Mouse (computing)

Operating an opto-mechanical mouse. moving the mouse turns the ball. X and Y rollers grip the ball and transfer movement Optical encoding disks include light holes. Infrared LEDs shine through the disks. Sensors gather light pulses to convert to X and Y vectors.

A computer mouse is a pointing device (hand control) that detects two-dimensional motion relative to a surface. This motion is typically translated into the motion of a pointer on a display, which allows a smooth control of the graphical user interface.

Physically, a mouse consists of an object held in one's hand, with one or more buttons. Mice often also feature other elements, such as touch surfaces and "wheels", which enable additional control and dimensional input.

The earliest known publication of the term mouse as referring to a computer pointing device is in Bill English's July 1965 publication, "Computer-Aided Display Control".

Both the online Oxford Dictionaries and Merriam-Webster entries for mouse state the plural for the small rodent is mice, while the plural for the small computer connected device is either mice or mouses. The Oxford dictionary's usage section states that the more common plural is mice and claims the first recorded use of the plural is mice (though it cites a 1984 use of mice when there were actually several earlier ones, such as J. C. R. Licklider's "The Computer as a Communication Device" of 1968). According to the fifth edition of The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language the plural can be either "mice" or "mouses".

The trackball, a related pointing device, was invented in 1941 by Ralph Benjamin as part of a World War II-era fire-control radar plotting system called Comprehensive Display System (CDS). Benjamin was then working for the British Royal Navy Scientific Service. Benjamin's project used analog computers to calculate the future position of target aircraft based on several initial input points provided by a user with a joystick. Benjamin felt that a more elegant input device was needed and invented what they called a "roller ball" for this purpose.