Mouse Definition Computer

Mouse is an important input device without which the functioning of a computer is ineffective or incomplete. It helps provide input instructions to the computer system. The basic or fundamental concept of the mouse was invented by "Douglas Engelbart" in the 1960s. Mouse is used as a commander (mainly used as an instructor) for the computer and is also known as a pointing device. Simply put, it makes the process of working on the computer more effective, quicker, and easier. In simple language, a mouse refers to a small movable device with the help of which various activities are performed within the computer. Mouse plays a crucial role in allowing users to interact with the graphical user interface (GUI). It is named a mouse because of its design, shape, and size, which is similar to a toy mouse. Mouse is as significant as other important devices of the computer.

History of Mouse

Mouse was invented by Douglas Engelbart in 1964. The first design of the mouse was made of wood which appears like a small wooden box that consists of a circuit board and two wheels made up of metal. Before the invention of the mouse, the desired command was given to the computer through the keyboard, which was difficult to use sometimes. Douglas represented the first computer mouse in 1964, while Bill English later introduced the first ball mouse in 1972. Both inventions were made at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI). Companies like Xerox, and Apple, were provided licenses for computer mice (plural of the mouse) which were commercialized in later years.

Types of Mouse

There are two major types of the mouse; optical and mechanical, and both types consist of subcategories called wired or wireless. Optical mouse works based on the LED light to detect movement, whereas in mechanical mouse, the ball is situated at the bottom of the mouse, which is responsible for detecting the movement. A laser mouse is a type of optical mouse, and its functioning is similar to an LED mouse, which works on light to sense movement. However, there is a difference in the source of light in LED mice and laser mice. Both can work on different surfaces like glass and plastic sheets. Laser mice are the updated version of a mouse present in both forms, wired and wireless.

Wired Mouse

Wired mice are connected to the computer with the help of a wire. All mouse actions, which appear on the monitor screen, are communicated through signals transferred over the mouse wire. The wire of the mouse is attached to a USB cable that is connected to the computer. Wired mice are the most common kinds of mice, which are easily available in the market at affordable prices. According to appearance, a wired mouse used to look like an actual mouse with a tail. They can only work on flat surfaces and sometimes require a specific additional surface (mousepad) to work because, without a surface, these mice cannot detect motion and face problems working efficiently. Wired mice were the first kind of computer mouse that appeared on the market in the early 1960s and, later on, were commercialized. The wired mouse was the first model of a computer mouse as optional equipment. However, recently, various types of mice appeared on the market with advanced

Wireless Mouse

As the name implies, a wireless mouse doesn't require a cable to connect to the computer system. Instead, these mice use a local network like Bluetooth to communicate with the computer. Nowadays, wireless mice are widely used, especially for gaming. This is because users can operate these mice from relatively longer distances as compared to wired mice. Gaming mice are particularly designed for the specific purpose of playing games; however, they can also be used to perform basic functions. Generally, a standard mouse contains three buttons. Furthermore, gaming mice have a variety of buttons designed to help perform various in-game tasks in addition to traditional commands such as scrolling, clicking, etc.

Parts of Mouse

A computer mouse consists of different parts for a different mechanisms. Mouse features depend on the parts used, which have evolved over time. There are some basic parts that are important to discuss. They are:

Mouse Buttons

Mouse buttons are generally designed to be exposed at the top and are easy to grip with fingers and thumbs, making the overall structure of the mouse simple and easy to grip for users. There are mainly two buttons, left and right, and depending on hand position (left or right-hand operation), both buttons can have different functions and uses. This can be set by the users. Most of the time, the left button is used for selecting the text or the desired content. The main purpose of the left button is to select items from the display screen. The purpose of the right button is to help the user to complete the tasks quickly with the menu options. With the help of the right button, the user can easily and quickly access certain features, and with the left key, they can give specific commands to the computer.

The classic (initial) version of the mouse used to contain one button, and the modernized version contains two buttons, as we discussed, one left and one right. However, the gaming mouse may contain up to 4 to 5 buttons. The different functions are carried by each button.

Scroll Wheel

The scrolling wheel is used to scroll from top to bottom or bottom to top of the screen, generally while visiting any website or viewing any document on display. In earlier days, the mouse used to contain only the scrolling wheel, but nowadays, the scrolling wheel can also be used for clicking. In the basic structure of the mouse, the scroll wheel is positioned between the left and right buttons, making it easier for the users to use it with the help of their fingers. The scroll wheel reduces the effort of moving the cursor on the display to go from top to bottom or bottom to top using sidebars, and with the help of the clicking feature, we can easily select specific options.

Motion Detection

Motion detection is part of the mouse, which consists of a sensor. It is a tiny object which is located inside the mouse. It has to detect the movement of the hands of the user and send that positional behavior to the computer, which then results in the form of a moving cursor on the monitor. Typically, the Arrow pointer is controlled by the user on the screen. Motion detection is the most important part of the mouse because, without it, the user has to put in a lot of effort to send specific commands to the computer with the help of the mouse.

USB Cable

It helps connect the mouse to the computer, and all the signals travel through the cable from the mouse. The signals reach the computer, which shows hand movements in the form of a cursor on the screen. Usually, the cable that connects to the mouse is 5 feet long, which is enough to comfortably move the computer mouse in all directions. The cable is not an integral part of the mouse anymore after the introduction of the wireless mouse.

Battery

A battery is a must-have component for small devices like mice; it is typically used in wireless mice to supply power for work. The wired mice don't need a battery since they take the required power from the computer with the help of the USB cable. The computer mouse (wireless) usually contains standard batteries, which can work efficiently for months and years, depending upon use. It is located at the bottom of the mouse.

LED Light

LED light is located near the sensor of the mouse. It is typically used to detect battery levels and is mostly found in a wireless mouse. Light also helps the sensor to detect movement. Different kinds of light are situated in different types of the mouse according to the purpose of the mouse. Some lights are used only to make the appearance of the mouse more attractive.

Uses of Mouse

Pointing and Clicking

With the help of a mouse, we can point to icons and other information on the computer display. Most of the tasks are easy to perform with the help of the mouse. For example, the left button helps to select items from the display, while the right button has options and shortcuts.

Selecting Text and Images

Copy-pasting and selecting images or text is the basic function of the mouse. With the help of a mouse, users can easily select text and images without any obstacles. For instance, the right button consists of the options of cutting, copying, and pasting, while the left button helps choose or select the desired function. By selecting the option, we can cut, paste or copy. This can also be done with the help of a keyboard and also using some shortcut keys.

Scrolling

One of the common uses of the mouse is scrolling. With the scroll button, users can navigate top to bottom or bottom to top within the web page or any document very easily. In this way, scrolling with the help of a mouse saves time for the user as the mouse allows the user to navigate through large files quickly. In addition, we can scroll a document or web page using the left button of the mouse on a scroll bar present on the right side of the screen simply by clicking on that.

Drawing and Editing Images

Especially while designing graphics, the mouse plays an important role. It is hard to perform the tasks like drawing and editing images with the help of a keyboard or without the use of a mouse. The mouse reduces the user's efforts to move the virtual pen/pencil across the screen to select different tools, change tools while editing and drawing, and draw objects. Graphic designing is one of the leading platforms, and the functioning of relevant programs like Adobe Photoshop is almost impossible without a mouse.

Drag and Drop

Using a computer mouse, we can easily drag and drop items from one place to another. One has to just click and hold the desired object, and after moving that object to the specific place accordingly, release the button and drop it at the desired place. Especially on a desktop window, a file can be easily moved from one folder to another with the help of the mouse by simply dragging and dropping it.

Open and Close Programs

With the help of a mouse, the programs on the computer can easily be opened and closed. By clicking simply on the top-right corner of the opened program (which is a cross mark in red color), one can close the corresponding program. In addition to the cross sign, the computer also presents two other tools (or options) in the upper-right corner of the open program window; one to minimize and the other to adjust the size of open programs as per requirement.