The mouse is a device that translatesmovements on a horizontal surface into movements of a pointer on the computerscreen. While the keyboard is, by far, the most important input device attachedto your computer, the mouse runs a close second, and may be the most used.
The mouse's popularity is due, of course,to the popularity of the graphical user interface (GUI). The first mouse wasdeveloped in the mid '60s. Looking back at the early computer interfaces, andeven the physical number of computers in the '60s and '70s (or lack ofnumbers), it's obvious that the mouse was an animal before its time. When IBM'sPersonal Computers hit the market in the early '80s, with the DOS command lineinterface, more and more people found it possible to have a computer in theirhome. With the introduction of menu-driven programs, the mouse began to seelimited use. When the Mac GUI OS was introduced, the mouse was recognized as avaluable tool by Macintosh users, but when Microsoft mass-marketed its WindowsOperating system, the mouse truly became a household word.
I've got to admit, when I first saw a GUI(Graphical User Interface), I wasn't all that impressed. I thought it seemed alittle mickey-mouse-like and made the computer look more like a toy than thehigh-tech, effective tool that I knew it to be. When I look back at it now, Ithink it was more the fact that I might have felt a little cheated. It took somuch time and energy to master the computer, and now it appeared as thougheveryone was going to be able to use a device that, up to that point, had beenthe semi-private realm of the techie, DOS savvy minority. And actually, that'sexactly what happened. The GUI and the mouse are probably the two mostimportant factors leading to the household personal computer being second inpopularity only to the television set. (Not to mention constantly improving,lightning fast technological advancements and intelligent, aggressivepush-marketing.)
Types of Mice
Thereare basically three different types of mice: mechanical, optomechanical andoptical.
The mechanicalmouse has a small hard rubber ball underneath that moves against tworollers as it's passed across a flat surface. Mechanical sensors detect themovement of the rollers as an 'x' and 'y' axis and the cursor on screen ismoved accordingly.
An optomechanicalmouse works on the same principal. The rollers have wheels on the end ofthem with evenly spaced holes. As the wheels spin, a light-sensitive opticaldevice counts the number of holes that pass by and convert those numbers to an'x' and 'y' axis.
An opticalmouse is more accurate or precise and has no moving parts. It uses alaser to detect movement and has to be paired with a special pad or mat thathas an embedded optical reference grid.
Mouse Connections
Theserial mouse is, by far, themost popular and the easiest to install. They connect to an RS-232Cserial port; one of the COM ports on the back of the computer (a DB-9 or aDB-25 male connector). A serial port is an interface that transmits one bit ata time, and RS-232C is a standard that most serial ports conform to. The factthat they do take up a COM port (and it's respective IRQ) is the biggestproblem with the serial mouse. Personal Computers are very limited to thenumber of COM ports available.
The busmouse was originally developed to help alleviate the problem of the COMport shortage. It connects to the computer through a small round connector(female mini-DIN-9) on the back of an expansion card installed on themotherboard. Because an expansion card had to be configured and installed onthe motherboard, these mice were considered much more difficult to install. Nowthey are pretty well obsolete. They did free up a COM port, but they still tookup an IRQ as well as an expansion slot.
The PS/2mouse seems to be the answer to both problems. It's a type of serialmouse but it connects to a PS/2 connector (female mini-DIN-6) that ishard-wired directly to IRQ 12. It installs as simply as any serial mouse,doesn't use up a COM port, and needs no expansion card installed. Not onlythat, but it uses a fairly obscure IRQ that was mostly unavailable to otherdevices.
A cordlessmouse uses infrared technology to do away with the cord. It seems likeit would be a good idea because the cord on a mouse can be a real pain. Itdrags across the top of the desk, gets caught and hangs up in the other cords,or anything that might be lying on your desktop. They also have a receptor thatmust be visible to the mouse (line of sight), if anything is in the way, themouse won't respond. This can sometimes cause a little aggrivation unless youkeep a very tidy desk. Cordless mice are more expensive than other types.
The USBmouse is, by far, my favorite. With Windows98, USB has become one of themost advanced (and one of the best) connections around for mice, printers andother peripherals. Installation is simple. It's hot-swappable, so you can plugit in even when your computer is running. The mouse is immediately recognizedand you can use it right away.
Care& Maintenance
The most used and abused cord on your computer is the mousecord. It's dragged, pulled, yanked and twisted everyday with normal use. Try toprovide the cord free movement as much as possible and allow a little slack atall times.
The mousepad itselfcan make a difference in the amount of gunk that builds up on the insiderollers. The pad with the porous cloth surface will hold all kinds of dust,grime, dead skin and moisture that tends to transfer to the rollers via therubber ball. Get a pad that has a harder, plastic type surface. It won't get loadedup with as much crap and it's a lot easier to clean, just wipe it with a dampcloth.
If your mouse cursorseems to jump or jerk across the screen, or actually stops as though its hit awall and doesn't seem to want to move properly, it's probably dirty. This iscaused by the buildup of gunk on the rollers that was mentioned earlier. Theword gunk is a highly technical computer term that refers to the grime, dust,dead skin and debris that transfers onto the mouse rollers and can build up tothe point where it touches the plastic edge of the mouse and actually stops theroller from turning. This is what makes the cursor on your screen stop dead inits tracks. While this can be very frustrating, it's an easy problem to solve.To clean these rollers:
- Close out of Windows and shut the computer off.
- Disconnect the mouse and turn it upside down. You'll notice a faceplate around the ball. Remove the faceplate. It may twist a quarter turn or it may click forward (usually, there's arrows to indicate).
- Carefully turn it over and remove the ball. Don't try to see if the ball bounces! When it hits the floor, it will put it out of round and ruin it. And in case you're still wondering, they don't bounce too well at all.
- You can clean the ball with luke warm water and a lint free cloth. Don't use alcohol or cleaners on it.
- If you look inside the cavity left by the ball, you'll see the rollers. You'll also be able to see any buildup (gunk) on the rollers. Dab the buildup with a little isopropol alcohol and then gently remove the buildup with a toothpick or a small flathead screwdriver. Be careful not to scratch the rollers.
- When everything is completely dry, you can reassemble the mouse, plug it in and turn on your computer. There'll be a noticeable improvement.
As for the outside ofthe mouse itself, you can clean it with a damp cloth.