First Computer Mouse

A mouse is an external device to a computer. What do you think the first mouse looked like? Grey with two buttons and a scroll wheel? No, that one was designed much later.

In fact, the first-ever mouse was made by Douglas Engelbart in 1964. That mouse was made of wood and had opposing track wheels that touched the surface. Later, in 1974, a mouse with a ball and a wheel was created by Rider, and, in 1976, Opocensky made a mouse with a ball and two rollers with spring.

It is interesting to know that, although Engelbart created the mouse in 1964, he presented it to the public in 1968. Even more, he did not receive any compensation for it, as SRI International registered the patent, which expired before the mouse started being widely used. Still, the impact made by Engelbart is significant.

In 1972, Bill English took the original mouse and created a ball mouse. The ball that could rotate in any direction replaced the wheels in the original mouse. Next year, in 1973, the first computer, the Xerox Alto, was integrated with that type of mouse.

In the late 20th century, most mice started following the industry-standard USB protocol. Now a wireless mouse is the most popular choice, and what mouse do you use?