Creator of the first computer mouse. How did the computer mouse appear?
Most owners of a personal computer are unlikely to know the name Douglas Karl Engelbart. However, this omission does not prevent almost 1 billion people from using his creations every day, the most popular of which is the computer mouse.
On January 30, 1925, near Portland, Oregon, a boy appeared in a family of ordinary hard-working farmers. The boy is like a boy: he went to school, after which he entered the local university, aiming for a diploma in electrical engineering. But the unexpected outbreak of World War II confused all plans, assigning young Douglas to a Philippine naval base as a radio technician. Fate had already determined the path of Douglas, who was then far from technology, slipping under his nose the Atlantic Monthly magazine with a cult article by a famous American scientist in the field of IT and computer technology Vannevar Bush's As We May Think.
The author of the article discussed quite interestingly the topic of the differences between the structure of human memory and external storage media. He described his own hypothetical photoelectromechanical machine, Memex, which belongs more in a science fiction movie than in our reality. However, the stated theory of the animation of inanimate nature turned out to be contagious, and Enelbart seriously thought about the prospect of using the most complex army equipment in peaceful life.
Returning from the war, Engelbart returned to his native alma mater for his diploma, from where he was taken to the laboratory NACA(later NASA) work as an electrical engineer. Having received a stable source of income, Douglas finally moves to California, where he spends most of his time at the laboratory. The rest of the time he attends studies at the University of Berkeley (this is where they created Free BSD), as far as he understands, ideas about creating artificial intelligence require a serious scientific basis.
In 1955, he successfully graduated from the university with a degree of joctor of sciences in his field and retired from NACA to get closer to your dream - to be closer to computers. To obtain the necessary skills, Dr. Engelbart becomes right hand professor of electrical engineering at the university. And in the same year, he was involved in many years of work on the CALDIC (Califotnia Digital Computer) project, the development of which was funded by the military. It is not difficult to understand that a supercomputer was being developed within the walls of Berkeley.
A year later he moved to Stanford Research Institute(Stanford Research Institute) and then for the first time tried to put his developments on a commercial basis. Over the next four years, the inventor patented seven bistable gas-plasma digital devices and 12 magnetic devices. Particularly those born in preparation for a doctorate. But they never managed to sell them.
Undeterred, Douglas, together with engineer Hewitt Crane, develops magnetic computer components and conducts fundamental research into the phenomenon of digital devices and their potential miniaturization. Engelbart's perseverance and passion did their job again. Stanford relented and helped the young scientist organize his own laboratory and staff of up to 47 people. Douglas Enelbart subjects people who want to take part in his projects to a rather cruel selection, tirelessly repeating: “It is not the process that needs to be improved, but the individual in the process.”
The scientist’s crazy dedication to his work should definitely have led to positive results. And so it happened - Douglas expanded the areas in which his laboratory, known at that time as the Augmentation Research Center, worked, and work environment On-Line-System, or NLS.
NLS is a computer system that includes a fundamentally new operating system, a universal programming language, email, split-screen teleconferences, and a contextual help system.
Shortly before this, Engelbart writes an article entitled “A Conceptual Framework for the Augmentation of Man's Intellect,” where he describes the H-LAM/T system (Human using Language, Artifacts and Methodoly, in which he is Trained ( a system for enhancing human capabilities through language, artifacts and methodology)). The essence of this description was that in a pair of people - a machine, the user is assigned the role of a leader (the creative component), and the computer acts as an assistant (a symbiosis of dynamic components), enhancing the natural intelligence of a person.
The project was unique in that already at that time (it was the 60s!) it contained a contextual help system, e-mail, teleconferencing, hypertext links, online text editing and a windowed interface. In fact, it was the first working hypertext system in history. Engelbart's mainframe was the second computer connected to the then-defunct ARPANet military network, the direct ancestor of the modern Internet.
1964 year of creation of the computer mouse
The doctor's team was entrusted with the creation of the ARPANet Network Information Center. And it was as a side effect of the NLS project that the first manipulator was born, called computer mouse(or in the language of a scientific report, " X and Y position indicator«).
This ingenious device, without which any work process on a computer now slows down, was developed by accident. It was just that existing manipulators (joysticks, light pens and keyboards) slowed down the processes of the windowed environment, and Douglas quickly came up with an addition that could facilitate the existing processes. The device turned out to be a brilliant find!
Despite its apparent simplicity, and most likely precisely because of it, the first myash deprived Engelbart’s colleagues of sleep as they rushed to improve the new device. First working prototype A unique invention was presented by Engelbart’s colleague, Bill English. The device was a thick-walled wooden box with giant metal wheels, a red button barely visible to the human eye, and an awkward “tail” under the user’s wrist. However, there is no limit to perfection, and after some 40 years the mouse has become a favorite pet on millions of computer desks around the world.
The new NLS system was never widely used because Douglas's ideas seemed too innovative to the military for that time. Egelbart never sought to create the simplest circuits. He believed that a physically and mentally healthy person does not need to “chew” everything and put it in his mouth. For example, to operate a chord keyboard properly, the user had to learn the mnemonic and 5-bit binary codes. Moreover, this is the simplest thing that needed to be done to work with the system.
In addition to this, Engelbart did not know how to sell his ideas. But they still paid him for one. Ten thousand dollars for a device, without which normal work on a computer is not possible for users all over the world. The entire fee went towards a down payment for a modest house far from the luxurious villas that filled Silicon Valley.
The failure of NLS was the beginning of the end for Engelbart's laboratory. The employees fled from the scientist, not forgetting to grab the ideas of their guru. In particular, Bill English continued the development of the mouse under the wing of the company Xerox PARC. Due to the fact that the design of the new mice differed from the one patented by Douglas, nothing could be done about it. In addition, in 1987, the patent expired, just a little short of the moment when mice suddenly scattered across the planet thanks to the company’s efforts Apple, Microsoft And IBM. In an interview, Engelbart said that Stanford did not understand at all the value that the mouse patent represented. It is known for certain that the institute sold a license for the manipulator to Apple at the ridiculous price of 40 thousand dollars.
While plagiarists squeezed millions out of his idea, the genius worked as an ordinary employee, devoting all his free time to his family. On top of everything else, his house burned down, and everything he had acquired over the years was lost in the fire, and Douglas himself became seriously ill. He does not like to talk about this period of his life and once even called it “an exile to Siberia.”
In the late 80s and early 90s, people suddenly remembered Douglas and decided to recognize his merits and contribution to computer progress. Rewards rained down on the desperate inventor as if from a cornucopia. This allowed him to improve his deplorable financial situation and open a non-profit project, the Bootstrap Institute (Institute for Self-Improvement), which to this day exists with money from the authorities and investors. The organization brings together representatives of the IT sector with the goal of “forming alliances and improving both their organizations and themselves.” Today they are actively working on Open Hyper-Document Systems and developing the concept of collective IQ.
As already mentioned, Engelbart does not like simple schemes. Therefore, his life plan resembled a fascinating film. Having devoted his life to science, he managed to preserve the earth under his feet and even grow fruit on it - he is not only the father of a computer mouse, but also of four children. He also has nine grandchildren.
Now Douglas Engelbart is one of the highest paid employees of the “mouse tycoon”. And although he never became a businessman, now he is practically not remembered and his fees are not measured in six or seven figures, we know who was ahead of his time and was the first to create what the nosy tycoons attribute to themselves.
Douglas Engelbart believes that his ideas will be useful to people and will definitely find their implementation. We can only guess what else can be expected from this restless genius. After all, his main dream today is to modernize the human operating system.
Most owners of personal computers are unlikely to know the name of Douglas Carl Engelbart. However, this omission does not prevent the almost 1 billion people a day to enjoy his creations, the most popular of which is the computer mouse.
January 30, 1925, near Portland, the state operator, in the family of conventional farmers-workaholic appeared at the expense of the boy. Boy as a boy: he went to school, after she entered a local university, taking aim at diploma electrical engineer. But suddenly gryanuvshaya World War upset all the plans, identifying the young Douglas on the Philippine military naval base radio technician. Fate has already determined the path of the distant time of technology Douglas, putting him under the nose of the magazine Atlantic Monthly article with the cult of the famous American scientist in the field of IT and computer science Vannevar Bush, “How quickly we are able to think" (As We May Think).
The article is quite interesting pondered the differences between the structure of human memory from external storage media. He described his own hypothetical fotoelektromehanicheskuyu car Memex, a place where most of the sci-fi movie than in our reality. However, this theory animation of inanimate nature was contagious, and Enelbart seriously pondered the prospect of the use of sophisticated military equipment in civilian life.
Returning from the war, Engelbart returned to his alma mater for a diploma, from where he was taken to the laboratory NACA (later NASA) to work electrician. Having a stable source of income, Douglas finally moved to California, where most of the time on the basis of the laboratory. Remaining the same time he attends the university at Berkeley (where it is created Free BSD), as much as they understand — the idea of creating artificial intelligence requires a strong scientific basis.
In 1955 he successfully graduated from university with a degree zhoktora Sciences in its field and graduated from the NACA, to get closer to his dream - to be closer to computers. To obtain the necessary skills, Dr. Engelbart is the right hand of Professor of Electrical Engineering University. And in the same year he was attracted to the many years of work on the project CALDIC (California Digital Computer), whose development was funded by the military. It is easy to understand that the walls of Berkeley have developed a supercomputer.
A year later he moved to the Stanford Research Institute (Stanford Research Institute) and then for the first time tried to put the operating time on a commercial basis. Over the next four years, the inventor has patented seven bistable gas-plasma digital devices, and 12 magnetic devices. In particular, those that were born in preparation for the doctoral degree. But sell it did not succeed.
Do not despair, Dglas together with engineer Hewitt Crane (Hewitt Crane) develops magnetic components of the computer and carries out fundamental research of the phenomenon of digital devices and their potential miniaturization. Persistence and dedication Engelbart once again did their job. At Stanford relented and helped organize a young scientist’s own lab and staff that number reaches 47. Douglas Enelbart exposes quite ill selection of people wishing to participate in its projects, constantly repeating: “to improve the process is a process of private traders.
Mad scientist’s devotion to his work would exactly lead to positive results. So it happened — Douglas expanded the ways in which works of his laboratory, known at that time called the Augmentation Research Center, and the working environment On-Line-System, or NLS. NLS — a computer system that includes a fundamentally new operating system, a universal programming language, e-mail, split screen teleconferencing system of context help.
Shortly before, Engelbart wrote an article entitled “A conceptual scheme to strengthen human intelligence” (A Conceptual Framework for the Augmentation of Man's Intellect), which describes a system of H-LAM / T (Human using Language, Artifacts and Methodoly, in which he is Trained (system increasing the ability of a person through language, artifacts, and methodology)). The essence of this description came to the fact that a couple of people - the machine the user is given the lead role (creative component) and the computer acts as a helper (a symbiotic dynamic koponentov), reinforcing the natural human intellect.
The project was unique in that even at that time (in the yard - 60th!) Contained a system of context help, e-mail, conferencing, hypertext links, text editing online and window interface. In fact, it was the first in the history of working hypertext system. Mainframe lab Engelbart was the second computer connected to the zapozhdayuscheysya then military network ARPANet - the direct ancestor of modern Internet. Team doctors were entrusted with the creation of ARPANet Network Information Center. And it is as a side effect of the project in light of NLS was born the first arm, known as a computer mouse (or the language of a scientific paper, “Indicators of positions X and Y”). This ingenious device, without which it is now inhibited any workflow on the computer, developed by accident. Simply existing manipulators (joysticks, light pens and keyboard) slows down the process windowing environment, and Douglas quickly invented addition, can facilitate the existing processes. Adaptation was a brilliant discovery!
Despite its apparent simplicity, but rather, it was thanks to her first myash sleep deprived colleagues Engelbart, rinuvshihsya improve the new device. The first working prototype of a unique invention introduced by colleague Engelbart - Bill English (Bill English). The device was a thick-walled wooden box with a giant metal wheels, barely visible to the human eye, the red button and inconvenient “tail” under the user’s wrist. However, there is no limit to perfection, and through which some 40 years the mouse has become a popular pet for millions of computer desks throughout the world.
The new system NLS and not widespread, because the idea of Douglas, the military seemed too innovative for its time. Egelbart never sought to create the simplest of schemes. He believed that the physically and mentally healthy person not at all “chew” and put in your mouth. For example, to work properly with the lump keyboard, the user had to learn a mnemonic and 5-bit binary codes. And this is the simplest thing to do was to work with the system. In addition to that Engelbart was unable to sell their ideas. But for one he still paid. Ten thousand dollars for the device, without which the normal operation of the computer users around the world is not possible. All royalties went to the down payment for a modest house away from luxury villas, infest the Silicon Valley.
The failure of the NLS was the beginning of the end of the laboratory Engelbart. People fled from the scientist, not forgetting to grab the ideas of his guru. In particular, the development of the mouse Bill English has continued under the wing of the company Xerox PARC. Due to the fact that the device is new mice differed from the patented Douglas, with that nothing could be done. Moreover, in 1987 the term of the patent has expired, just a bit razminuvshis to the moment when the mouse overnight scattered across the planet through the efforts of the company Apple, Microsoft and IBM. In an interview with Engelbart said that the Stanford Institute did not understand the values represented by a patent on a mouse. It is known that the institute has sold a license to Apple the manipulator by a ridiculous price of $ 40 thousand dollars.
While plagiarist squeezed out of millions of his ideas, the genius of ordinary working employees, devoted to her time home. To all others, his burned house, and the fire lost all acquired over the years, and the Douglas ill. He does not like to talk about this period of his life and once even called him “a reference to Siberia.”
In the late 80’s — early 90’s about Douglas suddenly remembered and decided to acknowledge his achievements and contributions to the computer progress. Awards showered on the inventor desperate as from a horn of plenty. This enabled him to correct the deplorable financial situation and to open a non-profit project Bootstrap Institute (Institute of perfection), which still exists on the money the authorities and investors. The organization brings together representatives from the IT sector with the aim of “forming alliances and improve both their organizations and themselves.” To date, there are actively working on Open Hyper-Document Systems and develop the concept of collective IQ.
As mentioned, Engelbart did not like simple circuits. Therefore, his life pattern resembles a fascinating film. Devoted his life to science, he managed to keep the land under their feet, and even nurture her fetus — it is not only the father of a computer mouse, and four children. He also has nine grandchildren.
Now Douglas Engelbart is one of the most highly paid employees "mouse tycoon". And although he never became a businessman, is about him almost no one thinks of his fees is not measured by six-or seven-digit numbers, then we know who was ahead of his time and the first to create something that was attributed to a crafty tycoons. Douglas Engelbart believes: his ideas will be useful to people and always find their illustration. It remains only dagadyvatsya, what else can you expect from this restless genius. After all, his dream home today - upgrading the operating system rights.
Once upon a time, the computer was controlled exclusively using text commands that were entered into the command line via the keyboard. This continued until the 1980s, despite the fact that back in 1963, engineer Douglas Engelbart began work on a pointing device for pointing objects on a screen.
In the same year, using Engelbart's work, his colleague Bill English created the first prototype of the device: a wooden box with a button on top and two perpendicular metal wheels inside to indicate horizontal and vertical positions on the display.
By tilting the device, the wheels could be operated separately to move the pointer precisely along the X or Y axis. In 1968, Engelbart publicly unveiled the pointing device, and his presentation was called "The Mother of All Demonstrations."
Douglas Engelbart's presentation is considered the first time the mouse was shown to a mass audience.
It wasn't until 1973 that the PC with graphics was introduced. user interface. The Xerox Alto was controlled using a keyboard and a three-button mouse. The metal wheels for changing the cursor position have been replaced with a metal ball and rollers. Until the 90s, the basic operating principle did not change significantly.
From the first days of its existence, the mouse was not widely used. It began to gain widespread popularity only with the release of the Apple Macintosh 128k computer in 1984. The M0100 model for this PC cost only $15, not several hundred as previously. So the mouse not only became accessible to people with average incomes, but also became the main pointing device for Apple's graphical interface.
The promotional video said: “If you can point to something, you can control the system.”. Steve Jobs, as with smartphones and tablets, did not invent the mouse, but clever marketing and user-friendly design were the reason for its success. In 1985, Microsoft began producing its own mice for Windows 1.0.
And then events began to develop at crazy speed. The rubberized ball has been replaced by optical sensors and lasers because they position the cursor more accurately and do not require cleaning. Wireless mice have given people greater freedom of movement while working. On the other hand, laptops have appeared with a touchpad, which is an alternative to a mouse: you can work on them while on the go, even if there is no flat surface at hand.
Meanwhile, office workers often complain of typical occupational ailments such as computer mouse syndrome. There have been numerous attempts to change the design to improve ergonomics (for example, by installing a trackball to control the cursor), but so far they have not been very successful.
Currently, touch screens have become a good alternative, since such control is more intuitive and does not require additional equipment. However, it is not yet known whether this control method can completely replace the mouse in offices.
1963
The world's first wooden mouse prototype appears.
1973
The mouse for the first computer with a graphical interface looks more like a modern one.
1984
The successor to the Lisa Mouse has become attractive in price, and Apple yet has been promoting one-button design for a long time.
He won't say anything. But nevertheless, almost 1 billion people a day use his creation, namely a computer mouse. Karl himself came up with a name for the device. The mouse brought him awards and fame, but 30 years after its creation. The patent issued for his invention, which had already expired, was poorly drafted: its effect did not extend to the idea of a manipulator, but only to the reading mechanism using two orthogonally located wheels. Modern mice have different reading mechanisms, and the companies that produce these devices are free from obligations to the inventor. Engelbart's authorship was recognized by the public only in 1998, when he was awarded the Lemelson-MIT Prize and 500 thousand in greens.
So where did it all start? Back in 1964, when Comrade N.S. was removed from power. Khrushchev, D. Engelbert and his team worked on the oN-Line System project - an operating system (NLS), where the concept of a “window” interface took place. As a side effect of this project, a mouse was born... The device was developed by accident: all the manipulators that existed then, namely the keyboard, joysticks, light pens, slowed down the process of working with windows, and Engelbert quickly came up with a convenient device that was designed to make working at the computer easier . The device received the name “mouse” at Stanford, where Douglas and his team worked, because of the similarity of the signal wire to the tail of, believe it or not, a mouse. It is noteworthy that on early mouse models it came out from the back of the devices. The device itself was invented even a little earlier in 1963, a year later the first working prototype was made.
In 1970, the inventor of the mouse, Douglas Engelbart, received the same patent for a device called a “mouse” or “x and y coordinate indicator for a display system.” Yeah... That mouse, of course, was far from the current one and looked like a box with two wheels.
The first computer to include a mouse was the Xerox 8010 Star Information System, introduced in 1981. The Xerox mouse had three buttons and cost approximately $400 (at current exchange rates, this is about $1,000). The two wheels in such a mouse were replaced by a bearing, the movements of which were controlled by two rollers inside the device itself. The appearance of the mouse has become much closer to the modern one. In 1983, Apple, of course, released its own one-button mouse for the Lisa computer. The cost of the Apple mouse was reduced to $25. In general, the mouse gained worldwide popularity thanks to its use in Apple Macintosh computers and, somewhat later, in the Windows operating system for IBM PC.
In mass models of mice, a ball drive, familiar to older generations, was used. In such a drive, the movement of the mouse is transmitted to a rubberized steel ball protruding from the body (the weight of the ball and the rubber coating provide good adhesion to the working surface, for example, a rug). Rollers pressed against the ball record its movements for each measurement, transmitting them to sensors, which, in turn, convert the movements into electrical signals. The main disadvantage of the ball drive is the contamination of the ball and rollers, all of which together leads to the mouse jamming and the need to periodically clean it. Metallization of the rollers solved the problem only partly.
There were two sensor options for the ball drive:
- Contact sensors. The contact sensor is a textolite disk with radial metal tracks and contacts that are pressed to it. This type of sensor was inherited from the direct drive. Its disadvantages are oxidation of contacts, rapid general wear and poor accuracy.
- Buttons. These are the main mouse controls that serve to perform basic manipulations: selecting an object by clicking, actively moving with a button pressed, for drawing, selecting text, the starting and ending point when moving an object.
For many years, the confrontation between two-button and three-button mice continued, which ended after the advent of scrolling (scrolling the screen). On a mouse with two buttons, a small middle button appeared (to turn on/off scrolling, and also a middle button), which soon turned into a scroll wheel, clicking on which works like a middle button. On a mouse with three buttons, of course, the middle button is simply combined with the scroll wheel.
Apple went its own way. Thus, considering even a second button superfluous, for a long time Yabloko built all its interfaces for a mouse with a single button. Mice manufactured by Apple can be programmed to use from one to four buttons.
Ball mice, still widespread at the end of the 20th century, are gradually being forgotten and are being replaced by optical mice.
The first optical mouse was created back in 1999 by Microsoft. Nowadays there are many companies producing a variety of optical mice, of different designs, with additional multimedia buttons. But first things first.
An ordinary mouse with two, three or more buttons will no longer surprise anyone, but the appearance of the mouse has changed very seriously over the past 20 years, so radically that it is difficult to recognize its predecessors in new devices. The scroll wheel mentioned above appeared quite a long time ago and it is generally accepted that this was due to the release of the Windows operating system. Then it became possible to tilt the wheel from left to right and thereby scroll (scroll) to the left or right, i.e. horizontally. The next update consisted of replacing the wheel with a trackball, which rotates in any direction and allows you to move in the window in all directions.
The first trackballs were developed for a long time, at the same time as computer mice, and at first, as usual, for military purposes. Specialists from Canada working for the country's navy proposed the idea of a trackball, which the military department, alas, did not support. By analogy with the mouse, the technology entered the civilian sphere and began to be used in the development of devices for precise positioning of the cursor on the screen. In the 1960s, the usual controls were a keyboard and switches, but a system with a video interface required a new means of control. So we decided to use a ball with a smooth surface. According to legend, the first trackball was a bowling ball.
The first mice were connected to the computer using a wire and an adapter via the RS serial communication interface. Later, IBM proposed special connector PS/2. This port became widespread and began to be used for keyboards. Gradually it began to be included in the motherboard standard. Over time, a USB port was added to the connection ports for mice and keyboards.
After a little more time, the mouse “lost” its tail. Wireless mice appeared. They are deprived of the limiting factor - wires, but have another drawback - the lack of stationary power and are forced to be autonomous, from batteries or accumulators, which are still far from perfect. Also, the disadvantages include not always a stable connection, higher prices compared to wired mice. It is clear that the solution to these problems will come with time. There are many new wireless mice coming out that can be used to control the multimedia functions of your desktop PC, i.e. like a remote control for a computer.
Among the interesting developments of recent times, it is worth noting the development of the Englishman Tobias Jones, who invented a very interesting manipulator. Perhaps just such a device will replace the mouse in the future. His invention is a glove with sensors that track the movement of the hand and sends data to a computer.
Even 20 years ago, no one could imagine what a mouse would look like. It is likely that in another 20 years, when mice are replaced by other devices, we will remember mice with a smile on our faces. The development of new devices is actively underway and some of them will probably end up on the assembly line.
Nowadays, when it is already difficult to imagine life without a computer, any technology related to it has also become an integral part of our existence. It is quite difficult to use a modern computer and even a laptop without a computer mouse. However, this name for the device that controls the cursor on the screen appeared a little later. But everything is in order.
The history of the creation of a computer mouse begins with the idea of Douglas Engelbart to make a similar manipulator. His goal was to invent a device that could coordinate the actions of man and machine. First of all, the manipulator was not created to control personal computers, but for the needs National Administration Aeronautics and Space Research (NASA). They needed a device that would allow them to interact interactively with objects on the screen. Engelbart managed to create such a device, which was originally called the “X and Y position indicator.” Bill English worked with Douglas on the manipulator, and he brought his colleague’s idea to life. The device with a wire connected to it turned out to look like a mouse with a tail. This is where the name “computer mouse” came from. However, the invention did not arouse much interest at NASA, since it was impossible for them to work in zero gravity conditions. Engelbart, unable to find any other use for the device, sold the patent and clearly made it cheaper. He was bought for only 10 thousand dollars.
But Engelbart’s colleague Bill English decided not to stop there and talked about the Xerox company’s manipulator. It was there that they first decided to try using a mouse to control a personal computer, but the device was considered unpromising. A new stage in the history of the computer mouse is associated with Steve Jobs, the head of Apple; it was he who saw the potential in English’s invention and immediately bought the license from Stanford University. After this, the computer mouse was released in combination with Apple's new computer, Lisa. The device was appreciated by all leading manufacturers computer equipment. Perhaps it was the creation of the computer mouse that inspired Bill Gates to create Windows.
It is impossible to imagine any modern computer without a computer mouse, although other input devices have become widespread today - touchpads, touch screens, graphics tablets and so on. However, the history of the computer mouse does not end; every year new models of these devices appear, differing from their counterparts in the absence of a wire, the presence of additional buttons, a more convenient shape and weight adjustment using weights. By the way, a computer mouse is currently being developed that will hover above the table surface; the creators ironically called this device “Bat”.
Every rule has exceptions. You don't need to look far for an example. Take, for example, the relationship between humans and rodents. Those who have warm feelings for rats, marmots, porcupines and others like them are a minority. And vice versa: those who experience obvious hostility towards these animals are the overwhelming majority. Especially when we are talking about the fair half of humanity.
However, this state of affairs does not prevent a lot of people from communicating closely and even affectionately with one of these lovely creatures every day. Guess who I'm talking about?! Of course, oh computer mouse! Read on to learn about the history of the invention, appearance and nuances of development of this irreplaceable “rodent” today.
Founding Fathers
Work on a device that would be capable of converting hand movements into a corresponding signal on the monitor started in the middle of the last century. Moreover, these works had two characteristic features.
Firstly, they walked in different places parallel to each other.
Secondly, the military ordered the inventive “music”.
So, in 1946 Royal Navy of Great Britain represented by an engineer Ralph Benjamin presented the world's first prototype of a manipulator. It was created to replace the target control joystick on the radar screen. The device was called “roller ball” (from English - rotating ball). The patent was issued in 1947.
Things never went further than a single prototype (which consisted of a metal ball and two rubber-covered wheels). According to rumors, the secret development of the military disappeared in the bowels of the British fleet.
IN 1952 trio of inventors Kenyon Taylor, Tom Cranston And Fred Longstaff already under the auspices of the Royal Canadian Navy, for similar purposes as five years earlier, the British, as part of the DATAR project, developed their own manipulator. As in the case of the “roller ball,” the Canadian progenitor of the computer mouse never managed to gain commercial fame.
The most famous ancestor of the modern mouse was the work of employees of the Stanford Research Institute - Douglas Engelbart(pictured on the right) and his assistant Bill English.
In the 60s of the 20th century, in line with work on an ambitious project to increase the capabilities of human intelligence, these scientists created a number of experimental devices. Among them was a computer mouse.
The word “mouse” first came out of the lips of this duo. In 1965 Bill English, in his article “Computer-Aided Display Control,” announced for the first time in history the appearance of a new manipulator. The manipulator became a “mouse” due to the conditional similarity of the device to a real mouse: a computer mouse had its own “tail” - a connecting wire. A physical demonstration of the three-button manipulator took place in December 1968 at an exhibition of interactive devices in California.
For the creation of the device and the name for it, scientists from Stanford are considered to be the inventors of the computer mouse. It is curious, however, that they themselves did not receive any special material dividends from this. The patent for the invention expired before mice became widely used in personal computers. But in other scenarios, Stanford scientists could become multimillionaires.
Union of two: computer and mouse
Manufacturers of the first personal computers drew attention to the new mouse manipulator. Although not immediately, the mouse became part of the computer. The pioneers in this regard were the following machines:
- Xerox Alto(1973) - the “great-grandfather” of personal computers and the first PC to use a computer mouse.
- Lilith (1978) - Personal Computer, created at ETH Zurich by a group of enthusiasts led by Niklaus Wirth.
- Xerox 8010 Star Information System(1981) - the three-button mouse of this computer, famous in the past, was remembered primarily for its cost - 400 US dollars.
- Lisa(1983) - a computer product of the company, equipped with its own one-button mouse. The latter went to the masses a little later thanks to its use in Apple Macintosh and IBM PC computers. The price of the “apple” manipulator was $25.
- Atari ST(1985) - another American computer of the 80s, the operation of which required the presence of a mouse, this time with two buttons.
The company, which was showing great promise at that time, could not ignore the creation of a computer mouse. And even though Paul Allen’s brainchild did not create its own computers, in 1982 the now world-famous corporation presented its own computer mouse to the public. With this event, the company marked the beginning of the diversification of its business, moving from “software” to “hardware”.
Thus, starting from the late 80s - early 90s, the computer mouse seriously and for a long time entered the life of the average computer user. Then the mouse improved its shape and acquired capabilities.
From mechanics to ergonomics
The evolution of the computer mouse is truly multifaceted. The changes she had experienced in the past affected everything. First of all, we are talking about the principle of operation of the device.
The original direct drive (two perpendicular wheels), the author of which was the already mentioned Douglas Engelbart, was soon replaced by the ball mechanism of the mouse device (a rubber-coated metal ball sandwiched between two rollers). Until the end of the 90s, the ball mechanism became king. Then came the optical detector.
Optical computer mice of the first generation, which abandoned mechanics, worked using LEDs and infrared photodiodes. The latest generation of optical rodents use an optical sensor based on a semiconductor laser.
Having achieved high accuracy and reliability in the operation of an optical computer mouse, its creators could stop. But where is it going? The metamorphosis of the computer “rodent” continued.
Induction computer mice appeared. To operate such a manipulator, a special tablet mat is used. Without it, the mouse is incapable, but with it it is extremely accurate and does not require correct orientation on the surface.
In addition, gyroscopic mice are sold on the market today. These amazing devices, equipped with a gyroscope, are able to distinguish hand movements both on the surface and in space. You can control such a manipulator both on the table and in the air.
The advent of wireless mice led to the disappearance of the “name-giving” factor - the cable from the mouse to the computer. Such devices interact with a PC via optical or radio communication. Is it true, wireless mice have two drawbacks - increased weight and the constant need to recharge the autonomous power source.
Often, upgrading a computer mouse concerns aspects unrelated to its design.
Industry has become such a “system-forming” aspect-driver for the development of a computer mouse. Avid gamers use mice that are specially designed for various types of games. Gaming adaptation mainly involves the presence of numerous auxiliary buttons on the mouse and the “fielder” design of the device.
Smart design is a key factor in creating ergonomic mice. As the name suggests, such manipulators are designed to provide comfort and convenience to the human hand. The developers of these “rodents” are convinced that their mice follow the natural contours of the hand, which means they will not cause serious neurological diseases. Such as carpal tunnel syndrome.
"War" of buttons
During the evolution of the computer mouse, changes also occurred with the button structure of the device. Initially, at the dawn of mass use of the “tailed” manipulator, the competition was fought between two- and three-button mice. It's funny, but in this “war” mice with two buttons won.
The end of the “combat operations” comes at a time when the traditional two-button mouse acquired the obligatory scroll - a small screen scroll wheel. This event meant that the long-awaited victory was won by the eternal competitor - the three-button “rodent”. After all, scrolling is actually the third mouse button.
After this, the creative fervor of computer mouse developers could no longer be appeased. New buttons rained down as if from a cornucopia. There are buttons for:
- ~ double click replacement;
- ~ horizontal scrolling;
- ~ navigation in ;
- ~ management of audio and video files;
- ~ sensitivity settings;
- ~ launching one or another;
- ~ and much more.
The company of the now legendary Steve Jobs took its own path to developing the button structure of its mice.
EPP has been creating one-button computer mice for a long time, considering the second, third, etc. buttons an unnecessary whim. This was the case until 2005, when the IT giant introduced Mighty Mouse (from English - powerful mouse). This computer mouse had two features.
Firstly, the “mighty mouse” turned out to be smooth as an egg.
Secondly, the buttons on this mouse turned out to be touch sensitive. The Apple team has endowed the computer “rodent” with four touch-sensitive zones. Which replaced her mechanical buttons.
About the future of the computer mouse
What does the future hold for the computer mouse? No one can know for sure. But I have no doubt that it will remain an indispensable attribute of human-computer interaction over the next decades. Another question is in what form: sensory, virtual or biomechanical. Time will give the answer, and if necessary, I will certainly tell you about it!
With a share to you, great health and wealth.