Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!aplcen!haven!ncifcrf!lhc!mimsy!tove.cs.umd.edu!folta
From: folta@tove.cs.umd.edu (Wayne Folta)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.system
Subject: Re: The Mouse -- What is its History?
Summary: Excellent IEEE article
Message-ID: <26801@mimsy.umd.edu>
Date: 1 Oct 90 19:24:31 GMT
References: <90274.094731ELE@psuvm.psu.edu>
Sender: news@mimsy.umd.edu
Reply-To: folta@tove.cs.umd.edu (Wayne Folta)
Organization: U of Maryland, Dept. of Computer Science, Coll. Pk., MD 20742
Lines: 17

>Ignoring the wheel for now, what is the history of the mouse?  Did it
>really take 15 years?  This seems a long time to me.  Anyone know of
>any good sources which tell the story of the mouse, or want to post a
>precis here?

An EXCELLENT article can be found in the IEEE Spectrum:

   "Of mice and menus: desiginin the user-friendly interface" in the September
   1989 IEEE Spectrum

Interestingly, Apple did make a fairly major contribution to mouse technology,
which was being the first to use a rubber ball that depended on gravity to hold
it in contact with the rollers. This cut mouse-production costs by 75%.
--


Wayne Folta          (folta@cs.umd.edu  128.8.128.8)