Calling may refer to:
- Religious calling, a religious vocation
- Effectual calling, a theological term
- Vocation, or occupation
- Audible animal communication, including mate calling and territorial threat sounds
- Game call, a device that is used to mimic animal communication noises to attract or drive animals to a hunter
A camera is an instrument used to capture and store images and videos, either digitally via an electronic image sensor, or chemically via a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. As a pivotal technology in the fields of photography and videography, cameras have played a significant role in the progression of visual arts, media, entertainment, surveillance, and scientific research. The invention of the camera dates back to the 19th century and has since evolved with advancements in technology, leading to a vast array of types and models in the 21st century.
Cameras function through a combination of multiple mechanical components and principles. These include exposure control, which regulates the amount of light reaching the sensor or film; the lens, which focuses the light; the viewfinder, which allows the user to preview the scene; and the film or sensor, which captures the image.
Several types of camera exist, each suited to specific uses and offering unique capabilities. Single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras provide real-time, exact imaging through the lens. Large-format and medium-format cameras offer higher image resolution and are often used in professional and artistic photography. Compact cameras, known for their portability and simplicity, are popular in consumer photography. Rangefinder cameras, with separate viewing and imaging systems, were historically widely used in photojournalism. Motion picture cameras are specialized for filming cinematic content, while digital cameras, which became prevalent in the late 20th and early 21st century, use electronic sensors to capture and store images.
The rapid development of smartphone camera technology in the 21st century has blurred the lines between dedicated cameras and multifunctional devices, as the smartphone camera is easier to use, profoundly influencing how society creates, shares, and consumes visual content.
Conferencing may refer to:
- Web conferencing, a service that allows conferencing events to be shared with remote locations
- Videoconferencing, the conduct of a videoconference by a set of telecommunication technologies
- Teleconference, held by one or more computers
- Synchronous conferencing, the technologies informally known as online chat
- Data conferencing, a communication session among two or more participants sharing computer data in real time
- Conference call, a type of telephone call
A desktop traditionally refers to:
- The surface of a desk (often to distinguish office appliances that fit on a desk, such as photocopiers and printers, from larger equipment covering its own area on the floor)
Desktop may refer to various computer terms:
- Desktop computer, a personal computer designed to fit on a desk
- Desktop metaphor, a style of graphical user interface modeled after a physical work surface
- Desktop environment, software that provides a comprehensive computer user interface
- .desktop file, providing configuration details for a program in a desktop environment
- Remote desktop software, software that provides remote access to a computer's desktop
- Client (computing), sometimes referred to as a desktop to distinguish the client from a server
- Desktop (word processor), a program for the ZX Spectrum
A laptop computer or notebook computer, also known as a laptop or notebook, is a small, portable personal computer (PC). Laptops typically have a clamshell form factor with a flat-panel screen on the inside of the upper lid and an alphanumeric keyboard and pointing device on the inside of the lower lid. Most of the computer's internal hardware is in the lower part, under the keyboard, although many modern laptops have a built-in webcam at the top of the screen, and some even feature a touchscreen display. In most cases, unlike tablet computers which run on mobile operating systems, laptops tend to run on desktop operating systems, which were originally developed for desktop computers.
Laptops are used in a variety of settings, such as at work (especially on business trips), in education, for playing games, web browsing, for personal multimedia, and for general home computer use. They can run on both AC power and rechargable battery packs and can be folded shut for convenient storage and transportation, making them suitable for mobile use. Laptops combine many of the input/output components and capabilities of a desktop computer into a single unit, including a display screen (usually 11–17 in or 280–430 mm in diagonal size), small speakers, a keyboard, and a pointing device (namely compact ones such as touchpads or pointing sticks). Hardware specifications may vary significantly between different types, models, and price points.
The word laptop, modeled after the term desktop (as in desktop computer), refers to the fact that the computer can be practically placed on the user's lap; while the word notebook refers to most laptops sharing a form factor with paper notebooks. As of 2024, in American English, the terms laptop and notebook are used interchangeably; in other dialects of English, one or the other may be preferred. The term notebook originally referred to a type of portable computer that was smaller and lighter than mainstream laptops of the time, but has since come to mean the same thing and no longer refers to any specific size.
Design elements, form factors, and construction can also vary significantly between models depending on the intended use. Examples of specialized models of laptops include 2-in-1 laptops, with keyboards that either be detached or pivoted out of view from the display (often marketed having a "laptop mode"), and rugged laptops, for use in construction or military applications. Portable computers, which later developed into modern laptops, were originally considered to be a small niche market, mostly for specialized field applications, such as in the military, for accountants, or travelling sales representatives. As portable computers evolved into modern laptops, they became widely used for a variety of purposes.
A microphone, colloquially called a mic (), or mike, is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and public events, motion picture production, live and recorded audio engineering, sound recording, two-way radios, megaphones, and radio and television broadcasting. They are also used in computers and other electronic devices, such as mobile phones, for recording sounds, speech recognition, VoIP, and other purposes, such as ultrasonic sensors or knock sensors.
Several types of microphone are used today, which employ different methods to convert the air pressure variations of a sound wave to an electrical signal. The most common are the dynamic microphone, which uses a coil of wire suspended in a magnetic field; the condenser microphone, which uses the vibrating diaphragm as a capacitor plate; and the contact microphone, which uses a crystal of piezoelectric material. Microphones typically need to be connected to a preamplifier before the signal can be recorded or reproduced.
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard, developed by USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), that allows data exchange and delivery of power between many types of electronics. It specifies its architecture, in particular its physical interface, and communication protocols for data transfer and power delivery to and from hosts, such as personal computers, to and from peripheral devices, e.g. displays, keyboards, and mass storage devices, and to and from intermediate hubs, which multiply the number of a host's ports.
Introduced in 1996, USB was originally designed to standardize the connection of peripherals to computers, replacing various interfaces such as serial ports, parallel ports, game ports, and ADB ports. Early versions of USB became commonplace on a wide range of devices, such as keyboards, mice, cameras, printers, scanners, flash drives, smartphones, game consoles, and power banks. USB has since evolved into a standard to replace virtually all common ports on computers, mobile devices, peripherals, power supplies, and manifold other small electronics.
In the current standard, the USB-C connector replaces the many various connectors for power (up to 240 W), displays (e.g. DisplayPort, HDMI), and many other uses, as well as all previous USB connectors.
As of 2024, USB consists of four generations of specifications: USB 1.x, USB 2.0, USB 3.x, and USB4. USB4 enhances the data transfer and power delivery functionality with "a connection-oriented tunneling architecture designed to combine multiple protocols onto a single physical interface so that the total speed and performance of the USB4 Fabric can be dynamically shared."
USB4 particularly supports the tunneling of the Thunderbolt 3 protocols, namely PCI Express (PCIe, load/store interface) and DisplayPort (display interface). USB4 also adds host-to-host interfaces.
Each specification sub-version supports different signaling rates from 1.5 and 12 Mbit/s half-duplex in USB 1.0/1.1 to 80 Gbit/s full-duplex in USB4 2.0. USB also provides power to peripheral devices; the latest versions of the standard extend the power delivery limits for battery charging and devices requiring up to 240 watts as defined in USB Power Delivery (USB-PD) Rev. V3.1. Over the years, USB(-PD) has been adopted as the standard power supply and charging format for many mobile devices, such as mobile phones, reducing the need for proprietary chargers.
Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) systems, which, in turn, were replaced by flat-panel displays of several types.
Video systems vary in display resolution, aspect ratio, refresh rate, color capabilities, and other qualities. Analog and digital variants exist and can be carried on a variety of media, including radio broadcasts, magnetic tape, optical discs, computer files, and network streaming.
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