40 year old mouse

Can you believe the humble mouse is 40 years old this week? On the 9th December 1968 its joint inventor Dr Douglas Engelbart first demonstrated the device as part of an integrated computer system called NLS. The mouse was built of wood with two wheels, a single button and a thick cord to connect to a computer (which his team thought resembled a tail, hence the name).

The mouse was considered a revelation, allowing users to use the computer to easily cut and paste text, use hyperlinks, edit in real-time, use multiple windows and even share screen teleconferencing.

It was wasn't until a visit from Apple founders Steve Jobs and Jef Raskin in December 1979 that the future of the mouse was guarenteed as the near-universal means for controlling a computer. The mouse, along with the idea of the graphical user interface, lead to the development of the first Mac introduced in 1984.

Unfortunately for Dr Engelbart he never became rich from his invention, despite a token amount from Steve Jobs. Engelbart admitted that he “had no idea of its value” and the patent expired in 1987.