Terminology: An output device simply delivers data in useable form after it has been processed.

An output device may also be input, depending on its function. Types of Output Devices: -Printers - can output data in text form -Graphics card - can output data in text, video or picture form. -Monitor - can output data in text, video or picture form. -Speakers - can output data in audio form. -Modems - can input and output data in analog / digital form. Printers: -Two main types of printers including impact and non-impact. -Impact printers (includes line, daisy wheel and dot matrix) are almost obsolete, work mechanically, are slow, loud and use print heads -Non impact printers (includes laser, inkjets and LED/LCDs) are more dominant in the marketplace and are faster, more quite and use ink cartridges / toners. -Impact printers and certain laser printers (called mono) cannot print graphics. Video Card: -Made up of a GPU (graphical processing unit), RAM and BIOS. -GPU is much like a CPU but built specifically for geometrical calculations eg. is able to perform more equations simultaneously and not in a mostly linear way like a CPU -RAM stores temporary data and is dual ported (read / write data simultaneously) -BIOS performs diagnostics, maintenance etc. -A common way to determine a graphic cards capability is by measuring its FPS (frames per second, higher = better) in 2D / 3D environments. Monitors: -Displays data received from the video card. -Two main types including CRT & LCD/LED. -CRT monitors are bulky, inferior in quality and almost obsolete in the market place. -LCD/LEDs are superior in quality, much thinner and energy efficient. -Monitors use RGB color system (red, green, blue). -When dealing with monitors, people usually measure a) color depth and b) resolution. -Color bit refers to the amount of colors it can output calculated by 2^bit depth e.g 2^24 = 16.7m different colors using shades of RGB. -Screen resolution is pixels horizontally x pixels vertically e.g 1280x800 -Simply put, higher screen resolution = more sharp / clear images Sound card: -Also known as audio card/adapter or sound adapter. -Outputs audio information to speaker and has four main components including synthesizer, MIDI, Digital to analog converter and analog to digital converter -Synthesizer generates the actual sound -MIDI is the communication protocol -Digital to analog converter converts digital signals to analog -Analog to digital converter converts analog signals to digital -When dealing with sound cards, people usually measure its bit rate -Bit rate is the measure of the number of levels you can capture audio -Calculated by 2^bit depth. Most computers today use 16 or 24bit sound cards

Speakers: -Speakers take stored electronic signals and output them in audio form -4 main speaker systems including 2.0, 2.1, 5.1 and 7.1 -2.0 speaker system includes 2 stereo speakers, usually used in home/office PCs. -2.1 speaker system contains 2 stereos and 1 subwoofer, much like 2.0 but delivers better quality -5.1 speaker system has 5 speakers and 1 subwoofer, usually used in professional / gaming industries and delivers sound from all around the room -7.1 speaker systems are like 5.1 but include 1 additional pair to add an extra dimension Modems: -Connects people to the internet by converting digital to analog signals. -3 main types including dial up, cable and ADSL. -Dial up is slow, speeds of around 4-6KB/s average. Occupy the telephone line and thus cannot be online whilst talking simultaneously. -Cable models use cable cables to connect to the internet. Speeds of 1.5MBps average and is usually supplied by cable companies e.g bigpond -ADSL model (Assymetrical Digital Subscriber Line) have different upload / download speeds (hence "Assymetrical"). Come in ADSL1 (750KB/s), ADL 2(1.5MB/s) and ADSL 2+ (3MB/s) Note: -When talking about bits, to find the amount of data it can output simply calculate it by 2 ^ bit depth. -Higher screen resolution does not always mean better. If the screen size is to small and the resolution is high the image will be to sharp for the human eye to recognize -In monitors, bit depth is also a measure of intensity e.g whitest white is 255,255,255 times brighter then black