Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
attached to the computer, and store their video clips or still images
directly on the computer's storage drives. They rely on video capture
software on the computer to start and stop the capture process. Webcams
are often used for online video chatting through services such as Skype.
© iStockphoto.com/temniy
Figure.3 14 A webcam.
Audio Input Devices
Most personal computers support audio input, either through a built-in
audio adapter on the motherboard or through an add-on sound card. A
computer's audio ports may support speakers, headphones, microphones,
and both analog and digital external audio device input. An example of
an external audio input device is a home stereo system; an external digital
audio device might be a digital piano keyboard.
audio adapter Also called a sound card. A com-
ponent of a computer system that accepts and
processes audio input and delivers audio output.
If you have a microphone and voice input software, you can speak into
the microphone to issue commands to the computer and to input text
into a word processing program. Some people with disabilities use voice
input to control the computer as a substitute for a keyboard or mouse,
and some people who have a lot of text to enter but don't type very
quickly may find voice input more efficient than trying to type all the
text. People who use audio input frequently find that it is worthwhile
to buy a high-quality microphone headset, as in Figure 3.15, because it
provides more accurate voice pickup.
There are two kinds of voice input software: voice recognition and speech
recognition. Voice recognition software recognizes spoken words that
match words in its database. It does not pay attention to the tone or
inflection of the speaker's voice. People who speak with a heavy accent
may have difficulty with such software. Voice recognition is included with
Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office. Speech recognition software
is teachable software that learns an individual's pronunciation and vocal
inflection. Each user trains the software by reading long passages of text
into the microphone; the software records what each word sounds like
when that person pronounces it, and can also learn new words.
voice recognition software Software that
recognizes spoken words that match words in its
database to digitize spoken language.
speech recognition software Software that
can learn an individual's pronunciation and vocal
inflection and translate it into digitized text.
Search WWH ::




Custom Search