The computer mouse is a display-selection device used to 'point and click' on various things on your computer. The graphical user interface (GUI) often uses a graphical pointer to indicate the currently pointed-to location on the computer's display. The computer mouse is the conception of Douglas Engelbart, head of the self-founded Augmentation Research Center of Stanford University's Research Institute. Englebart designed and sketched out the concept for a mouse, performed studies on effictive interface devices (with ARPA research dollars) and Bill English built it. Not Apple, Not Xerox. It was the Advanced Research Projects Administration that brought you this cute little point-and-click thingy we are all so attached to. That's right, the United States Government funded the development of the mouse.
Internally, a standard mouse consists of a roller ball a guide wheel and two sensor wheels. When the mouse is moved, the roller ball moves the sensor wheels. The sensor wheels detect this movement, calculate the ammount and send data to the computer to indicate how much and in which direction the digital pointer on the screen should move.
Types of Mice
- Standard mouse
- This type of mouse comes in a two button and three button design. The two button mouse has a left mouse button and a right mouse button.
- Wheel Mice
- Wheel mice have a rolling wheel between the two mouse buttons. Most graphical user interfaces (GUI) have scroll bars for areas where the content of the window exceeds the size of the display device.
- Optical Mice
- Thisis a mouse that uses an optical sensor instead of a rolling ball. The advertised advantage is accuracy, but the real advantage is a clean mouse that never gets dirty as roller-based mice are prone to do.
- Game Mice
- These are special mice that the mouse manufacturers claim are more accurate and which respond faster. These mice often have buttons that can be programmed to perform special functions within a game.
- Wireless mice
- These mice use a radio frequency or infrared transmitter to communicate with a 'base station' that is connected to the computer.
- Wireless Optical Mice
- This is a mouse that combines the features of an optical and a wireless mouse.