Believe it or not, but when the mouse was first introduced many people felt uncomfortable using it. Nowadays most people have used a mouse, and are more than comfortable with using one.
History
The first mouse (invented by Douglas Engelbart) was very basic. It consisted of a wooden shell, two metal wheels, a single button and a circuit board. It could only move in two directions, and you couldn't scroll.
However eight years later Bill English replaced the wheels with a ball, which allowed movement in all directions, and also allowed the computer to recognize speed. This mouse became part of the first minicomputer system that allowed graphical user interface.
Another eight years later a mouse was developed that was optical, and although at the time the ball mouse was still in wide use, nowadays most mice are optical or laser.
The scroll on a mouse was originally just another button, but this was developed 1995 by Mouse systems. The initial idea was thought up by Eric Michelman, who first thought of use a joystick to control movement and zoom/pan, but when he heard about a wheel on the mouse, it was developed into the scrolling mouse we see today.
However eight years later Bill English replaced the wheels with a ball, which allowed movement in all directions, and also allowed the computer to recognize speed. This mouse became part of the first minicomputer system that allowed graphical user interface.
Another eight years later a mouse was developed that was optical, and although at the time the ball mouse was still in wide use, nowadays most mice are optical or laser.
The scroll on a mouse was originally just another button, but this was developed 1995 by Mouse systems. The initial idea was thought up by Eric Michelman, who first thought of use a joystick to control movement and zoom/pan, but when he heard about a wheel on the mouse, it was developed into the scrolling mouse we see today.
How does it work
The mouse works by knowing where it is on the computer screen and the relation to where it is in reality. So if you move the mouse forward, it knows where to move the mouse to in relation to the screen.
Once the mouse knows where it is on the screen, computer programming tells it whether there is any links 'under' the mouse. If there is, when you click the left hand button, a computer or radio signal is sent to the computer saying to 'connect' the link.
Once the mouse knows where it is on the screen, computer programming tells it whether there is any links 'under' the mouse. If there is, when you click the left hand button, a computer or radio signal is sent to the computer saying to 'connect' the link.
Optical and laser mice
The difference between optical and laser mice is not much. They both use the same principals and technology, and the only difference is the light source. Optical mice use LED's or similar light bulbs, but laser mice use lasers.