Talk:Mouse (computing)

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The citation is in: "Apple's Mighty Mouse: What Were They Thinking?" (2005-08-03). Low End Mac. [1].

Contents

[edit] Wireless

How does a wireless mouse work and what do you need to support it? How long do the batteries last and how are they replenished?

[edit] "...involving a small object..."

A mouse is a handheld pointing device for computers, involving a small object fitted with one or more buttons and shaped to sit naturally under the hand.

Do we really need the "involving a small object" part?

Brianjd 05:46, 2004 Nov 13 (UTC)


I have a mouse that weighs about a kilogram and is almost a litre in size. Its very confortable :-) 137.122.50.133 23:28, 31 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Later mice - optical or inertial mechanisms

"Later mice used optical or inertial mechanisms to detect movement."

Optical mice I have seen. What mice used inertia mechanisms to detect movement? It seems far too difficult to make an inertial mechanism smooth and precise enough. --drj

I am unable to locate that sentence elsewhere. Brianjd 06:53, 2004 Nov 15 (UTC)

The only mouse to use anything remotely resembling inertial sensors are the Gyration products that use accellerometers to detect the device's vertical orientation. You move the cursor by tilting the device, in use the responsiveness is similar to a joystick since it's a rate device instead of a relative motion device.

[edit] Swedish inventor Håkan Lans

Swedish inventor Håkan Lans is also mentioned as "inventor" of the mouse in some contexts, maybe this should be mentioned?

Could well be another case of an American reinventing something, commercialising it, and getting the recognition because of it. If you've got some details on this, by all means add them. Be bold in updating pages! --Robert Merkel

Believe me, it's not. Engelbart never commercialized the mouse, and essentially has made zero money off of it. He's barely gotten any recognition for his accomplishments, of which the mouse is only an indicative part.--TheCunctator

What Håkan Lans did was to invent the first mass produced pointing device, a digitization tablet (the HI Pad, made by Houston Instruments). It workes with electrical wires and magnetic fields and uses a fix system. A mouse uses mechanical wheels and relative movements. // Liftarn 13:25 Jan 14, 2003 (UTC)

[edit] ECMAScript

unless ECMAScript code on a particular page attempts to enforce weak security by disabling the right-click button (this practice heavily annoys most users, and none of the 100 most popular web sites do this).

Not sure this ECMAScript stuff is relevant here: this is a bit UI-specific. -- The Anome

[edit] Cursor or Mouse Pointer

Might be good not to use the word cursor -- stick with "mouse pointer". To a lot of folks, the "cursor" is the text insertion point; the "pointer" is the arrow- or hand-shaped thing the mouse moves around. Google suggests "mouse pointer" is more prevalent than "mouse cursor" by about 50%. Pedantic, yes. --FOo

I don't think that's overly perdantic & I agree with you on the terms. -- Tarquin 12:59 Oct 21, 2002 (UTC)
Well, if we're being pedantic, some GUI systems (at least MS-Windows) refer to the text insertion point as the "caret" and the mouse pointer as the "cursor" in technical documentation. Suggest:
  • mention that it's called either a "cursor" or a "pointer"
  • use "mouse pointer" consistently throughout text
  • define what a cursor is ("a small picture that represents the active position of the mouse"), somewhere perhaps late in the article
Also, somewhere we need a more detailed writeup on GUI interaction styles in general. k.lee 08:01 Oct 25, 2002 (UTC)

On another point, could someone explain how the cursor on the screen is "mouse-like"? In what sense? What does that even mean? I assert that it is more dragster-like. But we don't call it that.. Maybe we could just find an interview with the inventors of the mouse wherein they state why they named it such? That would be better than speculating. BeakerK44 18:51, 17 Nov 2004 (UTC)

It's the motion of the pointer that's mouselike. In any case, the "cord=tail" origin is definitely primary in why the name "mouse" stuck, regardless of what the inventors might have been thinking. Tverbeek 19:24, 17 Nov 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Who are the critics of single-button mice?

  • Critics of single-button mice point to these facts as evidence that mice should have more than one button.

Who are these critics? Inquiring minds want to know! Is there an Anti-Single-Button-Mouse-Society or did someone just make up some phantom critics in the name of half-hearted NPOV? Pete 18:54, 21 Sep 2003 (UTC)

Hello! I do not know about the "critics" but I know that when I started my research work on user interfaces some years ago I ran into one scientific study after another explaining how certain aspects of the single button mouse, such as the need for double clicks, made it a nightmare to use for several classes of users. I was overjoyed to hear that I was not the only individual in the world who was suffering endless frustration with the double click system. Even after years of mouse use I was still periodically clicking too fast or too slow, and swearing mightily each time or getting even more frustrated by holding it down. But my continued readings made me discover that a solution was sitting right under my nose. It turned out that MS Windows had, since a certain release, an option by which nearly all the double click functions (such as opening a file) could be converted to single click mode. I now live in bliss, being able to open folders, and do quite a lot of other things with a single click. I have never owned a Mac because of the price difference and other details, but I keep reading up on it because of my interest for some of its unique ways of permitting fast graphical markings such as color labels (removed in OS X but reinstated in the latest release in a slightly different and very interesting form) and the incredible ease by which any icon can be changed (or had been, since I have not yet checked if this is still possible with OS X) with any possible image. Because of these readings on the Mac user interface and the market of add-ons around it, I am certain that there must be a hidden function somewhere or a special software product made by a third party developer which makes it possible for those who have coordination problems or who are sometimes rythm-impaired like me to use a Mac with single clicking 99% of the time. So, please do not take my current state of bliss with one particular aspect of the MS Windows user interface to be a general endorsment of this user interface to the detriment of other user interfaces such as the OS X one, the AmigaDOs one, the Motif one, the JAVA one, and so on. AlainV, 20th of December 2003.

--

Hmm.
As you seem to know, a long time ago, mice had many buttons, and each one had a function. One button to select objects. Another button to open objects. Another button to move objects. And so on. With the invention of double-clicking, click-and-drag, and the like, those functions were increasingly assigned to the a single mouse button. (The reason this was done, ironically, is because user studies found that many people had trouble remembering which button did what. So they would move when they meant to open, etc.)
This, in turn, left a lot of people with multiple-button mice who had no use for the extra buttons. So those buttons were used for things like contextual menus. (Right-clicking.) This is now the case with Windows in its default state.
Now, of course, there is no reason why you cannot use a single-click interface with a single-button mouse. It's a function of the interface software, not the input device. Indeed, the Apple Mac OS has had a single-click option since version 8, which works just fine with the standard Apple one-button mouse.
In contrast, many important Windows functions are not available without the contextual menus, and hence, the second button. Which makes Windows difficult to use for people with limited finger dexterity, unless special hardware is purchased, or workarounds are implemented through the software.
-- Exia

I have a certain type of limited dexterity which makes double clicking nearly impossible in a predictable manner, constantly. I am delighted to know that the Mac now permits operations without double clicking. For years I would tell my friends who are Mac owners that their computer was very nice, but that each time I had to use a Mac (I do research on the nature of human-computer interaction, from the human side, but I do have to take a good look at different kinds of computers, sometimes) I found the double clicking rather hard. Then they would give me a sermon on the superiority of the Mac and the inferiority of anything else, and how I should abandon Windoze and get used to double clicking. Obviously, they did not know about that single click feature on the Mac. Just where do you turn it on? And what are those important Windows functions which "are not available without the contextual menus"? AlainV 23:25, 2004 May 24 (UTC)

In Mac System 9, single-click mode is activated by chosing View>As Buttons. (I think this was the way it was done in OS 8 as well, but don't remember perfectly.) There was also a "kiddie" interface that used this mode as far back as System 7, but this was just a shell, not a complete interface.
As far as Windows goes, there's no way (that I have found) to, for example, show properties or make shortcuts of objects on the desktop without right-clicking. (And I can't remember if there's a menu bar item to eject CD's.) You have to open a Windows Explorer window and navigate to the desktop to get a menu bar to perform these operations. Some applications also depend on right-clicking to access certain functions. There are, of course, ways to get around this, depending on your hardware and software configuration.
In my experience, Linux/Unix window managers tend to have the most options for configuring mouse actions.
--Exia

Thanks! Now, the trick will be to integrate this in articles. AlainV 02:43, 2004 May 25 (UTC)

[edit] Why is a mouse called a mouse?

Why is a mouse called a mouse ? Until recently I was totally conviced it was because the wire makes think to a mouse tail, but I recently discovered that the moving device in jet fighter air intake is also called a mouse and has a somewhat similar shape. Ericd 02:59, 27 Feb 2004 (UTC)

"Mouse" is an old acronym for .. Manually Operated Universal Serial Equipment (a clever use of words) - user: skmskm

That's silly. It's called a mouse because of the tail. Every source I have (and I have seen all of them, including Engelbart's personal papers on file at Stanford) all say that.

Quite agree, skmskm is talking nonsense. Where is my US$10. wsw

Well I disagree people. Original devices that we now call a Mouse didn't even look like a mouse and as I said the name was not based on its looks anyway. You will note that Engelbart states "I don't know why we call it a mouse. It started that way and we never changed it.". So to refer to that article to argue that a Mouse is called a mouse because it has a wire (as all devices did then) is flawed.. or are you just trying to get $10. I'm certainly not. - skmskm

[edit] One button or two?

The whole "One button or two?" section seems really awkward. It also seems completely out of proportion (too long) with how important the issue is. If you're really that interested, there are HCI references you can read. I think 2 paragraphs, or maybe 3, should be plenty: reasons for using a 1-button mouse, reasons for using a 2/3-button mouse, and possibly a paragraph for workarounds.

For example, there's a sizable chunk of text (the entire second paragraph) dealing with the issue of single/double-clicking an icon to open it. Then it goes on to admit that even 2-button systems typically require double-clicking, and even 1-button systems can be set up to open things by single-clicking. (So what was the point of that paragraph?)

[edit] "Mechanical" mice

The earliest mice were, in fact, mechanical, using electrical contacts to detect the motion of the axes. These proved to be less reliable than desired, so the electrical rotation sensors were replaced with optical ones. All the mice made in the last 20 years use optical rotation sensors, and are correctly called optomechanical mice, not mechanical ones. tooki 02:36, 17 Nov 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Mirror-image photos

The two photos of Engelbart's original mouse currently included in the article are mirror-images of one another. The positions of the red button and the broken wood are reversed between the the two photos. In order to decide which one is correct, we need to know: is Engelbart right- or left-handed? --Arteitle 07:43, Nov 17, 2004 (UTC)

This image agrees with the right-handed mouse, since the vertical wheel is on the thumb side. --P3d0 17:08, Nov 17, 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Moved from article

The following section is not directly related to the computer mouse article, but more to user interfaces or something like that. It sounds very un-professional. — David Remahl 14:27, 17 Nov 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Right-clicking and copyright/security issues

In most web browsers and many GUI operating systems, including Microsoft Windows, the right-click action is used to activate context-sensitive menus and control many aspects of the system's, objects', and applications' properties. In particular, it usually offers menu items for saving links and images from Web pages, starting downloads and so on.

Because of this, schemes to prevent its usage were devised for use in public/shared computers, like those found in informational kiosks or internet cafes, to prevent intentional or accidental abuse of the machine.

Also, web developers devised methods to disable right-clicking on their sites, to discourage saving images or downloading/copying other copyright-protected objects. The methods used to implement this range from simple JavaScript (which could be easily defeated by turning JavaScript support off) down to proprietary browser-specific plugins, ActiveX content, and perhaps even proprietary semi-secret features in Microsoft's Internet Explorer. In most of these cases, merely using another web browser, or disabling plug-ins and active content in general, is enough to circumvent these schemes.

On the other hand, some creators of images published online have complained about the default behavior of Internet Explorer which, when the mouse hovers over an image (without clicking or any other action by the user), volunteers a button panel which facilitates saving the file to the visitor's computer. They argue that it encourages unauthorized copying of their work. This button panel can be disabled for a given page by the web developer.

Exactly why does it sound unprofessional (maybe you mean POV)? Please explain. EpiVictor 14:55, 22 Nov 2004 (UTC)
It has very little to do with the computer mouse, it has to do with functions for saving images. I think that the people that suggest that having a contextual menu for saving images "encourages unauthorized copying of their work" are unprofessional, but that's besides the point. It is not appropriate to include it in this article, except possibly as a "see also". I would also like to see actual references for the claims, in whatever article it is brought up again.
Just because the mouse is used to perform most activities on a modern desktop computer, we can't include them all here. — David Remahl 15:10, 22 Nov 2004 (UTC)
I can agree on removing the part about the "contextual menu" (which was not written by me,I must say), but as for the rest I think the section can be put back in the article. Right clicking and the associated powers/handicaps that derive from its use or its denial are confirmed and verifiable beyond reasonable doubt by ANY web surfer or anyone having used an "interactive kiosk" as well by any user of a modern GUI (Windows 95 and newer, Linux shells etc.) EpiVictor 12:01, 25 Nov 2004 (UTC)
Linux shells aren't GUI's. The Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines specify explicitly that no functionality should be accessible _only_ from a contextual ("right click") menu. Furthermore, contextual menus are not only accessed by right clicks, but some systems offer keyboard keys or a combination of keyboard modifiers and mouse buttons for bringing them up. I'm still trying to understand what point the passage was intended to convey to the reader. — David Remahl 12:12, 25 Nov 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Cat

Should mention similar device "cat". --65.174.34.14 20:34, 17 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Claiming this the fact that in the beginning computer mice were also called bugs cannot be ignored. See Douglas Engelbart for more. / McB

[edit] Main image

This seems like a good place to include a non-stereotypical image. The product photos would be OK here, but... Well, I'm just obviously fond of this cutaway image. I understand if someone feels strongly about the product overview photos for a main image. Your call. And yours.. and yours...

[edit] Category:First-person shooters

Mice are important to playing FPS games. A good mouse can give you an added advantage. Many fps gamers have good optical mice on top of their desk. The genre is one of the few that is meant to be played with a mouse and keyboard, not a joystick or gamepass. I think that putting this in the FPS category makes perfect sense. Reub2000 21:21, 21 Feb 2005 (UTC)

That may well be, but mouses aren't something which are specifically FPS-based. Also, who says that FPSs are "meant to be played with a mouse and keyboard"? You may feel that way, but one assumes that it's meant to be played on whatever the developer chooses to release it on, and that includes platforms which don't have mouse or keyboard support. Anyway, if we start categorizing things into the applications which use them, we'll have long unweildly lists, because lots of things use mice, keyboards, gamepads, etc. - Vague | Rant 02:02, Mar 5, 2005 (UTC)
But so many mice and mouse accessories are made for gamers. Sure you could use a Logitech MX518 on a Func Surface 1030 for editing spreadsheets, but both of those products are meant for gamers. When is the last time you saw a mouse pad made specifically for use is in a word processor? Or what about teflon mouse feet covers for doing your income tax? Sure there are console fps games, and with stuff like xbox live, some of them are competitively played on the Internet. But purists almost universal consider deathmatches are only properly played on computers using a mouse and keyboard. Reub2000 03:48, 28 Mar 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Apple

The first paragraph that discusses Apple is especially ... weird.

"Due to an early design decision by designer Jef Raskin, the Apple Macintosh has always shipped with a single-button mouse" -- er, huh? Due to his design decision, it *initially* shipped with a 1-button mouse. He's dead now, so I suspect that if they wanted to ship a 2- or 3-button mouse, Jef would not be able to stop them. (More likely, they use a 1-button mouse because there are good reasons for doing so.)

"Despite the fact that Mac OS X has supported multi-button mice for years, Apple ships all of its new computers with single-button mice, despite the controversy." -- Despite, despite?

"This is defended by the company as an decision meant to simplify and maintain control over the overall "look-and-feel" of the user interface." -- er, it is? I've never heard that. (How does having a 1-button mouse "maintain control"?) Can we get a reference for this? It sounds like somebody putting words in Apple's mouth.

I don't think the Apple rant belongs in this article at all, least of all in the Additional buttons section when it's preceded by the more general and appropriate Buttons. I removed it, but I'll put it here as it was in case someone finds it needful to include it:
Due to an early design decision by designer Jef Raskin, the Apple Macintosh has always shipped with a single-button mouse, requiring users to "chord" mouse gestures by pressing a keyboard button. Despite the fact that Mac OS X has supported multi-button mice for years, Apple ships all of its new computers with single-button mice, despite the controversy. This is defended by the company as an decision meant to simplify and maintain control over the overall "look-and-feel" of the user interface.
--82.181.58.22 16:15, 5 Apr 2005 (UTC)

[edit] who invented the original mouse?

a user has changed the entry to Algar Epps of University of East Anglia, from Douglas Engelbart of Stanford Research Institute... So... who is is it really?CoolFox 03:42, July 16, 2005 (UTC)

That appears to be vandalism. The original inventor is definitely Engelbart; he conceived of the concept and directed its design (although under his direction, a draftsman drew the first diagram and technicians actually built the thing). There are dozens of boxes of Engelbart's personal papers at Stanford's Special Collections archives that substantiate his role. Plus there's the patent. --Coolcaesar 03:46, 16 July 2005 (UTC)

Thanks... that clears things up quite a bit. CoolFox 04:13, July 16, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Single/double-clicking files

Advocates of multiple-button mice point out that the lack of additional mouse buttons often leads to clumsy workarounds in interfaces where more than one action may be useful for a given object. For example, in the Macintosh Finder, the user must single-click to select a file, and double-click in order to open that file.

Uh... isn't that what you do in Windows? Single-click to select, double-click to open? - furrykef (Talk at me) 13:27, 14 August 2005 (UTC)

Yes. They got that from the Macintosh. The point made above is that doubleclick is a "clumsy workaround". The example probably isn't the best – a better one would be to point out that the Macintosh UI included contextual menus ("right click menus) brought up by ctrl+clicking. — David Remahl 13:58, 14 August 2005 (UTC)
I've changed the example, as suggested. Fieari 18:43, August 28, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Less experienced users

Anyone who regularly assists non-expert users on Windows systems will quickly learn that a very large number of users have never used any button other than the left-most button; a common result of demonstrating the use of right-clicking to make a menu pop up is the exclamation, "I didn't know you could do that!" This suggests that much of the value from multiple buttons would only be available to the average users if their training dramatically increased its emphasis on the power of the right button. Nor are many left-handed users aware that most platforms allow swapping right and left buttons.

Is this paragraph really nessesary? It also seems horribly unsourced. If its true that "Anyone who regularly assists..." knows these things, can't we get a specific quote somewhere? "This suggests..." can we get another quote here too? In fact, the whole paragraph seems somewhat POV in favor of single mouse buttons, which emphasizes the need for quoted sources. I'm considering removing the paragraph unless its cleaned up. I'll give it a little time though. Fieari 18:43, August 28, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Engelbart and number of buttons

In case somebody wonders where I got the idea that Engelbart would have added more buttons if he had had room for the switch mechanisms, it's from a video interview with him that I saw some time ago. Sorry I don't have a URL for that, but it should be googleable. PeteVerdon 19:17, 28 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Development of the ball mouse

I'm looking for a source which can give us more detail about exactly who at Xerox PARC came up with the ball mouse (i.e. the large ball in the base, which is read to pick up motion). I have looked, and looked, but alas can come up with very little!

Neither Hiltzik, Dealers of Lightning, nor Smith/Alexander, Fumbling the Future, the standard PARC histories have much at all about the mouse. I also looked through the fairly extensive original Alto documentation I have, but 'of course' it says nothing about the development of the mouse. Neither do the relevant articles in Goldberg's History of Personal Workstations, the standard academic work on the topic.

(As one history I saw laments, "Even the best general histories of computing make only passing mention to the mouse and its development ... the MouseSite web site .. unintentionally collapses the distance between the Engelbart mouse and its commercial descendants". This is sad, because it involved a lot of clever work to turn the Engelbart device into today's cheap and reliable mouse.)

Anyway, as best I can tell, the canonical story is that Bill English did it, but I'm not sure that's correct. A wonderful paper, mostly about the later development of the mouse, by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, Of Mice and Zen: Product Design and Invisible Innovation [2], says:

"Xerox engineers (including Engelbart's former collaborator English) redesigned the ARC mouse substantially for the Alto, making it smaller and lower-profile .. Just as important were their mechanical changes: they replaced the discs with a ball bearing whose motion was read by a pair of rollers connected to electrical brushes"

but it says nothing about who the "Xerox engineers" were, or gives a source. A person named Jack Hawley seems to have worked on that mouse as a contract employee:

Jack Hawley had worked on the Xerox mouse as a consultant during 1971 .. when Xerox PARC was developing its Alto .. mouse. [3]

which is confirmed by the fact that the Alto I mouse's motherboard has "HAWLEY-XEROX MOUSE" on it; and there are a couple of patents (U.S. Pat. No. 3,835,464 to Rider and U.S. Pat. No. 3,892,963 to Hawley et al., both assigned to Xerox Corporation) which may be relevant. Another patent says:

"The design of this mouse led to the use of ball bearings as wheels and optical shaft encoders to generate a two bit quadrature signalling code, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,892,963. The motion of a wheel caused a two bit output for a coordinate direction to form square waves in quadrature, with phase and frequency determined the direction and speed of travel. Each bit transition represented motion of one resolvable step .. Further development led to the employment of a ball or sphere instead of two wheels for more uniform tracking (U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,835,464 and 3,987,685). Internally, the sphere itself was a trackball with shafts turning against the ball and with commutation as shaft encoders or optical disc encoders, the latter being disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,304,434." [4]

which is a bit hard to interpret (the Alto mouse used several different balls; the large one to contact the surface, and then a series of smaller ones around it) without actually reading the patents in question.

Anyway, does anyone have an info on this? I have sent email to Alex, and we'll see if he has any info. Noel (talk) 02:56, 10 September 2005 (UTC)

I attended this talk at PARC in 2001, but apparently it was before the CHM started videotaping these (or maybe they just didn't make it avaialable for some reason--must ask...): http://computerhistory.org/events/index.php?id=1090020693 But since the part I recall is mostly just my own Q&A bit, I can't fill in the blanks very well, except on the optical mouse. Dicklyon 20:40, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] More on Ball Mouse

I always thought Chuck Thacker had invented the ball mouse. I worked for him at PARC, but that was after the Alto was in "production". I did look through the patents cited.

The first patent (3,304,434), by Koster is how you get X and Y off of a ball motion with shaft encoders and pulse output. It is not a Xerox patent. I believe this was used in trackballs, which predate mice.

The Hawley Patent (which Thacker is a co-inventor of), 3,892,963 is not a ball mouse. It's an angled wheel, and there are two of them. The drawings on this patent show the 3 horizontal button Alto design. The transducers are optical encoders with pulse output.

The Rider Patent,3,835,464 shows a ball, but uses potentiometer's to get readings off of the ball, as did early Englebart mice. Interestingly, the drawings don't look like the Alto mouse, but the text takes about 3 buttons.

Finally, 3,987,685 is by William Opocensky, which puts the ball of Rider with the shaft encoders of the Koster patent together to make the mouse that was used on the "production" Alto. Opocensky is in Los Angeles, which was where the Alto was actually manufactured (actually El Segundo). When PARC decided that they wanted a whole bunch of Alto's there was a small redesign for manufacturability that involved the Electronics Division in El Segundo. Probably Opocensky was given the task of making the production mouse.

So, it looks from the patent discussions that it was Rider that thought of using the ball, but the ball mouse as we know it now was Opencensky's work. In my experience at PARC, the name on the patent represented the folks who did most of the work, but lots of brainpower was freely given to them. So, English could have contributed ideas to Rider, as could have Thacker, Lampson, or anyone else there, but it looks to me like it was Rider that sat down in the lab and made one work. User:brosen 15:00, 05 January 2006 (UTC)


[edit] Apple and today's mouse

That same paper I mentioned above, by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, Of Mice and Zen: Product Design and Invisible Innovation [5] makes a really valuable point: that the Xerox mouse and the mouses we're all using today look similar on the outside, but are basically completely different inside.

Today's mice are both far cheaper, and far more reliable, than their Xerox predecessors, and it was the Apple-initiated design effort that produced the Mac/Lisa mouse which wrought that change. There's also a really cool trove of original material online at Stanford which documents the Apple mouse effort.

There is a contrary view:

Two Swiss scientists, Jean-Daniel Nicoud and Andre Guignard (the former a professor and the latter an engineer and precision watchmaker), are responsible for refining the PARC design into its modern form. Their work, sponsored by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, would lead directly to the formation of contemporary mouse manufacturer Logitech. [6]

but the case for the Apple mouse, as documented at the Stanford site, is pretty impressive.

Anyway, the point of this note was that our article doesn't bring out Apple's important role in the development of the modern mouse. I'm not one of the 'principal' editors here, so I'll leave adding this to someone else; I'll simply add a couple of external links. Noel (talk) 02:58, 10 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Doom supports mouse

The id Software's game Doom supports mouse in reality. The only drawback is that sensitivity that you could enter in options is too small, but you could change it manually in the .cfg file.

[edit] Why a mouse is called a mouse

"It is called a mouse primarily because the cord on early models resembled the rodent's tail, and also because the motion of the pointer on the screen can be mouse-like."

Is the second explanation really valid? I've certainly never heard of it before.

StealthFox 19:09, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Additional buttons question

In the section 1.2.1 on Additional Buttons, it seems like any of the buttons may be customized or made into macros. Can someone cite the mouse that allows this?

Bryanlharris 12:50, 19 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Microsoft IntelliMouse

There needs to be more mention of the significance of the Microsoft IntelliMouse. While it may not have been the original invention of the "wheel mouse", it was obviously the significant product that brought the idea to the market with mass appeal. IIRC, the Office 97 release was the big debut of Scroll technology, as all the Office 97 applications had native Wheel scrolling support.

As a post note, there is no IntelliMouse article in Wikipedia either, strangely. J. Straub 21:05, 26 December 2005 (UTC)

I think Microsoft IntelliMouse can be credited as the first commercial mouse with a Scrolling Wheel. Microsoft IntelliMouse was introduced in 1996 [7] and became a commercial success in 1997 when Office 97 applications supported scrolling. --Ossiman 08:01, 7 July 2006 (UTC)

The first commercial mouse with a scrolling wheel was the Mouse Systems ProAgio, which was for sale at least in 1995 [8]. [9] is a picture of one. I'll edit the main article to reflect this. Polpo 18:22, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

I was working as a technical editor of a computer magazine and still remember when Mouse System's ProAgio came to the market. And according to my memory, it appeared definedly after MS Intellimouse and it was marginally significant because it was the first "clone" scroll wheel mouse.

Perhaps Intellimouse was originally published before 1996? Earliest mention of IntelliMouse from news is 13th February 1995 [10]. Can anyone else confirm what were the actual release dates of Intellimouse and ProAgio? Ossiman 23:47, 17 October 2006 (UTC)

Seems that the original scroll wheel inventor is not clear. I found one Microsoft hate-site ([11]) claiming that Net-Pointe Mouse from PC Concepts, Kensington and Genius Mouse Easyscroll came out before Intellimouse. Hate site is of course a questionable source, but it raises a reasonable doubt.

However I think we can all agree that it was MS Intellimouse (and Office 97 with IE) that made scroll wheel widely known and pratically a basic mouse feature. Ossiman 00:27, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Optical v. Mechanical

I was reading this section and was wondering if anyone else found the following to be a contradiction: Also, maintenance of a broken mechanical mouse is much simpler, usually just simple cleaning. However, optical mice do not normally require any maintenance other than removing lint that might collect under the light emitter. It says that maintenance on the mechanical is easier then promptly says that maintenance on an optical mouse is usually only "removing lint". This would technically be an easier operation since cleaning your standard "ball" mouse requires removing the ball. -Thebdj 19:57, 29 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Laser Mice

This might be sub-grouping things too much, but shouldn't Laser Mice be included as a sub underneath Optical Mice or at the least a mention at the end of the section on optical mice. There are not many difference between the two and technically a laser mouse is still an optical mouse it just so happens it has a laser LED instead of the traditional LED that was used in previous optical mice. -Thebdj 16:07, 31 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Communication protocols and adapters

I suggest to at least mention the other protocols (serial, USB, more?) besides the ones described (PS/2 and Apple) (better also describe the protocol), plus to explain that the different protocols are the reason simple cable adapters work only if the mouse supports both protocols in its hardware.

Let me know if there are any objections or other considerations.

BTW, if there are volunteers that have the knowledge at hand, please go ahead (I could do it only after some additional fact researching).

Gandalf44 07:50, 30 January 2006 (UTC)

PS/2 protocols for the keyboard and mouse, the same site has USB protocols for the keyboard and mouse. Finally, here is some info on Serial and PS/2. Combined the three pages should give enough info. I wouldn't beat around serial too long though since it is pretty much dead (and not just for mice). Of course, PS/2 is slowly dying as they try to force more and more people over towards USB. -Thebdj 16:00, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Single sensor per wheel (opto-mechanical) direction detection

I've yet to find any information as to how direction is detected on such a mouse (e.g. MS Serial mouse 2.0) I have read about the 2 sensors per wheel mice and how they determine direction, but this mouse I have opened up does not show any hints as to how it detects direction. I think an update with such info would be great. (edit 2/9/2006) I figured out that some mice have 2 sensors in the same package one above the other with a single IR LED. I just hadn't seen the 3rd lead.

I agree. The article doesn't explain right now how mechanical mice can detect if a movement goes up or down (or left or right). --Abdull 10:13, 29 June 2006 (UTC)


FYI - the "single sensor" you're seeing in your mouse has two detector cells, usually mounted vertically. The single LED shines through the slots in the wheels, the difference in the vertical position of the two cells means the edge of the slot's shadow passes over each cell out of phase. You design the geometry of the slotted wheels so the resulting signals are 90 deg out of phase to improve the s/n of the system.

The direction of movement is determined by which of the two signals changes state first.

[edit] Spam from Razer USA Ltd

There were at least 4 links to this company, all sounding like text from a product catalog. Smells like spam to me.

[edit] "Mouse speed"

I think describing counts per inch/whatever real-world distance as speed is misleading. Precision would be a better term, because a mouse with more CPI works on a finer grid. By scaling the reported movement it's possible to match the so-called speed of another mouse, but on a grid with differently-spaced points. Also, "cursor acceleration can be used to make the cursor accelerate when the mouse is moving at a constant speed" is incorrect. What happens in reality is that pointer movement becomes disproportionally faster as the mouse is sped up, and it often includes a slowdown at low speeds to assist novices in what I call pixelwork. This whole precision/speed/acceleration subject, while it is actually quite simple, seems to be poorly understood, and we should not add to the chaos. --62.194.128.65 (dynamic) 13:00, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

It's been a while and nothing has happened. Would a banner help? I can't seem to get the courage to do the work myself. It's also hard to find good references on this subject. --62.194.128.65 (apparently not that dynamic) 21:55, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

The actual term used in the industry is resolution. You are correct, the main effect is how precisely the cursor tracks your motion over very small motions. Another place you can see the effect is by looking at how smoothly you can draw a curve in a painting program. "Fast" mice will typically send large reports, resulting in a larger distance between points on the curve - the paint program will then draw straight line segments between the points. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.81.92.160 (talk • contribs) 06:27, 3 September 2006 (UTC).

Resolution does seem like a better term to me. I didn't begin to notice the straight line segments after switching from 400 to 1600 CPI. I'd noticed them before that, and I can only make them longer (higher max pointer speed) and more divergent (higher max pointer acceleration - real acceleration, not the annoying transfer function) now. Anyway, I'm currently locked in a text browser, and I'd rather make this system more useful than edit Wikipedia. --62.194.128.65 18:54, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Alterate word for rodent---Sonjaaa 07:49, 6 August 2006 (UTC)haters?

Weird question, but: Is there a suitable synonym or term I could use instead of "mouse", because I find mice (the animal) very unpleasant, and I don't like the idea of having my hand on one and moving it around. I'd like to use a different word to not have to think of the rodent.--Sonjaaa 04:38, 3 August 2006 (UTC)

Weird question, indeed. So make up a name and use it. There are trackpads and trackballs, so how about a trackrodent, trackmammal, or trackblob? Dicklyon 22:58, 3 August 2006 (UTC)
maybe simply pointing device, "pointer" or "tracker"??--Sonjaaa 07:49, 6 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Security of wireless mice

We all know the risks of using wireless keyboards (if you don't, find out now!). There is also a smaller risk in using wireless mice. What I don't know is the comparable risk of conventional mice over trackballs. Does anyone know if wireless trackballs are safer? 86.7.209.101 11:51, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

There is no reason they would be. It's the use of the input that matters, not how it is input, at least as long as things don't get obscure. --62.194.128.65 21:55, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Inertial mouse - error?

Is the very short paragraph that is the section titled "Inertial mice", it says that inertial mice operate using gyroscopes. This is impossible, unless the inertial mouse is more of a joystick held like a mouse, since a gyroscope can only sense rotation about an axis, not linear movement. To detect linear movement inertially, accelerometers are necessary. 71.242.69.154 07:39, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Mouse as verb?

I've heard instructor say "mouse over to the browser window." Should some mention of mouse as verb be mentioned in this entry? --Navstar 23:05, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Problems with Right Click

Every once and a while, my MFing computer doesn't read the right button. Why do I have that problem? --66.218.18.122 05:03, 25 September 2006 (UTC)

If that happens only when you're browsing the internet, then you have probably stumbled upon some of the few (?) pages that still use those annoying right-click disabling javascript or ActiveX "copyright protection" schemes, usually to prevent you from downloading images and the such. There ARE ways to disable this (disabling javascript and ActiveX are the most obvious, or using more modern browsers that don't allow such behavior). If it happens randomly even when not using the internet...well then you may have a broken mouse or some trojan/virus causing that side-effect, among others. EpiVictor 10:12, 25 September 2006 (UTC)
PS: a note to all editors, I had once proposed a "right-click disabling" section for this article, describing how abusive and control-stripping it can be to the casual user, but it was removed on the grounds of, if I recall, being POV vs DRM schemes, or not directly related to the "mouse" article, which seems kinda strange... Can't it be brought back in a watered down version? EpiVictor 10:12, 25 September 2006 (UTC)

I've had things like what 66.218.18.122 had. It wasn't on "one of the few pages", instead it was on Wikipedia. Maybe just a problem on the computer itself, not reading the right click correctly. --Yancyfry jr 21:03, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

If I had this problem even on "non DRM protected" websites, I would check my computer for spyware or overly zealous toolbar extensions/malware. Since you at least reported this happens while browsing alone then it can be narrowed down to the browser, which I guess is IE....change browser and/or run a spyware/malware scanner and remover. IE is particularly prone to have had some permanent plugin preventing right clicks. EpiVictor 14:10, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] laser mouse from Sun

In the article is talked about Sun releasing in 1998 a laser mouse. Is there a source for this information? All sources I found are saying, that the Logitech mouse from 1994 is the first laser mouse. -- 88.72.248.15 12:49, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

I had the "luck" of using older Sun workstations up to 2001, and they were equipped with some sort of primitive LED or laser mouse, which however worked only on a special metallic mousepad with a printed grille pattern, and was completely blind on any other surface. Anyway, the problem is that the distinction between "high power LEDs" and "laser" tends to be somehow blurred, and most consumer-grade laser equipments actually use the former rather than "true" coherent light laser leds. EpiVictor 14:06, 15 October 2006 (UTC)
Thanks for the information. -- Dishayloo 05:55, 21 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Care

The rundown of types is great fun, and even useful. The game section doesn't feel like it belongs, or at least the details should be in another article. What's missing is advice on keeping your mouse clean. Many home users ask me as an "expert" what they should buy to replace their balky mouse. I teach them how to pull the lint off the chopper wheel. Jim.henderson 09:38, 24 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Fanatec Heäd$h0t

I feel that this odditity needs some worthy mention. It shows how far companies will go to differtiate a product like a mouse that performs such a basic i/o fucntion.

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2024731,00.asp http://www.engadget.com/2006/10/05/fanatec-head-h0t-gaming-mouse-reviewed/ --68.207.206.69 08:50, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Motion Sensing (XYZ)

Also worth mentioning are Gyration (Brand)gyroscopic mice and other mice that use three Axis (motion) sensors to dectect possision

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