Split: date=August 2008

In computing, a mouse (plural mice, mouse devices, or mouses ) is a pointing device that functions by detecting two-dimensional motion relative to its supporting surface. Physically, a mouse consists of a small case, held under one of the user's hands, with one or more buttons. It sometimes features other elements, such as "wheels", which allow the user to perform various system-dependent operations, or extra buttons or features can add more control or dimensional input. The mouse's motion typically translates into the motion of a pointer on a display, which allows for fine control of a Graphical User Interface.

The name mouse, originated at the Stanford Research Institute, derives from the resemblance of early models (which had a cord attached to the rear part of the device, suggesting the idea of a tail) to the common mouse..

The first marketed integrated mouse — shipped as a part of a computer and intended for personal computer navigation — came with the Xerox 8010 Star Information System in 1981.

Etymology and plural

The first known publication of the term "mouse" as a pointing device is in Bill English's 1965 publication "Computer-Aided Display Control".

The Compact Oxford English Dictionary (third edition) and the fourth edition of The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language endorse both computer mice and computer mouses as correct plural forms for computer mouse. Some authors of technical documents may prefer either mouse devices or the more generic pointing devices. The plural mouses treats mouse as a "headless noun."

Two manuals of style in the computer industry – Sun Technical Publication's Read Me First: A Style Guide for the Computer Industry and Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications from Microsoft Press – recommend that technical writers use the term mouse devices instead of the alternatives.

Early mice

Image:DATAR trackball.jpg|The world's first trackball invented by Tom Cranston, Fred Longstaff and Kenyon Taylor working on the Royal Canadian Navy's DATAR project in 1952. It used a standard Canadian five-pin bowling ball. It was not patented, as it was a secret military project. Image:Mouse-patents-englebart-rid.png|Early mouse patents. From left to right: Opposing track wheels by Engelbart, Nov. 1970, . Ball and wheel by Rider, Sept. 1974, . Ball and two rollers with spring by Opocensky, Oct. 1976, . Image:firstmouseunderside.jpg|The first computer mouse, held by inventor Douglas Engelbart, showing the wheels that make contact with the working surface Image:SmakyMouseAG.jpeg|A Smaky mouse, as invented at the EPFL by Jean-Daniel Nicoud and André Guignard. Douglas Engelbart at the Stanford Research Institute invented the mouse in 1963 after extensive usability testing. He never received any royalties for it, as his patent ran out before it became widely used in personal computers.