Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
Pointing Devices
The mouse was invented in 1964 by Douglas Engelbart, who at the time was working at
the Stanford Research Institute (SRI), a think tank sponsored by Stanford University. The
mouse was officially called an X-Y Position Indicator for a Display System. Xerox later
applied the mouse to its revolutionary Alto computer system in 1973. At the time, unfor-
tunately, these systems were experimental and used purely for research.
In 1979, several people from Apple—including Steve Jobs—were invited to see the Alto
and the software that ran the system. Steve Jobs was blown away by what he saw as the
future of computing, which included the use of the mouse as a pointing device and the
GUI it operated. Apple promptly incorporated these features into what was to become the
Lisa computer and lured away 15-20 Xerox scientists to work on the Apple system.
Although Xerox released the Star 8010 computer, which used this technology, in 1981, it
was expensive, poorly marketed, and perhaps way ahead of its time. Apple released the
Lisacomputer,itsfirstsystemthatusedthemouse,in1983.Itwasnotarunawaysuccess,
largely because of its $10,000 list price, but by then Jobs already had Apple working on
thelow-costsuccessortotheLisa:theMacintosh.TheAppleMacintoshwasintroducedin
1984. Although it was not an immediate hit, the Macintosh has grown in popularity since
that time.
Many credit the Macintosh with inventing the mouse and GUI, but as you can see, this
technology was actually borrowed from others, including SRI and Xerox. Certainly Mi-
crosoft Windows has popularized this interface and brought it to the legion of Intel-based
PC systems.
Although the mouse did not catch on quickly in the PC marketplace, today the GUIs for
PCsystems,suchasWindows,practicallydemandtheuseofamouse.Therefore,virtually
everynewsystemsoldatretailcomeswithamouse.And,becausethemicepackagedwith
retailsystemsareseldomhigh-qualityorup-to-datedesigns,soonerorlatermostusersare
in the market for a better mouse or compatible pointing device.
Mice come in many shapes and sizes from many manufacturers. Some have taken the
standard mouse design and turned it upside down, creating the trackball. In the trackball
devices, you move the ball with your hand directly rather than moving the unit itself.
Trackballs were originally found on arcade video games, such as Missile Command, and
are popular with users who have limited desk space. In most cases, the dedicated track-
balls have a much larger ball than would be found on a standard mouse. Other than the
orientation and perhaps the size of the ball, a trackball is identical to a mouse in design,
basic function, and electrical interface. Like many recent mice, trackballs often come in
