Happy birthday mouse: 40 years of clicks

 

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Posted on 9 Dec 2008 at 10:17

The mouse is 40. The device that revolutionised the way in which we use computers was first demonstrated on 9 December 1968 by its joint inventor, Dr Douglas Engelbart.

That first mouse was built of wood, had two wheels and a single button. But it was the thick cord that connected it to a computer and resembled a tail that gave the device its name.

The mouse was considered a revelation, with Engelbart showing off features we now take for granted, including the ability to easily cut and paste text in documents. The demonstration was also notable for a number of other innovations including hypertext linking, multiple windows, real-time on-screen text editing and even shared-screen teleconferencing.

Engelbart’s co-inventor at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) Bill English would later take the invention to Xerox’s PARC research centre which developed the first commercial version.

But it was a visit to PARC in December 1979 by Apple founders Steve Jobs and Jef Raskin that sealed the future of the mouse as the near-universal means for controlling a computer. The mouse—and the idea of the graphical user interface that Jobs and Raskin also encountered for the first time at PARC—were core components in the development of the first Mac, introduced in 1984.

The mouse’s fortieth birthday comes as some are predicting its imminent demise, with Apple’s iPhone pre-eminent in the minds of those who see touch screens as the future. But for the time being its future seems secure; touch has its charms, but for all gestures in the world cannot yet provide the flexibility and degree of control that the humble mouse offers.

As for Dr Engelbart, he never made a cent from his invention and he once admitted in an interview that “really had no idea of its value”. Though SRI did patent it, that expired in 1987. And what did Apple pay for the rights? “Something like $40,000,” said Engelbart.

Author: Simon Aughton / Stuart Turton