Thirty-five years time may not seem such a long period, but actually it is very much for such a device as the computer mouse. This pointing device was invented in 1964 by Douglas Englebart and has gone through a lot of changes during its existence. Most computer mice still keep the traditional shape of the first computer mouse designed by Englebart, but there are some other very different shapes and models, that sometimes you won't even recognize that device as being a mouse. I am talking about the finger computer mouse, the foot computer mouse and so on. But the farthest thing from a computer mouse as appearance is the touch pad, sometimes called track pad. It is a kind of pointing device that looks like a tablet and that is operated with your finger. So instead of tracking the movements of the mouse, the touchpad tracks the movements of your fingers and then translates them into movements of the cursor on the computer screen. The touch pads may have different sizes but usually they are not very small, usually they don't go larger than fourty square centimeters, as they are preferred on laptop computers or in the places where you need some room. They can be either built in the computer keyboard or designed as separate items. Actually nowadays almost all computer laptops are provided with a touchpad incorporated and you can attach to it a regular mouse or keyboard. They are also incorporated in people's PDAs and some Media Players like Zune.

The ergonomic mouse touch pad is actually more complex than a regular computer mouse because it does more than giving commands to the computer. It has some more technology incorporated that give it the capacity to sense the movement of your finger and to transmit it to the computer in order to make the cursor move to the direction pointed by your finger.  So the main difference between a mouse and a touch pad is the fact that the latter has a lot of sensors built in that are very perceptive to the slightest touch and movement. Still they are smart enough to recognize a human finger and do not react to pens or pencils , not even to a finger that is covered with a glove. Usually you only have to tap it slightly in order to react just like in the case of a normal left click. If you want to "drag" something on the computer screen, just tap the touch pad easily and then immediately make a continuous move like dragging. But again it may all depend on the model of the touch pad and the drivers it has.

Sometimes you may even use two fingers to act like the center mouse button. Some touch pads may react differently if you move your finger continuously on the edge. They act like a scroll wheel then and surf the web pages rapidly or browse the really long documents. Some others perform the right click operation when you tap them in the upper right cornerand display you the list of options to choose from.

There are two kinds of touch pads: the ones attached to a keyboard or part of it and the ones that are delivered separately and are plugged in a USB port like regular computer mice. I guess that almost all the people are more familiar with the built in ones that are a component part of the laptop, but you can also see in these pictures the touch pads that work like separate devices. The model in the picture below even has two buttons used for left click and right click and this makes it very similar to a regular mouse, but it still keeps all the other features of a touch pad. You simply touch it and it will work.



I know that this technology that we now use regularly was first designed for computers, but nowadays we can see it also on the latest version of mobile phones and similar devices like PDAs, Zune and all the other really amazing combinations between a mobile phone and a computer.



Adesso Tru-Form Pro Ergonomic Touchpad Keyboard is a perfect example of how ergonomic can be a combo of computer keyboard and touch pad. In this case the touch pad is incorporated in the ergonomic wrist support. It has two buttons for left and right click and acts like a mouse, at the same time being significantly smaller. This saves a lot of space on your computer desk and also you can do everything you want using the touch pad. You can surf the internet, scroll, zoom, access files and enter data and all these with a minimum effort and touch of a finger.

Cirque Easy Cat® touchpad is a perfect example of separate device ergonomic mouse touch pad. It comes with a six feet long cable that connects to the computer USB or PS2 port. It is small, portable and very easy to use and it has two buttons.The basic operation of the mouse is performed by simply gliding your finger over the surface of the touch pad. This gesture points the cursor to the exact spot or just press the button available. The scroll function is activated if you glide the finger on the right edge of the pad. It is compatible with both Windows and Mac OS and is also very durable and nice-looking.



The touch pad is also preferred by some people only because it is much more ergonomic than a regular computer mouse. While the prolonged use of the computer mouse can cause a lot of health problems like repetitive strain injuries, carpal tunnel syndrome, tendinitis and a lot others, the touch pad is totally ergonomic, as it only needs one finger to be operated and you don't have to put your hand on something, but you can keep it in the air. In this way you avoid the pressure being put on your wrist tendons and blood vessels. Besides, it is a lot easier to command your computer with only one finger with a slight movement and your fingers don't get tired even if you work too much on your computer. So you can actually call it the ergonomic mouse touch pad .