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The Beginning of the Computer Mouse
In 1963 inventor Douglas Engelbart created the original computer mouse. It was made of a single circuit board and two metal wheels inside of a wooden shell with a red button on the top left. The only downside was that it could only move back and forth and side to side. Imagine trying to play video games with this mouse. -
Engelbart's Company Files Patent
Engelbart's collaborator Bill English created a prototype of the mouse, and in 1967 Engelbart's company SRI files for patent on the computer mouse. Although it was files as an " x, y position indicator for a display system (thoughtco.com)." The patent was awarded in 1970. -
The Computer Mouse Becomes Public
Although the mouse was created in 1963, it "wasn't opened to the public until 1968 (Sutori.com)." Five whole years after the first design was created. -
Ball Mouse
Eight years after the release of the original computer mouse, Bill English created the ball mouse. It featured a metal ball at the bottom of the mouse that could move freely. Although, the metal ball would get dirty and not work properly over time. -
The Lilith Computer
"A team at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich liked the concept (thoughtco.com)." of the computer mouse and created their own computer and mouse that they called the Lilith Computer in 1978. -
The Optical Mouse
Another eight years after the ball mouse was invented, Steve Kirsch invented the optical mouse. Since the ball on the bottom was getting dirty, they removed it and replaced it with a laser. This design had to be used on a mouse pad, and that was very expensive. -
Xerox 8010
Xerox created the Xerox 8010, which featured a mouse, Ethernet networking and email among various technologies. This was one of the first computers that was made with a mouse, and was compatible with internet and email. -
Computer Mouse goes Mainstream
The mouse began to go mainstream when Microsoft updated their program "Word" so that it was mouse compatible. They also created the first PC compatible mouse. Imagine having to use word with no mouse, all you could do is type without any special fonts or colors! -
Cordless MouseMan
Logitech built the very first wireless computer mouse that used radio frequency to control the cursor and the screen. They called this design the Cordless MouseMan. It's amazing that even this type of tech was available in the 1900s -
Further Evolution
Although it and it's mouse pad was expensive, the optical mouse became an alternative choice over the ball mouse in 1998, after this people realized that the computer mouse could be even more advanced, and they created more complex versions of the mouse. -
S+ARCK Computer Mouse
This was the first mouse that Microsoft attempted to put art into, as you can see from the picture it wasn't much, but it looked better than any mice that weren't designed. The design was also made to work for left handed people as well. -
Talk (VN-CX1) SONY
This mouse was a very creative design, it was a portable mouse that could "transform" into a flip phone whenever someone needed it. This was an great thing to carry with you if you were a traveling video game geek, and also wanted to stay in touch with friends and family, but not really useful for anything else if you already had a separate phone. -
Bendable Arc Computer Mouse
Microsoft created the bendable Arc Computer Mouse. When not being used, it would lay flat, when used it could be bent to fit the shape of the users palm. Microsoft said that with Blu-Ray Technic, it could be used on wood or even carpet. This is a very good choice for restless players who can't stop moving their hands around. -
Even Further Evolution
The computer mouse even now is becoming even more advanced, companies like apple or Microsoft will keep studying the technology of the mouse and keep making it more complex until it legit can not get anymore advanced, people stop using mice, or the end of time.
