Subject areaChannels and tools
The mouse is the pointing device you slide by hand across a surface: its movement moves a cursor on the screen, and pressing a button (the click) selects whatever the cursor points to.
It is a peripheral, a device connected to the computer to send or receive information.
It was invented by Douglas Engelbart, who presented it in public in 1968 together with hypertext and video conferencing. The step that matters is this: before the mouse, you commanded a computer by typing instructions; after it, pointing was enough. This is why the mouse made graphical, window-based interfaces possible and brought the computer closer to people who could not program. Today part of the interaction has moved to touch screens and voice, and mouse and keyboard coexist with these newer ways of giving commands.
An example
A technician at a manufacturing plant who monitors equipment from an on-screen panel moves the cursor onto a valve setting and selects it with a click: a hand gesture becomes a command for the machine without typing a single line of instructions.
Enrico Giubertoni. Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0: you may quote, translate and adapt this entry with the author’s name and a link, stating any changes. For commercial use, write to info@enricogiubertoni.com
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