A joystick is a pointing device used primarily for playing computer video games. A joystick usually has a square or rectangular plastic base to which is attached a vertical lever. Control buttons are located on the base and sometimes on top of the lever. The lever can be moved in multiple directions to control the movement of a cursor or other graphical object on the screen.
A light pen (or stylus) is a device like an ordinary pen that can be used to write text or draw an image directly on a special screen or to select information on the screen by pressing the light pen against the surface of the screen. Light pens are often used in computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacture (CAD and CAM) technology.
An optical scanner is used to enter graphics as well as typeset characters. This device reads images such as a picture or text on a printed page and translates them into binary numbers that the CPU can use. For example, a photograph can be scanned into a computer and then included in a text document created on that computer.
A microphone and a voice recognition unit can be also used to feed data into the computer. A microphone is a device converting sound into signals that can then be stored, manipulated, and reproduced by the computer. A voice recognition module is a device that converts spoken words into information that the computer can recognize and process.