| The mouse was first shown by Doug Engelbart using a research prototype in 1967. The Xerox Alto included a mouse as its pointing device in 1973. An electromechanical mouse uses a large ball that when rolled across a surface would cause an x and y counter to be incremented. The amount of increase in each counter told how far the mouse had been moved. |
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| The electromechanical mouse has largely been replaced by the optical mouse, which includes LED (light-emitting diode) to provide lighting, a tiny black-and-white camera, and a simple optical processor. The LED illuminates the surface underneath the mouse; the camera takes 1,500 sample pictures a second under the illumination. Successive pictures are sent to the optical processor that compares the images and determines whether the mouse has moved and how far. |
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| Wireless mice access computers via radio frequency (RF) without cords. It requires two components to work properly (i) a radio transmitter and (ii) a radio receiver. The RF allows a mouse to transfer data at quick speeds, from 11 Mbps to 56 Mbps, have a decent range of about 100-150 feet. |
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