Happy 40th Anniversary to the First Computer Mouse!

A mouse (Not the pesky rodent!) is a pointing device, where it functions by detecting two-dimensional motion relative to its supporting surface. To be more precise, a mouse consists of an object that holds under one of the user’s hands, with one or more buttons.

As you can see, the contemporary computer mouse has a wheel that allows the user to perform various system-dependent operations.

first computer mouse

Do you know that inventor Douglas Engelbart was creating the first computer mouse on Dec 9, 1968? After a glorious 40th anniversary years, Douglas said, “Although there’s been an explosion of technology in the past 4 decades, it hasn’t reached the level of potential he envisioned in the early 1960s yet!”

Engelbart also stated that most of the present day’s mouse is being created to fit the commercial and entertainment, where it was getting documents to look nicer and crank them out faster!

Honestly, Engelbart is somewhat upset with a computer mouse’s progression because he’s former vision was subverted by commercialism. Due to the disappointment, he thought there is nothing more to celebrate here…

However, there is still a memorable moment, where the celebration tried to get the audience into the mindset of time by displaying old black and white photos of the SRI team at work on how to create the world’s first computer mouse. Mr Engelbart was very grateful with it, and he’d also signed up some autographs and taken some photographs as well!

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