D link dir 645 alternative firmware. Increasing productivity at minimal cost (continued)
All over the world, Douglas Engelbart is rightly considered the inventor of the computer manipulator or the first computer mouse. However, as with most inventions, it did not come out of nowhere, and before the device that gave birth to the modern mouse was invented, several similar concepts, prototypes and fully functioning devices already existed. So, if you suddenly become interested in the origin and history of this assistant in navigating your workspace, you will find in this article a sufficient amount of information that may shed light on the questions you have.
First trackball
When tracing the history of the computer mouse, it is worth starting with one British engineer, whose invention was classified as a military secret and hidden from the public. This engineer was a professor Ralph Benjamin, who, while working in the scientific department of the British Navy, invented a device that functioned almost the same as a trackball back in the mid-40s of the last century. According to an interview with Dr. Benjamin conducted in 2013, he was tasked with helping develop a device called the Integrated Imaging System. It was an early version of a computer that was supposed to calculate the theoretical trajectory of a tracked aircraft based on user input.
The on-screen cursor was controlled by a simple joystick, which Benjamin thought could be greatly improved, and after some modifications he came up with what he called " roller ball" It functioned much like a standard mechanical mouse, having an external ball manipulating two rubberized wheels inside dedicated to the X and Y axes. This movement was then translated to corresponding movement of the cursor on the screen.
So why don't people think that it was the professor who invented the mouse? Besides the fact that Benjamin’s device was not the progenitor of the modern computer mouse, it was rather its absolute opposite. After all, instead of moving the mouse using the friction of the ball on the work surface, you had to turn the huge ball manually. So it was more like a huge mechanical mouse turned inside out. Although Benjamin's device was more accurate than a joystick, it was never implemented, and due to its status as a military secret, the professor did not receive the credit he deserved for inventing what was essentially a modern trackball. And even despite the innovative nature of the device, he remains an unknown figure in the history of computer technology.
Second try
A similar device to the previous one was developed independently of Benjamin's design in 1952 by the company Ferranti Canada, commissioned by the Canadian Defense Research Council. The company, among other things, was tasked with creating an input device for computers with a budget of "about zero dollars." Three engineers working for Ferranti Fred Longstaff, Tom Cranston And Canyon Taylor, came up with the idea of using a ball housed in a special housing, which was constantly in contact with four wheels located around it. When the ball was rotated in a given direction, the movement of the wheels was translated into corresponding movements of the cursor on the screen.
Simply put, it was an independent "four-wheel" version of Dr. Benjamin's trackball. It's funny that for the sake of the low budget with which the engineers had to work, they did not “reinvent the wheel.” Instead of designing a trackball from scratch, they simply used a 16cm bowling ball. Well, due to the fact that the device was also developed for the military, it was covered in a veil of secrecy.
You see, Engelbart's mouse didn't use a ball at all, instead two perpendicular wheels directly touched to control the position of the cursor. Although the design of this device was quite functional, its disadvantage was that one wheel constantly partially scratched the surface of the table. However, let's not get ahead of things.
Engelbart device
Douglas Engelbart developed what is considered the direct "ancestor" of the modern mouse in the 60s as part of a project to discover the most efficient way to interact with a computer. Engelbart believed that the existing devices in use at the time (mainly keyboards and joysticks) were ineffective. With the help of an engineer Bill English he developed a portable device containing two perpendicular wheels, the movements of which were controlled by a cursor. Essentially, the principle of operation was the same as that of the two previously mentioned trackball devices, but without a ball and in a much more convenient size for one-handed operation.
Engelbart came up with the concept for this device in 1961, and the first prototype was created by English already in 1964. Later, in 1966, Engelbart and English NASA requesting funding for research to determine the most intuitive and efficient input device. The space agency agreed, after which a series of tests were carried out. The mouse turned out to be the most effective, which surprised many, even the creators, since it had not been tested at all before. And the name “mouse” itself stuck to the device at an unspecified moment during testing. As Engelbart notes, “This was most likely caused by a wire coming from the rear of the structure.”
At the Fall Joint computer conference, held in San Francisco on December 9, 1968, Engelbart introduced the mouse to more than a thousand computer engineers in one of the most influential computer presentations of all time, which also included other now well-known developments such as hyperlinks, video communications, remote access, etc.
Mechanical computer mouse and Xerox
Despite the mouse's public debut to the best minds in the computer world, Engelbart's role and even the monumental presentation itself, which would greatly influence the next decades of computing, were largely forgotten. Like many other inventors before him, Engelbart received little recognition. This was despite the fact that a few years later English would go on to develop a mechanical computer mouse that used a ball to control the position of the cursor, which would become a common design for almost all mice until the advent of optical ones.
Besides gaining a little recognition, due to the fact that Engelbart and English were working at Stanford Research Institute when they developed the first mouse, they did not own the final patent that was granted for it in 1970. Thus, the creators did not have the money or rights to invent it. Stanford Research Institute reportedly made some money from the patent before it expired in 1984, when they licensed it to Apple.
By the way, speaking of Apple, the mouse as we know it today came to its final form largely thanks to Steve Jobs. When Jobs went to the research center, he saw a prototype of a mechanical mouse invented by Bill English, who was now working for Xerox PARC. Jobs immediately saw the device's profound potential. As it later turned out, Xerox had been selling their first computer, the Xerox Alto, along with this mouse since 1973 and later bundled it with Xerox 8010, released in 1981.
However, the company's top brass apparently misjudged how innovative their system was. As Jobs notes: “If Xerox knew what they had and took advantage of their real opportunities, they could be as great as I.B.M., Microsoft and Xerox themselves taken together are the largest high-tech company in the world."
Apple mouse
Jobs, stunned by this lack of vision, heads back to Apple and forces his team to completely rethink the company's vision for the personal computer, radically changing its plans to introduce a windowing system with a mouse as a key component. According to Dean Hovey, Jobs later explained to him: “The Xerox mouse is a $300 mouse that breaks within two weeks. Our goal is to produce an analogue for less than $15. But it should last at least a couple of years, and I want to use it on both laminate and jeans.” Howie then explained that he bought all the roll-on deodorants (because of the roll-ons themselves), as well as the oil can as a "case". This was the beginning of the Apple mouse. As for why the mouse Apple had only one button, unlike other competitors (the Xerox mouse had three buttons), everything here is as simple as possible. The company felt that managing such an outlandish and new device at that time was already a hassle, so making it simple and convenient was a priority.
The first appearance of the Apple mouse was accompanied by a rather controversial computer. Apple Lisa. This was the first Apple mouse to have a steel ball that controlled internal positioning wheels. Consequently, the design was redesigned once again (with a rubber ball replacing it) for the more popular Apple Macintosh computer, released in 1984, which became one of the first commercially successful devices to use a mouse. Microsoft also released its own mouse in 1983 for PC, in the period between the Apple Lisa and the much more famous Macintosh 128K, but it was the latter that subsequently stimulated the wider adoption of the mouse.
After the success of the Macintosh, other companies followed suit, and the mouse became a staple addition to every personal computer. Despite many predictions made at different times that the mouse will go the way of cassettes and push-button mobile phones, they are still popular and take on different shapes and types to provide the greatest convenience and comfort when interacting with a computer.
Optical mouse
The optical mouse was developed around 1980, finally getting rid of the ball that often became dirty from rolling around on the desktop surface, which naturally had a negative impact on the mouse's performance. In 1988, a patent was issued for an optical mouse invented by Lisa M. Williams and Robert S. Cherry, which was to be sold commercially with Xerox products such as Xerox STAR. The production cost of one mouse was $17, and they went on sale for $35. Despite this, it was not until 1998 that optical mice became a commercially viable alternative to mechanical mice and hit the mass consumer market. This was achieved by increasing the processing power of microcontrollers and reducing component costs.
And from that moment on, the market for controllers and manipulators began to develop at a rapid pace, as did other areas of technology and electronics. In 2004, the first laser mouse appeared, later in 2010, devices such as the first 3-D mouse were introduced, which allows you to freely position the cursor in three-dimensional space, as well as Microsoft Kinect, which is a gesture-reading device. Returning specifically to computer mice, we once again remind you that the modern market is full of a wide variety of wired, wireless, gaming and other models. And you can find ratings of current new products in this area on our website.
It is generally impossible to imagine a modern computer without this gadget, which greatly simplifies the process of managing a PC. But only a few users know in what year the computer mouse was invented and who its creator is. Let's remember how this gadget appeared, and what it was like from the very beginning.
In what year was the computer mouse invented?
December 9, 1968 - it was on this day that the world saw the prototype of all modern computer mice. Of course, this was just a prototype. However, before this time, there were special computerized radars and manipulators, which became the basis for the creation of a modern mouse.
The very first prototype appeared in the early 50s. Then, according to the Cossacks of the Canadian Navy, computerized radars with the first graphical interface were created. They required a special cursor positioning system, which used a simple device based on a smooth ball. It was called a trackball, and it was the first step towards creating a modern computer mouse.
A little later, in 1951, Douglas Engelbart (the creator) was already thinking about developing a manipulator, and in 1955 he took part in the manufacture of radar systems. In particular, he developed information display systems within the NASA computer program. According to Douglas himself, he and his team created a table with the parameters and capabilities of all modern manipulators at that time, determined their functions and required parameters, which did not yet exist. During research in 1963, the idea was formed to create a display pointer that would move in an X-Y coordinate system.
First prototype
In 1964, based on a design by Douglas Engelbart, Stanford Research Institute graduate student Billy English assembled the first prototype of a computer mouse. At the same time, a program was written to demonstrate its capabilities.
It was a large, square, brown wooden box with a large red button at the very top. The cord was located in the front, but over time it was moved back. So he practically did not interfere. Inside there was a plane displacement sensor, which consisted of two metal disks. They were located perpendicular to each other: one rotated when the device moved to the side, and the other was responsible for moving forward or backward. Given this design, the mouse could not be moved diagonally, it could move forward or backward.
Speaking about the year in which the computer mouse was invented, it is worth clarifying that some people rightly believe that this invention was “born” in 1946. After all, it was in this year that the prototype device for all modern computer gadgets appeared.
First presentation of the mouse
A little later, on December 9, 1968, Douglas Engelbart presented a more advanced modification of this device to a group of engineers. It worked as an oN-Line System OS manipulator. The mouse had three buttons, although Douglas Engelbart himself claimed that he wanted to make 5 buttons (for each finger). And although at first they planned to call the device a “bug,” later the name “mouse” stuck - because of the thick connecting cable, reminiscent of rodent tails.
So, if it is logical to calculate in what year the computer mouse was invented, then we can talk about two dates: 1964 and 1968. In 1970, the inventor received a patent, which recorded the authorship of a manipulator based on the use of two perpendicularly located wheels. However, the principle of the manipulator itself was not patented.
In 1972, this research was actively pursued by Xerox PARC, which significantly improved a similar gadget. In particular, then the disks were replaced with a small ball or rollers. This is how new types of computer mice appeared.
In 1979, Xerox created the Xerox Alto computer, which was a research prototype and was not included in the series. But it was equipped with a computer mouse and had a graphical interface in the form of a desktop. Several thousand of these computers were created.
The appearance of a rubber ball inside the case
In 1979, the Stanford Research Institute (where Engelbart's team worked) sold the mouse project to Apple for $40,000. Having received a license for such an invention, Apple commissioned Hovey-Kelley Design to improve the mouse. As a result, instead of a steel bearing, it received a comfortable rubber ball that rolled freely in the body. The introduction of this innovation made it possible to get rid of the complex system of coding wheels and electrical contacts. Instead, simple optoelectronic converters and wheels with slotted slots were implemented.
Further development
In 1983, a dozen companies were already producing and selling different types of computer mice. That same year, Apple released the Lisa one-button mouse. It was developed for Apple in downtown Palo Alto. Engineers were able to create a cheap modification of this device, making it compact and collapsible. It was possible to remove the ball from the inside and clean it of dust. This mouse was included with the Apple Macintosh home computer.
In 1987, Douglas Engelbart's patent expired and only in 1998 the merits of this inventor were officially recognized. Engelbart himself received the Lemelson-MIT Prize in the amount of $500,000.
Since 1999, optical mice have begun to appear that work on any surface. Many models released after 2000 have survived to this day. Moreover, some of them are successfully used.
Finally
The history of the creation of a computer mouse is short. In about 30 years, it was possible to create a high-tech gadget from a primitive and very expensive device, which is cheap today. As for modern models, they are radically different from the first computer mouse. All that remained from it was the idea of positioning the cursor on the graphical interface.
Now you know who invented the computer mouse. In this regard, no one has any doubts. But as for the date of creation, there are 2 opinions:
- In 1964, a graduate student at the Stanford Research Institute created a prototype of this gadget (based on Engelbart's design).
- In 1968, Engelbart himself presented a working, improved version of the mouse.
Here, everyone decides for themselves when the first computer mouse appeared. However, it is generally accepted that she first saw the world on December 9, 1968.
The invention was first shown on December 9, 1968 at the presentation of Engelbart's report on computer networks in San Francisco.
Who invented
A team of engineers led by Doug Engelbart at Stanford Research Institute developed a computer controller with two wheels at the bottom, and one of the researchers nicknamed it "the mouse."
Recalls Engelbart: “We thought that when the controller became widespread, it would have a more worthy name.” But that didn't happen.
Engelbart began making the first sketches of a mouse in 1961, deciding that he could make something better than the then standard "light pen" that had been used in radar systems during World War II.
“We had several gadgets, but they were all terribly inconvenient - bulky and heavy, like a cannonball. We needed a controller that could be held with one hand and control the computer.”
What did the first mouse look like?
One of Engelbart's collaborators, Bill English, created a device based on "x-y" positioning. Simply put, these were two wheels located perpendicular to each other. In addition to wheels and a wooden body, the device had a button and a long cord with a plug at the end.
“We started testing and the mouse won in every category, even though it had never been used before,” Engelbart recalls. – The work was done faster, people made fewer mistakes. Five or six of us took part in these tests, but no one can remember who started calling this device a mouse. I’m surprised the name stuck.”
What was it made of?
It grew from a small wooden box to become an important piece of computer equipment. But even though the computer mouse is turning 40 years old, there are signs that it may end up on the electronic scrapheap as successful experiments are being conducted on how to operate a computer without it.
Read also about the first in the world, about and about.