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The first prototype of the computer mouse was built in 1964 by Dougles Englebart and Bill English, inside the Stanford Research Institute. They called it a “mouse” because the cord was attached to the rear, which resembled the tail of a mouse. -
It still had a horizontal wheel and a vertical wheel, but now it could move in different directions. It also came with three big buttons. -
Two months before Engelbart’s demo, however, a German company Telefunken had developed another mouse model that used a ball. It was called the Rollkugel, meaning a “rolling ball” in German. This is significant, because it was the first device to use a ball to track the mouse movement – which would be a standard for a while. -
In 1972, Bill English made a new mouse model for Xerox PARC. It used a ball like the Rollkugel, but the ball was made out of metal. The new mouse model was included with the Xerox Alto, which is regarded as the first computer to utilize a mouse. The Alto was introduced to the public in 1973. The Xeroc PARC mouse set a standard for the basic structure of the mouse, which still lives on today. -
In 1981, Xerox created the Xerox 8010 system, also known as “Star”. It is the first computer that came with a mouse. The mouse used a small ball, attached to a complicated mechanical system, that tracked the mouse movement. The whole system cost $16,500, which is worth around $49,131.76 in 2020. -
Later in 1981, Richard F. Lyon and Steven Kirsch invented the first optical mouse. Optical sensors detect motion by taking a picture of the surface repeatedly, like a camera on burst mode.However, these first generation of optical sensors did not work with typical surfaces. Instead, they needed a special mousepad that was customized to track the mouse movement. -
Meanwhile in Switzerland, Logitech introduced the P4 mouse in 1982, which is their first hardware device. Even with the increase in manufacturers, computer mice still were not cheap. In an article written in 1982, the manufacturer for Xerox mice mentions that there is basically no market competition, and the price of his mouse is $415. -
Microsoft introduced the first ergonomic mouse, with the famous “dove bar” shape in the same year. The shape was revolutionary in terms of comfort, and ergonomic mice are still very popular today. -
Logitech announced the TrackMan Marble in 1995, with their patented Marble sensor. It was the first mouse with trackball system, which you move the cursor by moving the ball, not the mouse. -
In 1996, Microsoft released the original version of IntelliMouse, with a clickable scroll wheel. Unlike Mouse Systems, Microsoft was able to popularize the scroll wheel and it became an essential part of a computer mouse. -
IBM released the TrackPoint Mouse, which had a 2-D scroll, in 1997. Because it had a small joystick instead of a vertical wheel, this is the first mouse that could scroll horizontally. -
In 1998, Apple decided to include the infamous Apple USB Mouse, aka the Hocky Puck. It has a circular shape which earned its nickname, as well as one button like all other Apple mice.