pctechguide.com

  • Home
  • Guides
  • Tutorials
  • Articles
  • Reviews
  • Glossary
  • Contact

Input Device Interfaces

Like the original IBM PC, 1984’s IBM PC AT keyboard used a full-size 5-pin DIN connector. IBM’s second-generation PS/2 PCs, first released in 1987, introduced a new specification for the keyboard and mouse interfaces, which are still in use today. These PS/2 ports were electronically identical to the long-established AT interface, but the cable connector was changed to a 6-pin mini-DIN interface. An AT keyboard can be plugged into a PS/2 connector via a converter, and vice versa.

AT

PCs without PS/2 ports generally used RS-232 as the mouse interface, implemented via a 9-pin DE-9 connector. A male DE-9 connector on the back of an IBM-PC compatible computer is typically a serial port connector. IBM introduced the DE-9 connector for RS-232 on PCs with the Personal Computer AT in 1984.

Joysticks were popular throughout the mid-1990s for use with flight-simulator games and interfaced with a PC via a joystick/game port, the traditional connection for video game input devices on an x86-based PCs. From the time of the earliest PCs, game ports were implemented via DB-15 connectors, usually doubling as connectors for MIDI instruments, and typically integrated with a PC I/O or sound card. Later, as motherboards became more highly integrated, a game port was provided as one of several on-board I/O features. Earlier attempts to replace game port based controllers – for example with parallel port, serial port or PS/2 ones – met with little success. However, by the early 2000s it had been largely superseded by USB, which allows for better plug-and-play support.

I/O

Early cordless adapters connected to the input devices’ serial PS/2 ports. The advent of USB in the late-1990s allowed for more elegant adapter implementations, significantly boosting the popularity of such devices. By 2005, as devices using Bluetooth technology were beginning to emerge, this included Bluetooth-to-USB adapters.

Bluetooth

  • Keyboards
  • Ergonomic Keyboards
  • Opto-Mechanical mice
  • Optical Mice
  • Cordless Input Devices
  • Laser Mice
  • Trackballs
  • Joysticks
  • Input Device Interfaces
  • Touchscreens

Filed Under: Input Devices

Latest Articles

The Danger of Having Websearch.search-plaza.info

Websearch.search-plaza.info is a browser redirect malware that can modify your computer’s DNS settings and won’t permit you to restore it unless this will be cleaned out from your system. This browser hijacker commonly makes its way into your computer when you download free software or applications … [Read More...]

Updating the BIOS

In fact, motherboard manufacturers have made the process of updating your BIOS considerably easier, by providing software that allows this - and more besides - to be done from within Windows. Gigabyte claims to have been the first off the mark with its BIOS application, first released in … [Read More...]

PC Security Guardian

PC Security Guardian is a malware program.  Programs like this are made to trick and scare users into purchasing.  This particular malware program is not really new.  It is a direct copy of several old malware programs.  These scammers simply change the name of the program in an effort to … [Read More...]

Gaming Laptop Security Guide: Protecting Your High-End Hardware Investment in 2025

Since Jacob took over PC Tech Guide, we’ve looked at how tech intersects with personal well-being and digital safety. Gaming laptops are now … [Read More...]

20 Cool Creative Commons Photographs About the Future of AI

AI technology is starting to have a huge impact on our lives. The market value for AI is estimated to have been worth $279.22 billion in 2024 and it … [Read More...]

13 Impressive Stats on the Future of AI

AI technology is starting to become much more important in our everyday lives. Many businesses are using it as well. While he has created a lot of … [Read More...]

Graphic Designers on Reddit Share their Views of AI

There are clearly a lot of positive things about AI. However, it is not a good thing for everyone. One of the things that many people are worried … [Read More...]

Redditors Talk About the Impact of AI on Freelance Writers

AI technology has had a huge impact on our lives. A 2023 survey by Pew Research found that 56% of people use AI at least once a day or once a week. … [Read More...]

11 Most Popular Books on Perl Programming

Perl is not the most popular programming language. It has only one million users, compared to 12 million that use Python. However, it has a lot of … [Read More...]

Guides

  • Computer Communications
  • Mobile Computing
  • PC Components
  • PC Data Storage
  • PC Input-Output
  • PC Multimedia
  • Processors (CPUs)

Recent Posts

TheTorntv V10 Ads Removal

The viruses and those internet parasites are gaining population and the usual question of the users will be about protection, capabilities and the … [Read More...]

ADSL2 Speed and wiki – History of ADSL2

Even before designs based on the first generation standards (ITU G.992.1 and G.992.2) had been perfected, the ITU had been … [Read More...]

VBA Macro to See If Your Birthday is the Same As a US President

This is an election year, so people are showing a lot of interest in politics right now. We thought it would be cool to create a VBA macro that makes … [Read More...]

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright © 2025 About | Privacy | Contact Information | Wrtie For Us | Disclaimer | Copyright License | Authors