What is a computer mouse for? Computer mouse

Good afternoon friends!

Today we will talk about one very convenient device, to which we are so accustomed and without which we can no longer imagine working on a computer.

What is a "mouse"?

A “mouse” is a push-button manipulator designed together with a keyboard for entering information into a computer.

Indeed, he looks like a mouse with a tail. A modern computer is already unthinkable without this thing.

The “mouse” is much more convenient to use than, for example, the built-in manipulator of a laptop.

Therefore, users often disconnect this laptop “pad” and connect the “mouse”.

How does this convenient thing work?

The first designs of manipulators

The first manipulators included a ball that touched two disc rollers.

The outer rim of each disc had perforation. The shafts were located perpendicular to each other.

One shaft was responsible for the X coordinate (horizontal movement), the other for the Y coordinate (vertical movement).

When the manipulator moved along the table, the ball rotated, transmitting torque to the shafts.

If the manipulator was moved in the “right-left” direction, then the shaft responsible for the X coordinate rotated predominantly. The cursor on the monitor screen also moved right-left. If the mouse moved in the “toward or away” direction, the shaft responsible for the Y coordinate rotated primarily. The cursor on the monitor screen moved up and down.

If the manipulator moved in an arbitrary direction, both shafts rotated, and the cursor moved accordingly.

Optical sensors in old mice

Such devices contained two optical sensors - optocouplers. The optocoupler includes an emitter (LED emitting in the IR range) and a receiver (photodiode or phototransistor). The emitter and receiver are located at a close distance from each other.

When the manipulator moves, shafts with disks rigidly attached to them rotate. The perforated edge of the disk periodically crosses the radiation flow from the emitter to the receiver. As a result, the output of the receiver produces a series of pulses, which goes to the controller chip. The faster the mouse moves, the faster the shafts will rotate. The pulse frequency will be higher, and the cursor will move faster across the monitor screen.

Buttons and scroll wheel

Any manipulator has at least two buttons.

Double “clicking” (pressing) on ​​one of them (usually the left one) starts execution of a program or file, clicking on the other one launches a context menu for the corresponding situation.

Devices designed for computer games may have 5-8 buttons.

By clicking on one of them you can fire a grenade launcher at the monster, on the other you can launch a rocket, on the third you can unload a good old hard drive at it.

Modern mice also have a scroll wheel, which is very convenient when viewing a large document. You can view such a document only by rotating the wheel and without using buttons. Some models have two wheels scrolling, while you can view text or graphic image moving both up and down and left and right.

Below the scroll wheel there is usually another button. If you view a document by rotating the wheel and simultaneously pressing it, the manipulator driver activates such a mode that the document itself begins to move up the screen. The speed of movement depends on how fast the user rotated the wheel before pressing it.

In this mode, the cursor changes its shape. This makes it even more convenient... In short, get it, cook it, chew it, all that's left to do is swallow it. Pressing the wheel again switches from “auto view” to normal mode.

Optical mice

Subsequently, the manipulator was improved.

The so-called optical “mice” appeared.

Such devices contain emitting Light-emitting diode(usually red), a transparent reflective plastic prism, a light sensor and a control controller.

The LED emits rays that, reflected from the surface, are captured by the sensor.

When the manipulator moves, the flow of received radiation changes, which is captured by the sensor and transmitted to the controller, which generates standard signals for a specific interface. Optical mouse more sensitive to movement and does not require a mat for itself, like the old ball manipulator.

An optical mouse has no rubbing parts (with the exception of the potentiometer, the rotation of which is transmitted from the scroll wheel) that wear out or become dirty. This is also an advantage.

Possible problems with manipulators

The mouse, like any equipment, has a limited service life. It's no secret that the bulk of computer equipment is made in China. The goal of any business is profit, so the Chinese comrades even save on cables for mice, making them as thin as possible.

Therefore the first weakness for manipulators it is the cable.

More often internal break one or more cores occurs at the point where the cable enters the mouse.

The cable has 4 wires, two of them are power, the third is clock frequency, the fourth is informational.

If the mouse is not visible to the computer, the first thing you need to do is “ring” the cable.

If a break is detected, you should cut off the part of the cable with the connector (behind the point where the cable enters the mouse body, closer to the connector) and the remaining piece to printed circuit board manipulator, naturally observing the colors.

PS/2 Mice Can't switch on the fly .

Otherwise, her controller (her tiny “brain”) may fail. And it’s good if the matter is limited to just this. The PS/2 interface controller on the motherboard, which is much worse.

If the cable is intact, but the mouse is not recognized by the controller, then most likely its controller has failed and it must be replaced. A cable break in optical mice can also be suspected by the lack of light from the LED (which is located near the surface that moves on the table). In other cases, there may be no light due to a faulty LED or controller, but this is rare.

Manipulators with COM or USB interface Can switch on the fly. However, currently devices with a COM interface are practically not found.

You have to “click” the mouse many thousands of times, and the buttons may fail after prolonged use. To replace the button, you need to disassemble the manipulator and solder another one. It is not necessary to use the same one as it was. The main thing here is to maintain the height in order to maintain the length of the key stroke. However, manipulators have long been quite affordable, and most users do not bother with their repair.

Let’s say “thank you” to the good old “mice” with a ball in their bellies - they served us well...

Concluding the article, we note that there are varieties of manipulators with laser emitter instead of LEDs, which provide more accurate and faster cursor positioning. This speed and accuracy are especially in demand in games.

There are also wireless (radio) “mice” in which the exchange of information with the computer is carried out not over a wire, but over a radio channel. Therefore, they contain their own power source - a pair of finger-type galvanic cells of AA or AAA size. Let us remind you once again that the manipulator connector is inserted into one of the ports.

That's all for today.

Victor Geronda was with you.

See you on the blog!

The first computer mouse was introduced on December 5, 1968 at a show of interactive devices in California. Although there are facts that developments and first results had happened earlier. In 1970, Douglas Engelbart received a patent for the production of a gadget familiar to us today. The first manipulator had three buttons, although initially the developer wanted to equip the device with five buttons - according to the number of fingers on the hand. At that time, a thick cord was used to connect to a computer, hence the name mouse.

The first mouse for controlling a PC was a wooden box with a cord sticking out of the case at the back. The principle of operation of the gadget was as simple as possible.

Inside the body there were two wheels perpendicular to each other. Thanks to the wheels, the manipulator moved along the X and Y axes. The built-in chip recorded the movements and the number of revolutions made. This data was transmitted to the processor, which processed the information and displayed a light spot on the screen - a cursor.

At the presentation, Douglas Engelbart and his assistant demonstrated to the public the operation of the first computer mouse, not only in normal mode, but also in the process of joint editing of one document.

Evolution of the computer manipulator

In the early seventies, the invention found widespread use. It was included with the Alto computer. General principle The work was preserved, but the body became plastic, the cord was located on the front, and the buttons became more convenient. Soon the roller discs were replaced by a more convenient and less bulky ball. It is now possible to disassemble and clean the device.

The next step was to create an optical mouse that works using an optical sensor. This pointing device was included with the Macintosh.

First wireless mouse appeared in 1991, it was introduced to the world by Logitech. However, this innovation was not recognized for a long time, since signal transmission via infrared waves was very slow, which significantly slowed down work on the computer.

Fast and comfortable laser mice became available in 2004. Nowadays, the most popular gadgets are radio communication devices. Today there are already gyroscopic mice that do not require a hard surface to control the cursor.

Facts about the inventor

It is curious that Douglas Engelbart did not sell his invention. His tasks did not include enrichment. The inventor received only $10,000 for his development, which he spent on buying a house for his family.

Subsequently, Douglas practically did not personally participate in improving the gadget. It so happened that he had to fight cancer and think more about his health than about new electronics.

Today, it is impossible to imagine a computer without this input device. The manipulator simplifies and speeds up editing texts and photos, provides comfort and convenience.

Today, the mouse is a necessary input device for all modern computers. But just recently everything was different. Computers did not have graphic commands and data could only be entered using the keyboard. And when the very first one appeared, you will be surprised to see what kind of evolution this familiar object has gone through.

Who invented the first computer mouse?

Considered the father of this device. He was one of those scientists who try to bring science closer even to ordinary people and make progress accessible to everyone. He invented the first computer mice in the early 1960s in his laboratory at Stanford Research Institute (now SRI International). The first prototype was created in 1964, and the patent application for this invention, filed in 1967, referred to it as an "XY Position Indicator for a Display System." But the official document number 3541541 was received only in 1970.

But is it really that simple?

It would seem that everyone knows who created the first computer mouse. But trackball technology was first used much earlier by the Canadian Navy. Back in 1952, the mouse was just a bowling ball attached to a complex hardware system that could sense the ball's movement and simulate its movements on the screen. But the world learned about it only years later - after all, it was a secret military invention that was never patented or attempted to be mass-produced. 11 years later it was already known, but D. Engelbart recognized it as ineffective. At that moment, he did not yet know how to connect his vision of the mouse and this device.

How did the idea come about?

The basic ideas for the invention first came to D. Engelbart's mind in 1961, when he was at a conference on computer graphics and pondered the problem of increasing the efficiency of interactive computing. It occurred to him that by using two small wheels that move on the tabletop (one wheel rotates horizontally, the other vertically), the computer can track the combination of their rotation and, accordingly, move the cursor on the display. To some extent, the principle of operation is similar to a planimeter - an instrument used by engineers and geographers to measure distances on a map or drawing, etc. The scientist then wrote down this idea in his notebook for future use.

Step into the Future

A little over a year later, D. Engelbart received a grant from the institute to launch his research initiative called "Enhancing the Human Mind." By this, he envisioned a system where knowledge workers, working on high-performance computer stations with interactive displays, had access to a vast online information space. With its help, they can collaborate to solve particularly important problems. But this system sorely lacked a modern input device. After all, in order to comfortably interact with objects on the screen, you need to be able to quickly select them. NASA became interested in the project and provided a grant for the construction of a computer mouse. The first version of this device is similar to the modern one except in size. At the same time, the team of researchers came up with other devices that made it possible to control the cursor by pressing a pedal with your feet or moving a special clamp under the table with your knee. These inventions never caught on, but the joystick, invented at the same time, was later improved and is still in use today.

In 1965, D. Engelbart's team published the final report of their research and various methods for selecting objects on the screen. There were even volunteers who participated in the testing. It went something like this: the program showed objects in different parts of the screen and volunteers tried to click on them as quickly as possible different devices. According to test results, the first computer mice were clearly superior to all other devices and were included as standard equipment for further research.

What did the first computer mouse look like?

It was made of wood and was the first input device that fit into the user's hand. Knowing the principle of its operation, you should no longer be surprised by what the first computer mouse looked like. Under the body there were two metal disks-wheels, diagram. There was only one button, and the wire went under the wrist of the person holding the device. The prototype was assembled by one of the members of D. Engelbart’s team, his assistant William (Bill) English. Initially, he worked in another laboratory, but soon joined a project to create input devices, developed and implemented the design of a new device.

By tilting and rocking the mouse, you could draw perfectly straight vertical and horizontal lines.

In 1967 the body became plastic.

Where did the name come from?

No one remembers for sure who was the first to call this device a mouse. It was tested by 5-6 people, it is possible that one of them voiced the similarities. Moreover, the world's first computer mouse had a tail wire on the back.

Further improvements

Of course, the prototypes were far from ideal.

In 1968, at a computer conference in San Francisco, D. Engelbart presented the first improved computer mice. They had three buttons; in addition to them, the keyboard was equipped with a device for the left hand.

The idea was this: the right hand works with the mouse, selecting and activating objects. And the left one conveniently calls out the necessary commands using a small keyboard with five long keys, like a piano. Then it became clear that the wire under the operator’s hand was getting tangled when using the device, and that it needed to be routed to the opposite side. Of course, the left-handed console did not catch on, but Douglas Engelbart used it on his computers until his last days.

Continuing to improve

At further stages of mouse development, other scientists entered the scene. The most interesting thing is that D. Engelbart never received royalties from his invention. Since he patented it as a specialist from the Stanford Institute, it was the institute that controlled the rights to the device.

So, in 1972, Bill English replaced the wheels with a trackball, which made it possible to detect mouse movement in any direction. Since he was then working at Xerox PARC, this new product became part of the Xerox Alto system, which was advanced by those standards. It was a minicomputer with graphical interface. Therefore, many people mistakenly believe that Xerox is the first.

The next round of development occurred with the mouse in 1983, when the game came into play Apple company. The enterprising person calculated the cost of mass production of the device, which amounted to approximately $300. This was too expensive for the average consumer, so the decision was made to simplify the design of the mouse and replace the three buttons with one. The price dropped to $15. And although this decision is still considered controversial, Apple is in no hurry to change its iconic design.

The first computer mice were rectangular or square in shape; the anatomical round design appeared only in 1991. It was introduced by Logitech. In addition to its interesting shape, the new product was wireless: communication with the computer was provided using radio waves.

The first optical mouse appeared in 1982. It needed a special mousepad with a printed grid to work. And although the ball in the trackball quickly became dirty and caused inconvenience because it had to be cleaned regularly, the optical mouse was not commercially viable until 1998.

What's next?

As you already know, “tailed” devices with a trackball are practically not used anymore. Technologies and ergonomics of computer mice are constantly improving. And even today, when devices with touchscreens are becoming more and more popular, their sales are not falling.

When buying a computer, many users pay attention only to the choice of the main and most expensive components - processor, motherboard, video card, etc.

As for the choice peripheral devices( , mouse), many characteristics are overlooked here. Often the user takes what is included with system unit, and then wonders why the mouse quickly breaks down (or it is simply uncomfortable to hold in your hand).

In this article, we will look at the main characteristics of a computer mouse that you should consider when purchasing.

1 Size and shape

Most of all computer operations are performed using the mouse. Consequently, the user almost constantly holds the mouse in his hand and moves it across the table or rug. This explains the need to choose exactly the device that, in its shape and size, will ideally fit the shape and size of the palm. Otherwise, holding the mouse will not be very comfortable, you will get tired faster and get less pleasure from work.

I even know people whose hand hurt so much after working with an uncomfortable mouse for a long time that they involuntarily became left-handed for a while. When the hand began to, as they say, ache, the mouse moved to the left, into the left hand, the mouse buttons were rearranged for the left hand, and thus it was possible to calm the right hand. This is very inconvenient if you are not a true left-hander, and the work on the computer is greatly slowed down.

Therefore, before buying, be sure to hold the mouse in your hand and figure out how convenient it is to work with it, how comfortable it is to hold it in your hand (in the right hand for right-handers and in the left hand for left-handers).

2 Type (type) of computer mouse

Based on their type, mice are divided into

• mechanical,
• optical and
• remote.

Depending on the type, let's see what a computer mouse looks like.

Mechanical manipulators use a special ball that rotates as the device moves along a flat surface.

Rice. 1 Mechanical mouse

Optical mouse manipulators use an optical pointer that reads changes in the position of the mouse relative to the plane along which the mouse is moving.

Rice. 2 Optical computer mouse USB connection

Remote mice work on the same principle as optical mice, but they do not have a wired connection to the computer.

Rice. 3 Remote mouse

With remote mice, the signal from the manipulator is transmitted wirelessly remotely, and the mice themselves operate on a battery or battery.

Mechanical mice are currently obsolete. Almost no one uses them due to relatively low sensitivity and frequent failures. They quickly accumulate dust and dirt, which interfere with the normal operation of the rotating ball and reading sensors. There is no point in buying such manipulators, even if they are attractive in price.

Optical mice are the most common (due to ease of use, reliability and durability).

Remote mice are also used quite often, but have a number of disadvantages. Eg,

• possible problems with sensitivity (including due to the lack of wires),
• the need to periodically replace batteries,
• Battery charge monitoring, if used.

However, such remote mice can be useful for those who work at a distance from the computer. For example, in the case of using a computer as a TV, it is more convenient to switch television channels remotely, while at a distance, sitting, as they say, on the sofa, for which a remote mouse can be oh, how useful!

Remote mice are also convenient for those who make presentations using a computer, but do not have the opportunity to work with professional equipment. Then a computer (usually not even a computer, but a laptop) is used as a screen for demonstration, and a remote mouse allows you to switch presentation slides from a distance (for example, while standing during a speech).

3 Connector

Any mice, even remote ones, must be connected to the computer via ports. Wired mice have a corresponding connector at the end of the wire. Wireless mice have special device like a small flash drive, which also connects to a PC port and serves as a receiver for signals from a remote mouse.

Rice. 4 PC/2 ports

The mouse can connect to the computer

• to the PC/2 port (Fig. 4 – round port),
• as well as to the USB port (Fig. 2).

At the same time, USB mice are rapidly replacing mice with a PC/2 cable from the market. There are several reasons for this:

• firstly, a better connection;
• secondly, the prevalence of USB connectors on almost all modern PCs.

It also happens that there are not many USB ports on the computer, and they may not be enough to connect a mouse. It's rare, but something like this can happen. Then they come to the rescue - these are devices that allow from one USB port make 2, 4 or more USB ports. This makes buying a mouse more expensive, since you have to buy a splitter in addition to it, but it solves the problem of a lack of ports. Fortunately, a lack of USB is an extremely rare situation; in ordinary PCs (if it is not “exotic”) there are always enough USB ports to connect a mouse.

For those who do not want to part with the familiar and now “native” mouse with a PS-2 connector when switching to a PC that no longer has PS-2 ports, the industry (unfortunately, not quite native, but rather Chinese!) offers PS adapters -2 – USB. Again, this is a rare occurrence; it’s easier to change a mouse to USB than to look for, buy, and pay for an adapter. However, for those interested, we can offer this somewhat exotic option of connecting a mouse to a computer.

4 Sensitivity

This indicator is measured in dpi (dots per inch). The higher the sensitivity of a computer mouse, the more accurately you can move the mouse cursor around the workspace (on the screen) of the monitor.

Let me explain. We are talking about the accuracy with which you can place the mouse cursor with your hand at one point or another on the screen. The higher the sensitivity, that is, the more dots per inch, the more accurately you can position the mouse cursor in the right point screen.

Let me remind you that an inch is 2.54 cm. And we use this length measurement system because we are not the ancestors of computer technology, and therefore we use someone else’s system of measures and weights.

High sensitivity, in fact, is not only a blessing. High sensitivity, on the contrary, can cause problems and difficulties working with the mouse. High sensitivity is important for those who work with computer graphics high resolution, for computer designers, for constructors and similar professions that require drawing or drawing using a PC. High sensitivity can be useful for “gamers”, fans of computer games, where the accuracy of hitting certain fields on the monitor screen is important.

Otherwise regular users PCs can make do with mouse controls with relatively low precision. Why high accuracy if you only do, for example, text editing? You can easily use your mouse to hit the desired line, the desired text symbol, as they say, “without aiming” and you won’t miss!

The sensitivity of many mechanical mice ranges from 400-500 dpi. However, as noted earlier, this type of manipulator is a thing of the past. In optical models, the dpi value can reach 800-1000.

The cost of a specific mouse model directly depends on the sensitivity. When purchasing a mouse with high sensitivity, a PC user pays additionally for this feature. This is another argument in favor of choosing mice that are not too sensitive. Why overpay if high sensitivity is not needed in normal PC work?!

5 Number of buttons

A standard mouse has only three controls - the right and left buttons, as well as a wheel. The mouse wheel is not only a familiar scrolling tool, but also serves as the third mouse button. You can press the wheel like a button, click it. This allows, for example, to open browser windows in new tabs (see).

Working with buttons and the mouse wheel should be pleasant and comfortable, otherwise such a mouse can cause irritation for a PC user. For example, the buttons (both right and left) may be too tight and require quite a lot of force to press. This is not convenient for everyone, and when working for a long time, you can simply get tired of pressing buttons, which sometimes leads to painful and unpleasant sensations.

Mouse buttons can be pressed quietly, almost silently, or they can “click” loudly. This is also, as they say, an acquired taste, some people like it louder, with a clicking sound, while others prefer silence.

The buttons can be pressed without play, without free play, and in some cases the play can be so large that it feels like the button itself is moving a little, swaying. Buttons with play can be annoying, but on the other hand, some people may like them. As they say, not for everyone. You have to try it with your own hands and choose.

Also the mouse wheel. It can spin easily, or it can “slow down” and require additional effort. Here too - as you like.

Pressing the wheel may be light or may require some training of the index finger. It is especially annoying if the wheel is pressed without a click, when it is not very possible to feel whether a press has occurred or not. In this case, pressing and scrolling the wheel becomes akin to roulette, either hit or miss! Not very convenient, this mouse is more for thrill-seekers.

It is better for the average inexperienced PC user to have a mouse where everything is simple and clear:

• here they are, left and right mouse clicks,
• here it is, scrolling the wheel up and down (attention, sometimes the wheel spins well only in one direction up or down, but gets stuck in the other, and this also needs to be checked when purchasing!).
• And here they are, clear and understandable clicks with the wheel, that is, clicks with the third mouse button.

Everything is simple, reliable, practical.

For ordinary three-button mice, as a rule, no additional drivers are needed; they are already included in PC operating systems.

Rice. 5 Mouse with a lot of buttons

More expensive and advanced models may have 4, 5, 6 or more buttons. When installing drivers for such mice, you can assign a specific action (or a sequence of actions) to each button. This can be very convenient when working in some special applications or in computer games. Otherwise, these extra buttons are not needed, it is better not to overpay manufacturers for them, and limit yourself to standard manipulators, two-button mice with a wheel (aka the third button).

6 Other characteristics

This could be, for example, case material, button material, manufacturer, etc. Here you should choose based only on your own preferences. Some people work well with ordinary plastic mice. Some people prefer metal mice. Some people like regular buttons, while others want buttons with finger-shaped notches for a comfortable hand position.

Some people like mice of any color, while others prefer only White color, only black, yellow, pink, green, and you never know what other colors there are!

Personally, for example, I like mice that work on any surface: on a table, on a mouse pad, on a tablecloth, on oilcloth, on fabric.

And there are mice that, for the life of me, will not work on a light table, for example, or on oilcloth, or on glass, until you put a mouse pad or at least a regular sheet of paper under them. And this is also an important characteristic of the mouse, which we will classify as “other characteristics”.

Another “other characteristic” is how quickly the mouse collects dust and dirt from the table, and how easily it is cleaned of this dust and dirt. Unfortunately, there are no ideal workplaces. Whatever you do, dust and dirt tend to appear again and again, and they settle on the lower surface of any mouse, even the cheapest or most expensive. And here it is important how quickly the mouse becomes inoperable due to this, and how easily it can be cleaned of all this. A dirty mouse may, for example, lose its sensitivity, or begin to work “jerkily,” which makes it difficult for the mouse cursor to hit certain points on the screen.

Rice. 6 Apple mouse with touch control

For some PC users, an important “other characteristic” may be the name of the manufacturer. For example, if you have an “advanced” laptop from Apple, you might want a mouse from the same manufacturer with touch controls, when you just move your finger, there are no mechanics, nothing rotates, but the movement of your finger is detected. You will have to pay extra money to own this manipulator.

Or you can just hope that a more or less well-known other company will not sell “bad” mice that can quickly fail. And then you may want to buy a mouse from manufacturers such as, for example, Logitech, Microsoft, A4 Tech.

Here, to be honest, it depends. An unsightly mouse a la “made in China”, as they say, “noname” (that is, without a name, without an obvious manufacturer, without a known manufacturer) can serve faithfully so long that you forget when, where and at what price you bought it . Or maybe a branded mouse will fail quite quickly. Although, on average, mice from well-known manufacturers last longer and work better than their Chinese (and not only) competitors.

So, as we see, mice are not such simple devices. They have many parameters in which they can differ from each other. Mouse selection – important point when choosing a PC. Because we will have to work with the mouse, since we have become users (and to some extent even hostages) of modern “window technology” for presenting information on the monitor screen and processing it with modern tools that personal computers provide us.

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Almost all users desktop computers In everyday work, a mouse is used to perform any operations. Laptop owners also often turn to this device, considering the touchpad somewhat inconvenient. But let's look at what a mouse is in a general sense and what types of such devices were developed initially and are on the market today. And first, let's turn to respected information sources that present a description using technical terms, and then we'll move on to a simpler consideration of the issue.

What is a mouse

Based on the official information provided by many computer publications, the mouse is a universal pointing type manipulator, which is designed to control the graphical interface of the operating system and perform almost all known operations based on binding the device to the cursor on the computer monitor screen.

The principle of control is to move on a mouse pad, on a table or on any other surface (this can be done by devices that do not require a mouse pad). Offset or current location information is transmitted operating system or program, which causes a response to perform some actions (for example, displaying additional pull-down menus or lists). But the design of the device also provides for the presence special buttons, which are responsible for selecting a specific action. When using standard settings, double-click with the left button is provided to open files or programs, single-click to select an object or activate interface elements, and single-click with the right button to access context menus. But this only applies to classic designs. Today on the market of such equipment you can find many models that differ radically in both design solutions and operating principles. Let's look at them separately.

A little history

People first started talking about what a mouse is in 1968, when it was presented at an exhibition of interactive devices in California. A little later, in 1981, the mouse officially became part of the standard set of devices included with Xerox 8010 series minicomputers.

A little later it became an integral part of the periphery Apple computers, and only then IBM-compatible computer systems began to be equipped with a mouse. Since then, the manipulator has firmly entered the lives of all users, although it has undergone many changes and constantly introduced innovations in terms of design solutions, principles of operation, control, actions performed, as well as expanded capabilities.

Main types of manipulators by operating principle

Initially, the mouse meant a design based on direct drive, which consisted of two perpendicularly located wheels, which made it possible to move in different directions regardless of the angle.

A little later, devices based on a ball drive appeared, in which the main role was played by a built-in metal ball with a rubber coating, which provided improved grip on the surface of the mouse pad. The next generation was devices equipped with a contact encoder (textolite disk) with three contacts on radial metal tracks. Finally, optical mice were created based on one light diode and two photodiodes.

It is optical devices that have become the most common and in demand among users. In their classification, the following models can be distinguished:

• mice with matrix sensor;
• laser mice;
• induction mice;
• gyroscopic mice.

Of this set, gyroscopic devices deserve special attention. They are able to control not only when moving along a surface, but also in a vertical position in space.

Types of mice by connection

What is a mouse, we figured it out a little. Now let's see how such manipulators connect to computer systems. Initially, a special input was provided on the motherboard for connection to the computer, and the mouse was connected via a cord with a special tulip-type plug.

With the advent of USB interfaces, manipulators began to be used that connected to computers through them. Finally appeared wireless devices, which, however, are also, in fact, a USB mouse, since they use a special sensor or tablet mat connected via a USB port. Somewhat later, devices based on Bluetooth radio modules began to be used. And these are definitely wireless mice.

Basic and additional mouse buttons

Now a few words about the main elements of any such manipulator. At one time, Apple decided that just one button was enough to control the interface, so for a long time it focused on such devices. Then it turned out that one button was clearly not enough, and the computer world switched to devices with two and three keys. However, it soon became clear that this was not enough. For example, models that had additional volume control buttons became especially popular. And, of course, there was a scroll wheel, which made it easier to move around the screen.

Additional controls

The design of both USB mice and any other type is constantly being improved. And here the specifics of using the manipulator come to the fore.

For example, gaming mice, in addition to having additional buttons, can also be equipped with mini-joysticks, trackballs, programming buttons and touch strips, which in some sense are analogues of the most common touchpads that are installed on laptops.

And the scroll wheel itself began to perform a dual function. In addition to the fact that it can move up/down, when you click on it, it works like the middle key of a three-button mouse.

Basic mouse settings in Windows

This is an important question. Now let's see how to configure the mouse on Windows systems. To do this, you must use the appropriate section of the “Control Panel”.

There are enough settings here. It all depends on the type of device being connected. But a mouse in Windows is typically configured in three main tabs containing options for buttons, wheel, and pointer selection. You can adjust the sensitivity, the speed of movement across the screen, change the orientation of the buttons, select the types of pointers for any operation being performed, specify the number of lines by which to move when scrolling, use additional visual effects like a residual trace, and much more. In general, setting up a mouse should not cause any particular difficulties even for an untrained user. By and large, the default settings can usually be left unchanged.

Instead of an afterword

That's all about the mouse as one of the components of a computer system. As for its practical use, you can’t do without it on desktop PCs, but owners of laptops with a touchpad or equipped with touchscreens may well refuse to connect it to the computer system. And yet, despite such innovations, the mouse as a control element remains in demand and popular.