This page connects information about devices other than keyboards and mice which can be used to interact with computers running Arch Linux. The lists on this page are intended as a quick overview and not meant to be exhaustive.
This category includes
Physical interaction
Devices in this category generally provide input through some use of your arms and legs.
- Other pointing devices (mouse-like devices)
- Most mouse-like
- Trackballs (may also be considered a mouse, though they predate them and the first mice were only the slide around and click type)
- Pointing sticks (e.g. the red nub, TrackPoint, in the center of ThinkPad keyboards)
- Slate-like
- Touchpads / trackpads
- Pens / stylus / tablet-based pointers
- Touchscreens
- Gyroscopic / accelerometer (e.g. WiiMote)
- Wireless presenters
- Most mouse-like
- Game controllers (many are repurposed for other uses as well, e.g. gamepads used to control telescope mounts)
- Gamepads
- Joysticks
- HOTAS (Hands-on-Throttle and Stick, used for flight simulators)
- Pedals / Rudders / Foot controls
- Steering Wheels
Audio interaction
Devices in this category generally provide input through use of your voice and/or limbs, or allow recording audio from instruments or the environment. See Sound system for tools to handle these devices.
- Microphones
- Instrument amplifiers (e.g. the line in from an electric guitar)
- MIDI Devices (e.g. musical keyboards and synthesizers)
Visual interaction
Devices in this category generally capture light in snaps/frames (e.g. press a button to capture an image), in video (e.g. periodic or continuous recording), or provide some sort of light analysis (e.g. light meter).
- Webcams
- Scanners
- Security cameras
- Self-contained cameras with a means of direct connection to the computer (e.g. HDMI, USB, or Wi-Fi)
- SLR, Mirrorless, Camcorders, etc.
- Microscopes
- Telescopes
- Motion detectors
- Light meters
Esoteric and bespoke
Devices in this category are unusual or designed for a niche purpose. Examples...
- Hobby projects with buttons and knobs and custom firmware.
- Movement trackers
- Heart rate monitors
- Eye trackers
- Brainwave monitors
- Fingerprint readers
- Accessibility hardware (e.g. Stephen Hawking's famous vocoder interface)
Some of these are niche now but with future developments may become mainstream.
This category currently contains no pages or media.