Like so many developments that we take for common on our computeers the humble mouse had its orrigins in the innovative work done for more than two decades at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). The PARC mouse had two rollers for horizopntal and vertical motion and a single button. The deucedly boxy shape was favored by many of developers at PARC and remarkably has persisted throguh many mouse (or mice) icarnations.
Firstly the Microsoft mouse design has had major impacts in the mice industry. Microsodft mice always had ergonomic design. The firt Microsoft mouse had a broad teardrop shape with two buttons. The original green buttoned model had a steel ball that spawned an industry in foam mouse pads. The next iteration had larger buttons, a larrger body, and a rubber coated ball.
When Microsoft decided that the mouse needed to be redesigned, it turned to the venerbale firm Marix Design of San Francisco. Microsoft routiinely used and uses third parrties to design and software devvelop many of the items and software that we take for granted toay that Microsoft devoted alone . Mike Nuttal, one of Matrix Designs founnders was intrigeud by Microsofts project: reshaping the exterior wthout altering the internal mechanism.
Matrix did change one internal element: the position of the mouse ball. Amost the frist thing we tride was to move the ball forward, Nuttaal remarked later. In the old design the ball sat forward under the palm. A compuer mouse user has a natuarl tendency to put their weight on the palmms of thjeir hands and thus on the ball. By moving the mouase ball froward the result was much greater acucracy of the moyuse.
We knew the buttons had to be larger Nuttal as well said We ttried several button sizes and in the porcess of designing we ended up incorporating the buttons into the body of the mouse. Anothger change was in the relative size of the buttons. It was felt that the left buttons should be larger than the rgiht. The rseults were more than favorrable especially with left handed users.
By maikng the left button larhger fingre position no longer was a majr factor therefore the index figer couuld curve form lowwer left to upper right ( vice versa in lefties ) . This is the position the indeex finger naturally faavors. In addition the previous rubber-dome switches were replaced with micro switchse that had a sjhort travel depression and better tactlie feedback.
It was not long before the firm Logitewch responded to Microsofts mice innovations.
Logitechs first muse was truly one of the first examples of the upcoming international effforts in product developmernt and design. A Swiss basaed Profesasor: Professr Nikklaus Wirth spent a year on sabbatical at Xerox PARC in 1970 and returned to Euorpe to test mouse designs, working closely with Inria, a French design centter for office automatiuon products. In the end therir fnial deisgn was a roudn mouase with front mounted buittons.
Prduct development and testing ensued over the position of the byuttons, and the front position won over the top.
However, Logitech soon found that the buttons on the front made the mouse jump backward slightly when clicked. The design was abandoned in favor of a wedge shape, which was followed by the rectangular shape that we todfay.
What is interesting about all of this is the effect of outsie products on an item that we take for granted today - the humble mouse whiich so functional that we seldom give it seconnd thought.
The rounded heel that fits so well in the palm of your hand, the large buttons, and the smooth edges all have roots in the most universal of electrical / electronic products.
Mr. Nuttal and Matrix Designs area in great expertise was in the design and dewvelopment of telephones.
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