|
|
|
Other Pointing Devices
As computers have become widespread in their application in
the marketplace, inventors have responded with an assortment of devices.
In this section, the topic of pointing devices will be discussed. The pointing
devices that will be discussed are touch screens, touch pad, and finger
mouse (or j-mouse). Here is a list of the devices discussed in this section.
If you would like to skip ahead, feel free.
Touch Screens | Touch Pad | Finger Mouse
Touch Screens
Touch screens were developed to give the user the opportunity for
direct visual pointing. Unlike most pointing devices, the user doesn’t
have to navigate a pointer across the screen to click the desired target.
Instead the user can directly touch the screen to indicate a desired action.
Touch Screen technology has two options for its application: capacitive
and optical. Similar to keyboards, there is a capacitive design that uses
the same principle technology as capacitive keyboards. Capacitive touch
screens are composed of two capacitive sheets separated by air. When the
user makes a selection by touching the screen, the two sheets are pressed
together, changing the overall capacitance. The controller in the touch
screen sends the information to the computer indicating the XY coordinates
of the "touch".
Optical touch screens are different from any technology we have previously
discussed. The optical design determines the location of the user’s touch
by a grid-work of light beams. When the user touches the screen, he or
she interrupts the path of light beams crossing the screen. Then, the controller
in the screen can easily find the exact location of the users touch.
Touch Pad
Touch Pads were developed as a pointing technology for laptops. The
touch pad is contained in a small area and can easily be adopted into the
surface of a computer laptop. The touch pad uses a capacitance method to
determine the exact location of the user’s touch.
Finger Mouse
The finger mouse is another pointing device commonly used in laptops.
It is one of the technologies developed that forms either a love or hate
relationship with its user. The finger mouse looks like a small eraser
and is usually placed beside the "j" key in the keyboard. When the user
touches the finger mouse, it interprets the respective XY movements and
moves the pointer on the screen in the desired direction.
Now you know all of the main types of pointing devices. But before we proceed
to the next section, let’s take a short digression into a few other types
of input devices, starting with Scanners.
|
Search | Site
Map | Email (link disabled) | Forums
Main | Past
| Present | Future | Interviews
|
Java | About Us
All material and images on these pages are copyright Joseph,Ed. This page was developed for the Thinkquest1999
competition.
 |
|
 |
