its output is best possibly viewed on paper where the employer can easily see and understand for him or herself the shortcomings as well as the strengths of the to-be employee in detail.

Memorandum: A memorandum is a form of communication between two people either at different levels of management or at times, even at the same management positions. This requires that they send memos to each other for seeking approval of a particular draft or anything attached with the recommendations of other things in the company. Memos can best be output either through a printer in the form of a hard copy or even still, viewing them on the screen (computer monitor).

Statistical & Company Annual Reports: Both can easily be seen whilst them being stored and documented in big files after they have been printed or stored in virtual hard disks present in the corporate offices, that can be shared by all the offices easily and swiftly. [Tyson, 2004]

Primary and Secondary Storage

Primary storage is the RAM, or Random Access Memory, which is there in the computer system only for a short while. It vanishes as soon as one switches off the computer. It provides instant access to the recently visited web pages/sites or files in the computer at a distant location or programs that are not so easily opened time and time again. On the other hand, secondary storage is more permanent and not that easily erased. It is called the hard disk within the computer terminology. Secondary storage is there to stay until and unless the user decides to do away with the data on the hard disk once and for all. It is slower as compared to RAM as it has to go through more stacks in order to open a file or a document, one that RAM can easily open within a few microseconds.

Floppy disk

In times of today, floppy disks have given way to more advanced forms of secondary storage devices like the CD-Rs (Removable) and CD-RWs (Read and Write). Floppy disks come in two sizes - 3.5 inches and 5.25 inches. The latter has become totally obsolete, it being used on large…