The computer mouse was an important part of interactive computer technology, and is today a common household item. The 1968 debut of the computer mouse was called the \u201cMother of all Demos,\u201d as it introduced a world to personal and interactive computing. Since it\u2019s conception, companies such as Apple, Microsoft and Logitech have spent lots of funding on refining the computer mouse. The longevity of the design of the mouse itself in the 40 years of its existence outlines its importance and efficiency in the technological world. Despite changes with the number of buttons and the aesthetic design and new technology additions, the mouse in its functionality remains largely the same. There are now wireless mice, and mice such as the \u201cMighty Mouse\u201d that include four buttons (also two that are not physical). There are now mice with bluetooth technology. The mouse has become part of the computer itself- a necessary input device for all desktops even in the growing age of touch screens. Our project will aim to show the continuing importance of the mouse.<\/p>\n
Today the computer mouse has become a standard household item, but it is still a fairly new piece of technology, given that it was developed and put into use just a few decades ago. There are two major antecedents and alternatives to the computer mouse, in terms of computer-user interactivity: the lightpen and the joystick. Both lightpens and joysticks were used by computer users to control aspects of computer screen interactivity. Joysticks are still used even today, though they are used for video games and remote control of technologies such as drones and guided missiles. Lightpens, which were used in order to measure off selected areas of computer screens, have almost totally been phased out in favor of joysticks and computer mice for computer-user interactivity capability. However, the lightpen\u2019s precursor, the lightgun is still utilized today as the device for tactical purposes such as real-time control of radar-networked airspaces.<\/p>\n
Doug Engelbart, the man credited with the invention of the computer mouse, first came up with the idea during a conference session on computer graphics that he was attending in 1961. A year after his initial inspiration, he received a grant that allowed him to begin research regarding interactive computing. By 1965, Engelbart and his team published the final report of their study on the computer mouse versus other screen-selection technologies. The results of the study were overwhelmingly in favor of the computer mouse as the best and most efficient screen-selection technology. In 1970, the patent for the computer mouse, which was called the \u201cx, y position indicator for a display system,\u201d was awarded.<\/p>\n
Our project about the mouse will separate pages based on the various aspects of its invention into categories and sub-categories, including the following: antecedents and alternatives, the making of the mouse, the mouse and American society, and the future of the mouse. These categories will be listed as a part of the main header menu at the top of our site\u2019s webpage and be featured on the sidebar as well. Our group mates will each choose a topic and be responsible for that category\u2019s posts. Every post will have at least a featured image and additional supplementary image to facilitate understanding. Around 1-3 sources from our Bibliography will be used for each blog post.<\/p>\n
For our documentary, we will make a very simple yet informative exposition about the mouse. The documentary will start with examining the basics of the mouse today, and then shift back to the beginning of its invention and antecedents, proceeding along with time to fully explain its creation and influence. We will have a designated narrator(s) who will tell the story of the mouse and feature authentic video and photos to illustrate the narrative. Our main creative resources for creating the documentary will include iPhones, video cameras, Photoshop, internet sources featuring content about the mouse\u2019s inventor, Garageband to handle the sound and recording, and finally iMovie to put everything together. We hope to discuss the advent of the computer mouse, how it changed society\u2019s perspective of personal computing, and how society today continues to affect its development.<\/p>\n
We decided on the mouse not as our first choice, but as an alternative. One of our main motivations behind choosing a theme was to look for a piece of technology that is commonly overlooked and underrated. After thinking about the aglet, the plastic tip at the end of the shoelace, we decided to instead go for \u201cthe aglet of the digital world\u201d: the computer mouse. Our project aims to unveil just how revolutionary this technology was at the time of its invention and to emphasize how different our lives would be, as well as personal computing, without it. The mouse may lack recognition for now, however we will soon demonstrate its importance to the development of computers as an industry.<\/p>\n
Bibliography<\/p>\n
Anonymous. \u201cGoodbye, Computer Mouse.\u201d Communications of the ACM<\/em> 51, no. 9 (September 2008): 16. Atkinson, Paul. \u201cThe Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men: The Computer Mouse in the History of Computing.\u201d Design Issues<\/em> 23, no. 3 (Summer 2007): 49-61. Bardini, Thierry. Bootstrapping: Douglas Engelbart, Coevolution, and the Origins of Personal Computing<\/em>. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2000. Brown, David E. Inventing Modern America: From the Microwave to the Mouse<\/em>. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2002. Edwards, Benji. \u201cThe Computer Mouse Turns 40<\/em>.\u201d Macworld, December 9, 2008. Accessed February 20, 2017. http:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/1137400\/input-devices\/mouse 40.html<\/a> Engelbart, Douglas C. \u201cInventor of the Computer Mouse.<\/em>\u201d YouTube video. 2:03. Posted by Neoncon2008, February 25, 2010. Accessed February 20, 2017. https:\/\/www.youtube. com\/watch?v=SQ7totFRh4g<\/a> English, William K., Douglas C, Englebart, and Melvyn L. Berman. \u201cDisplay-Selection Techniques for Text Manipulation.\u201d IEEE Transaction on Human Factors in Electronics<\/em> 8, no. 1 (March 1967): 5-15. Frenkel, Karen A. \u201cA Difficult, Unforgettable Idea.\u201d Communications of the ACM<\/em> 53, no. 3 (March 2009): 21. Ghent, Janet Silver. \u201cThe Mouse that Roared.<\/em>\u201d Palo Alto Weekly, March 26, 2015. Accessed February 20, 2017. http:\/\/www.paloaltoonline.com\/news\/2015\/03\/26\/the-mouse- that-roared<\/a> Greenemeier, Larry. \u201cThe Origin of the Computer Mouse: Now an Endangered Species, it was Crucial to the Development of Personal Computing and Internet.<\/em>\u201d Scientific American<\/em>, August 18, 2009. Accessed February 20, 2017. https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/arti cle\/origins-computer-mouse\/<\/a> Kabbash, Paul, William Buxton, and Abigail Sellen. \u201cTwo-Handed Input in a Compound Task.\u201d Human Factors in Computing Systems<\/em>, April 24, 1994. Accessed February 20, 2017. https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/two-handed-input-94.pdf<\/a> Living History: The Doug Engelbart Archive. Doug Engelbart Institute<\/em>. Accessed February 20, 2017. http:\/\/www.dougengelbart.org\/library\/engelbart-archives.html<\/a> Pang, Alex Soojung-Kim. \u201cMighty Mouse.<\/em>\u201d Stanford Magazine<\/em>, March\/April 2002. Accessed February 20, 2017. http:\/\/alumni.stanford.edu\/get\/page\/magazine\/article\/?article_id=376 94<\/a> Peters, Michael and Jason Ivanoff. \u201cPerformance Asymmetries in Computer Mouse Control of Right-Handers, and Left-Handers with Left- and Right-Handed Mouse Experience.\u201d Journal of Motor Behavior<\/em> 32, no. 1 (March 1999): 86-94. Roch, Axel. \u201cFire-Control and Human-Computer Interaction: Towards a History of the Computer Mouse (1940-1965).\u201d Lab. Jahrbuch der Kunsthochschule f\u00fcr Medien in K\u00f6ln<\/em>, August 28, 1998. Accessed February 20, 2017. http:\/\/web.stanford.edu\/dept\/SUL\/library\/prod\/\/siliconbase\/wip\/control.html<\/a> The Mouse Site: The Archive. Stanford University. Accessed February 20, 2017. http:\/\/web.stanford.edu\/dept\/SUL\/library\/extra4\/sloan\/MouseSite\/Archive.html<\/a> US Archives, \u201cComputer-Aided Display Control.\u201d National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Accessed February 20, 2017. https:\/\/ia600808.us.archive.org\/9\/items\/nasa_techdoc_19660020914\/19660020914.pdf<\/a> US Patent and Trademark Office, \u201cComputer Mouse Input Device with Multi-Axis Palm Control.\u201d USPTO Patent Full-Text and Image Database. Accessed February 20, 2017. http:\/\/patft.uspto.gov\/netacgi\/nph-Parser?Sect2=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=\/netahtml\/PTO\/search-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&d=PALL&RefSrch=yes&Query=PN\/6727889<\/a> US Patent and Trademark Office, \u201cComputer Mouse or Keyboard Input Device Utilizing Capacitive Sensors.\u201d USPTO Patent Full-Text and Image Database. Accessed February 20, 2017. http:\/\/patft.uspto.gov\/netacgi\/nph-Parser?Sect2=PTO1&Sect2= HITOFF&p=1&u=\/netahtml\/PTO\/search-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&d=PALL&RefSrch=yes&Query=PN\/5463388<\/a> US Patent and Trademark Office, \u201cZ-Y Position Controller Having Axially-Inclined Transducer Members.\u201d USPTO Patent Full-Text and Image Database. Accessed February 20, 2017. http:\/\/patft.uspto.gov\/netacgi\/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d= PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=4628755.PN.&OS=PN\/4628755&RS=PN\/4628755<\/a>
\nThis source is a very brief magazine article explaining differing opinions about whether or not the mouse is doomed to become obsolete in the coming years.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nThis is a scholarly journal article that explains the mouse\u2019s historical development and how companies such as Xerox and Apple played a major role in both its design and manufacture.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nThis book analyzes the influence that Douglas Engelbart had on the world of personal computing through his work with windowed user interface, hypertext, and of course his invention of the mouse.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nThis book profiles thirty-five American inventors who \u201cexemplify the rich technological creativity of the United States over the past century\u201d. Developed by an MIT-program this book aims to tell the personal stories and technological stories of American inventors (obviously Douglas Engelbart is included in this).<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nThis article was published on the mouse\u2019s 40th anniversary and details the invention, history and evolution of the computer mouse. In those 40 years not all that much has changed, highlighting the ingenious efficiency of an easy-to use-pointing device.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nVideo of Doug Engelbart talking about how he was sitting in a class about computer graphics when he get an idea about pointing at the screen and started writing it down in the notebook he carried with him. A rough idea of a box on two wheels signaling to the computer. Someone looked at it, called it the mouse, and the name stuck.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nThis is a link to a scholarly journal article written by Engelbart and his associates discussing the alternatives to the mouse at its time of invention. It later proceeds to explain the reasoning behind the success of the mouse, how come it was the chosen invention for computer-aided text manipulation. A paper on the merits of display detection techniques for computers written by William K, English, Douglas C. Engelbart, and Melvyn L. Bernman. In the experiment, the mouse performed well with good speed and acurracy compared to the other devices.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nKaren Frenkel writes of the 40th anniversary of Engelbart\u2019s original demonstration of the computer mouse, detailing the recollections of that demonstration of individuals she calls industry luminaries.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nJanet Silver Ghent discusses the debut of the computer mouse, a production that came to be known as the \u201cmother of all demos.\u201d She then details an electronic opera, produced by Ben Neill and Mikel Rouse that drew inspiration from Engelbert\u2019s original demonstration of the computer mouse.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nIn this article, Larry Greenmeier explains the history of the invention of the computer mouse. He discusses the various individuals that contributed to the technological advancement of the mouse, and ends with a prediction for the future of computer mouse production.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nThis scholarly paper details how the future of GUIs lies in a device that will engage both hands. Benefits of a two hand technique would be performing a simultaneous subtask, but a difficulty that may arise may be the over-loading on cognitive tasks.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nThis is the link to the homepage of Doug Engelbart\u2019s archive. It gives an overview of what the archive offers, as well as provides a brief history of both Engelbart and his invention.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nThis source is a magazine article that discusses how Apple computers used Engelbart\u2019s design to improve the mouse by making it cheaper, easier to mass produce, and much more reliable.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nThis scholarly article compares precision and general computer mouse aiming performances in right-handers and left-handers. The findings showed that right-handers generally performed better and that people performed better when they used their prefer hand on the mouse rather than their inexperienced hand.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nThis is an article published by a student at Stanford explaining the antecedents to the mouse and how radar devices from World War II inspired its design.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nThis site is Stanford University\u2019s archive library dedicated to primary resources focused on Engelbart\u2019s research and interviews about his invention: the computer mouse.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nThis is an 109 page report by W.K. English, D.C. Engelbart and Bonnie Huddart that shows the research on the \u201ccomputer-aided human control of computer displays\u201d. The report contains analysis and evaluation of these techniques.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nThis is the 2004 patent for the computer mouse input device with multi-axis palm control.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nThis is the 1995 patent of the computer mouse, which is called the keyboard input device utilizing capacitive sensors in the title.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nThis is the patent for the hardware within the mouse that transfers motion from the \u201cdrive wheel\u201d on the mouse onto the X and Y axis positioning components of the cursor onto the computer display. This is patent belonged to Jack S. Hawley and comes after Engelbart\u2019s patent in the year 1986.<\/strong><\/p>\n