I have heard some people asking the question “what is a computer mouse?” and to tell you the truth I was quite shocked. I was shocked because the computer mouse has an immense importance when it comes to the utility of the computer. The computer mouse is a pointing device that is able to detect a two-dimensional motion relative to its supporting surface. The mouse is an object which the user holds under his/her hand and which has at least two buttons and in the more recent cases a wheel. The name was invented by the Stanford Research Institute and it derives from the resemblance between the item and the mouse.



There are various types of computer mice but each of them has the same purpose and it is capable of performing the same tasks. The initial mice were the mechanical mice or the rubber ball mice. This type of computer mice is no longer used because it is very problematic and it is not too reliable. The mechanical mouse has a wheel underneath it and when the ball was moved the data was transmitted to the computer and that made the cursor to move on the monitor. As I said, these computer mice are no longer used and there are several valid reasons for this. First of all, since the mechanical mouse used a ball which would usually collect lots of filth and dust and because of that they did not function properly.


The next type of computer mice was the optical mouse which was different than the mechanical one from various points of view. First of all, the optical mouse did not have a rubber ball but an LED light which detected movement. The detection of the movement resulted in a movement of the cursor. The optical mouse brought different benefits when compared to the mechanical one, one of the most important being that it was far more accurate and had a better response time. The LED mouse could not be used on certain surfaces but that problem could be easily solved by using a certain type of mouse pad. The next type of computer mice is the laser mouse.


This type of mouse is very similar to the optical one, the only difference being the fact that instead of an LED light, it uses a laser which brings various benefits. One of the benefits of using a laser mouse instead of an optical one is the fact that the laser mouse is more responsive and that it can detect even the slightest movement. A more recent type of mouse appeared as well and it is the trackball mouse. It has a ball on top of the mouse which can be used in order to move the cursor. This was my answer to the question "what is a computer mouse?"