Chapter 7. Peripherals

John Christopher is the chapter editor and author.

Sharon Zardetto Aker (SA), Brad Bunnin (BB), Andreu Cabré (AC), Caleb Clark (CC), John Kadyk (JK), Joe Matazzoni (JM), Susan McCallister (SM), and Arthur Naiman (AN) contributed to earlier editions of The Macintosh Bible, from which portions of this chapter are taken.

Your Mac relies on peripheral devices to carry out your commands. Your mouse, keyboard, and monitor are peripherals—take them away, and all you have is a nice-looking box.

Although you may be perfectly happy with those basic peripherals, odds are pretty good you'll want to add some new ones in the future. Maybe you'd like a scanner to restore those photos of distant relatives—or to remove certain people completely from your photos. Perhaps you are considering a digital still camera or even a camcorder for sharing the big events in your life with family and friends.

If you're not so happy with your current peripherals, you can get better ones. Don't like your mouse? Consider a trackball. Want a big-screen monitor but don't have room for a standard CRT model? Get an LCD display. Is your keyboard too noisy or too quiet, or do you want one that suits you better ergonomically? Replace it.

Welcome to the world of peripherals. You've got lots of choices, and this chapter talks about them all.

In This Chapter

Peripheral Connections: Getting on the Right Bus

Parlez-Vous USB?

The ABCs of ADB

The Good Old Serial Bus

Of Keyboards, Mice, and More

Evaluating Keyboards

USB Keyboards

ADB Keyboards

Ergonomic Keyboards

Mice and Other Pointing Devices

Trackballs

Adapter, Adapter

Monitors and LCD Displays

The Right Monitor for the Job

Monitor Controls

Caring for a Monitor

Scanners and Tablets

How Scanners Work

Types of Scanners

Evaluating Scan Quality

Which Scanner to Choose

Graphics Tablets

Audio-Visual Peripherals

Speakers

Microphones

Digital Still Cameras

Digital-Video Camcorders

Web Cameras