The computer mouse turns 40

From the halls of a university research lab to the desks of hundreds of millions of computer users, the computer mouse has come a long way. Douglas Englebart created the first prototypes of the now-familiar device in 1963 at Stanford Research Institute, but he first displayed his creation to the public in 1968 forty years ago Tuesday. During that unveiling, Englebart presented what some have called "the mother of all demos," outlining concepts that would presage the next 40 years of computing, including the use of a three-button palm-sized contraption called a "mouse."

Since then, a handful of companies (namely Xerox, Apple, Microsoft, and Logitech) have poured millions into refining the form and function of the mouse: they've changed its number of buttons, changed the interfaces by which mice connect to computers, and tinkered with new methods of tracking movement. But despite four decades of commercial evolution, computer users today handle the mouse in much the same way Englebart did 40 years ago: as an ingeniously efficient and easy-to-use pointing device.

With the coming of this anniversary, some pundits have been quick to forecast the looming demise of the mouse at the hands of touch screens and speech recognition. But as long as computers require hands-on input from humans, we'll probably have a nook on our desks reserved for our small electronic friends. Forty years later, the mouse has become an indispensable tool for computer input, and its excellence at certain tasks means that it will likely be with us for some time to come. (Read senior editor Dan Frakes' picks for the five best current input devices.)

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From the halls of a university research lab to the desks of hundreds of millions of computer users, the computer mouse has come a long way. Douglas Englebart created the first prototypes of the now-familiar device in 1963 at Stanford Research Institute, but he first displayed his creation to the public in 1968 forty years ago Tuesday. During that unveiling, Englebart presented what some have called "the mother of all demos," outlining concepts that would presage the next 40 years of computing, including the use of a three-button palm-sized contraption called a "mouse."

Since then, a handful of companies (namely Xerox, Apple, Microsoft, and Logitech) have poured millions into refining the form and function of the mouse: they've changed its number of buttons, changed the interfaces by which mice connect to computers, and tinkered with new methods of tracking movement. But despite four decades of commercial evolution, computer users today handle the mouse in much the same way Englebart did 40 years ago: as an ingeniously efficient and easy-to-use pointing device.

With the coming of this anniversary, some pundits have been quick to forecast the looming demise of the mouse at the hands of touch screens and speech recognition. But as long as computers require hands-on input from humans, we'll probably have a nook on our desks reserved for our small electronic friends. Forty years later, the mouse has become an indispensable tool for computer input, and its excellence at certain tasks means that it will likely be with us for some time to come. (Read senior editor Dan Frakes' picks for the five best current input devices.)

Notable moments in mouse history

1963: Bill English constructs first mouse prototype based on Douglas Englebart's sketches. This mouse uses two perpendicular wheels attached to analog potentiometers to track movement. The first mouse has only one button, but more are to come.

1968: Douglas Englebart gives a 90-minute demonstration on December 9 at the Fall Joint Computer Conference in San Francisco. Among other things, it showcases a refined SRI mouse with three buttons.

1972: Jack Hawley and Bill English, inspired by Englebart's work, design a digital mouse for Xerox PARC. This new mouse does not require an analog-to-digital converter but instead sends digital positional information directly to the computer. It also contains the first mouse ball, a metal ball bearing pressed against two rollers to track movement. A similar tracking design (albeit with a few drastic modifications), would be used in most mice for the next 27 years.

1981: Xerox produces a commercial mouse for its expensive 8010 Information System (aka the "Star"). It features two buttons and ball tracking. However, the entire Star system sells for over US$20,000, dooming it and its mouse to relative obscurity.

Under contract, design firm Hovey-Kelley creates the first inexpensive, mass-producible, reliable mouse for Apple. Its key components include optical encoder wheels, a free-moving tracking ball, and a precision injection-molded inner frame. This design breakthrough sets the stage for cheap, reliable consumer mice that everyone can afford.

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