Computer mouse turns 40

[Mugu]

By THANE BURNETT, winnipegsun.com

The computer mouse that roared around the world, turns 40 years old today. During a Dec. 9, 1968, California demonstration of the interactive nature of computers, Dr. Douglas Engelbart unveiled the first prototype of one of the most important consumer gadgets of our time. But, at that conference -- in cyber-circles, recalled fondly as the "Mother of all Demos" -- the first version of the point-and-click mouse wasn't the star attraction. It was just a block of wood, with two wheels in the undercarriage, which helped point the way to the future.

"The mouse was unimportant ... completely a side-effect of the overall quest," recalls Jeff Rulifson, a pioneer in the computing industry and an engineer on that first public outing of the mouse.

When placed up against other techno-thingies used to move around a screen -- including mechanical interfaces attached to a user's head or even knees -- the obvious virtues of the mouse design made it a natural. But what the small Stanford Research International's Augmentation Research Center team, led by Engelbart, were really showing off, was the ability of a person to use multiple windows, cut-and-paste word editing and hypertext links.

But it was the public unveiling of the humble mouse -- actually invented three years before to replace light pens used by radar operators -- which took on a life of it's own.

http://www.winnipegsun.com/News/World/2008/12/09/7679921-sun.html">Complete article

[MineralMan]

1. I got my first mouse in 1984,

and used it with Microsoft Word for DOS, version 1.0. It was amazing, frankly, that you could select text that way. Few programs could use it at that time, and it came with the Microsoft Mouse Developer's kit. I added mouse capability to some of the programs I was doing at the time, allowing menu access and selection of text, using the Developer's Kit.

Those features weren't too popular with my customers, since few had a mouse. I even used the right button, which even Microsoft didn't use, to access help for menu items.

Fun times, those were.

[DJ13]

2. Well that explains why the mouse ball feels a little wrinkled I suppose

[Morning Dew]

3. The mouse problem: What makes a man want to be a mouse?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK92NYwBMts&feature=related

[Greyskye]

4. Those were the days. Men were men, and mice had balls.

And mouse ball cleaning jokes ran rampant through the internet. :rofl:

"Mouse balls are now available as FRU (Field Replacement Unit). Therefore, if a mouse fails to operate or should it perform erratically, it may need a ball replacement. Because of the delicate nature of this procedure, replacement of mouse balls should only be attempted by properly trained personnel.

"Before proceeding, determine the type of mouse balls by examining the underside of the mouse. Domestic balls will be larger and harder than foreign balls. Ball removal procedures differ depending upon the manufacturer of the mouse. Foreign balls can be replaced using the pop-off method. Domestic balls are replaced by using the twist-off method. Mouse balls are not usually static-sensitive. However, excessive handling can result in sudden discharge.

"Upon completion of ball replacement, the mouse may be used immediately. It is recommended that each replacer have a pair of spare balls for maintaining optimum customer satisfaction. Any customer missing his balls should suspect local personnel of removing these necessary items."

[BrklynLiberal]

5. This was classic among what were called "the programming depts" at the time.

Back in the day.