Happy Birthday, Mouse

[rhubarbodendron]

On Nov 17th 1970 our good friend the computer mouse was born from the brains of a Mr Douglas C. Engelbart in America.
(well, actually it was born earlier but it got patented on that day)

Happy birthday to the most handy of all electronic devices!

Isn't it surprising that with all the incredible changes and technological advance concerning computers the mouse has hardly changed at all? It just became a bit rounder with the years (like all of us ).

 

[Geckothan]

The mouse is the best input device ever along with the keyboard. Touch screens are just stupid and should die in a fire.

 

[gturner]

You mean a video display device shouldn't be blocked by your hand?

Just wait till the contact lens touch screen displays come out. You'll poke your finger in your eye.

 

[scotpens]

The mouse is the best input device ever along with the keyboard. Touch screens are just stupid and should die in a fire.

Touch screens are good for public devices like ATMs and vending machines, where you're just choosing from a handful of selections. For anything that requires more complex input, they suck.

 

[Geckothan]

Touch screens do have their uses, but a mouse and keyboard are better for 99% of my computing tasks (excluding console gaming and controlling a TV with a remote).

There's just no useful feedback from touch screens, which means you have to look at your hands as you're making input, which might not matter on things like phones, ATMs, etc (though I can send texts from my pocket on phones with old-school keypads), but when you're using a proper computer (be it a desktop or laptop), where the keyboard is the most efficient text input method, you really don't want to waste half of your screen space for an on-screen one that you have to look at while you're using it, when you could be using that screen space for something more useful and focussing your eyes on your output.

Yes, tablet-style interfaces and voice controls cut down on the need for a mouse and keyboard, but you can't do serious work that way. The most productive input methods will always be the mouse and keyboard (if you can touch type anyway, though it's not exactly difficult to learn), at least until neural interfaces become available.

I guess a good trackpad is a usable substitute for a mouse on a laptop, but I'll still plug a mouse in whenever possible.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

One more thing I never realized was that old. The compact disc was one of the others.

The only thing better than a standard mouse for very intricate work is a good trackball, I think.

 

[rhubarbodendron]

LOL you just made me realize how old I am: my first PC ran with magnetic tape cassettes. The main computer at my university was literally as big as a gym and used 1 ft diameter tape wheels (actually, it were a few dozen computers in rows). Back in the 70s it was one of the world's fastest and most modern computers.
For me the invention of the floppy disc was already a highlight!