Evolution

As the personal computer has evolved so too has the computer mouse.

In 1972, Bill English and Jack Hawley designed a mouse for Xerox Park, this mouse contained the first mouse ball. The mouse ball replaced the external wheels of Douglas Engelbart’s early mouse and allowed the user to move the mouse in any direction. The mouse with a mouse ball was the most predominantly used mouse during the 1980s and 1990s. 1

In 1981, the first versions of the optical mouse were developed by Richard Lyon and Steve Kirsch. 2

In 1991, Logitech released the world’s first wireless mouse that utilizes radio frequency. 3

In 1995, Mouse Systems produced the first mouse to have a scroll wheel. 4

There have been numerous other changes to the computer mouse since its invention, the number of buttons have varied, the designs, and the way through which the mouse connects to the computer, but through it all the computer mouse continues. As stated before, the personal computer is an important aspect of our society. Where there is a personal computer there is also a mouse.

  1. Edwards, Benj. “The computer mouse turns 40 | Input Devices | Macworld.” The computer mouse turns 40, December 9, 2008. http://www.macworld.com/article/137400/2008/12/mouse40.html. ↩
  2. ibid. ↩
  3. ibid. ↩
  4. ibid. ↩

Comments are closed.