Talk:Mousepad

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Warning This article has received repeated vandalism by an anonymous editor asserting the first inventor and namer of the mousepad. The only source presented by this editor [1] is already referenced in the article and does not support these claims. Claims that Armando Fernandez first invented, named or documented the mousepad will be removed from the article or this talk page unless supported by a new, reliable source. Claims that anyone plagiarised or otherwise stole the mousepad invention will be removed as potentially libelous unless supported by a new, reliable source.
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[edit] Optical mouse reference

I'm contesting a reference shown in the article, inserted here and later linked to a scanned copy. A couple of glances within the article doesn't show anything about mousepads, and I suspect that the article might not be related to the statement at hand. If the reference can't be confirmed (either providing a page number or a quotation), I am suggesting it be removed. --Sigma 7 02:45, 8 September 2007 (UTC)

See p.21, last paragraph in the short section titled "Design Goals," which says "...most users of ball mice use a special pad anyway to increase the friction on the ball." Dicklyon 03:54, 8 September 2007 (UTC)
Now I see it. I strongly suggest adding the page number for that reference, as a single quote like that is easy to miss. --Sigma 7 02:37, 9 September 2007 (UTC)
Go for it. Dicklyon 03:00, 9 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Book ref for Jack Kelley

Milestones in Computer Science and Information Technology, by Edwin D. Reilly, 2003, says "The first such pad was 'invented' by Jack Kelley, who went on to become a noted designer of furniture." He probably got it from one of the sources we already cite, so it's not really much of a confirmation. It's not clear what he intended by putting "invented" in quotes. Dicklyon 05:14, 17 September 2007 (UTC)

Perhaps the quotation marks indicate that he is repeated a quotation, or perhaps that he doesn't think the mouse pad is much of an invention. Luckily, it's not our job to solve that riddle. Either way, it's a source. Good find! Sheffield Steeltalkstalk 13:27, 17 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] These are from the Stanford MouseSite

So I decided since we can't find much textual proof in any direction to instead look for photographic evidence of the use of mousepads during the 1970s to determine when something that we would now call a mousepad first possibly started appearing in pictures of computer work environments. As soon as I started to look for the environment, instead of the mousepad itself, I found MouseSite, a Stanford site detailing the history of the mouse. Nowhere on the site is the mousepad mentioned, however, what there *is* is photographic evidence of Englebert's time spent with the Augmentation Research Center (ARC) from the late 60s to 1974 when the funding dried up and a good many of the researchers moved to Xerox PARC. All photos were donated to Stanford by Douglas Englebert (can be found here: http://sloan.stanford.edu/MouseSite/gallery/index.html). While it can be assumed that these pictures (since they were owned by Englebert) all predate him leaving ARC in 1975, the only one that can be definitely dated just based on website information are the Kudlick photos.

There are many, many more that show partial photos with mousepads, or that show them less clearly, this was just a sampling before I decided I had enough to come back and report. These mousepads seem more similar to modern ones than the one described in Fernandez' disclosure, which was obviously made for the later optical mice over the early mice with wheels.--Thespian 07:43, 19 September 2007 (UTC)

Images aren't loading for me, although they did in the past. When it comes up, we can grab a small portion of the image or otherwise get a Request for permission? Of course, we don't want the page turning into a gallery but showing the progression of the mousepad history would be useful for the article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sigma 7 (talk • contribs) 13:16, 20 September 2007 (UTC)
Found a few colour photos: http://sloan.stanford.edu/MouseSite/gallery/slides2/nlswork.html - in some of those photos, you can see the mouse distinctly on the desk - in others, you see a mouse surface or mousepad. --Sigma 7 10:28, 13 October 2007 (UTC)
I can't see anything I'd identify as a mousepad in those, but there were some very clear in the photos linked before, so it doesn't really matter. Dicklyon 16:44, 13 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Mouse pad or Mousepad

Having looked up mousepad in the OED, I have found that there should be a space in it - ie "mouse pad" not "mousepad".

Quote from OED
"mousemat chiefly Brit., a small pad over which a computer mouse is moved to produce movement of the pointer on the monitor screen. mouse pad = mousemat."

A quick google search seems to confirm that "mouse pad" is more common although, being British, I don't know because I always say "mousemat". I think the article should be moved. Any thoughts? GDallimore (Talk) 09:09, 19 September 2007 (UTC)

What the OED claims as standard American English, and what is actually used, is often a little different, dear to my heart as they are. 6,490,000 ghits for "mousepad", 2,310,000 ghits for "mouse pad". Leave as is. --Thespian 09:22, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
Actually, the hits for "mouse pad" include the hits for "mousepad", but not vice versa, so the numbers are meaningless. You have to look at the term that people are actually using within those hits. GDallimore (Talk) 09:41, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
Are you doing it *with* the quotes? Because if you do it with the quotes, to preserve *exactly* what's between them, what you'll find is exactly what I say. Often a page will use both, but if one only uses "mousepad", it does not show up when you search for "mouse pad". Try them with the quotes, and pay attention to what is bolded in your search results. --Thespian 09:54, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
I would oppose a move, because the current name is fine, and very popular. "Mousepad" gets way more google hits than "mouse pad". Also note that the OED didn't find the use of "special patterned mouse pad" in the cited 1982 article. Dicklyon 15:58, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
But also note that the 1982 article uses "mouse pad" :) Anyway, I've sent that article off to the OED now to see if they will update the entry. Also, the OED suggests looking at a particular Scientific American as part of the history of the mouse.
1977 Sci. Amer. Sept. 234/2 The user makes his primary input through a typewriterlike keyboard and a pointing device called a mouse, which controls the position of an arrow on the screen as it is pushed about on the table beside the display
Anyone able to get their hands on a copy - I wasn't reading SciAm when I was three months old! GDallimore (Talk) 07:57, 20 September 2007 (UTC)
Alan Kay's article from that is reproduced at Digibarn. No mouse pad in sight. Dicklyon 18:14, 21 September 2007 (UTC)