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Mice

The computer giants, Apple and Microsoft, have revolutionized personal computing again.

The latest advance, led by Apple at the end of last year followed by Microsoft at the beginning of this year, is a big one. But the hardware is so small that most, but the uber nerd, will miss it.

Take a swipe

Apple’s Magic Mouse and Microsoft’s Arc Touch Mouse use the swipe technology included in portable devices, like the iPhone4 and Windows Phone 7, to give you more ways of operating your personal computer.

Both, which retail for around $100, serve as a firm reminder that nothing in computing stays the same for long.

The mouse and keyboard combination are our primary interface with the personal computer, and some would argue that they have changed little in years. The mouse, for example, was invented in 1962 and the QWERTY keyboard in 1873.

But there have been a lot of changes, most notably with the addition of special function keys on the keyboard designed for specific functions within software. And the onslaught, in recent years, of digital photography, music and video has seen specialist keyboards devoted to operating machines which are used for work by day and entertainment by night.

They include play, fast forward rewind and stop buttons as well as volume controls. And then there’s the extremely specialised gaming keyboards with all sorts of special features such as backlighting.

Mighty mouse

You would think mice, being the newest kids on the block when it comes to user interface with the machine, would have changed even less than the keyboard. After all it’s a pointing device with buttons and a scroll wheel designed to interact with whatever operating system and software running on the machine.

The early mice, connected to the computer via a serial cable, had a rubber ball at their heart which interacted with the device’s innards and magically told the pointer where to go onscreen. Balls got dirty on the computer desk, making for jerky use until they were cleaned with a damp cloth and detergent.

Most mice these days are connected via USB 2.0 cables and use optical technology, much like an electronic eye, to do the same job. It’s far cleaner, and more reliable. More expensive mice, and keyboards come to mention it, are wireless. They have built in radio transmitters and receivers which pair them with each other and avoid desktop clutter.

Then, with the advent of the laptop and now netbook computer, there’s a whole range of lightweight mice designed to be chucked in your bag as you go on the road. Some are half the size of the mouse that comes with a desktop computer.

One size does not fit all

The point of this little history lesson is to remember that, even in computing, one size does not necessarily fit all. Whatever peripherals, as the nerds call them, come with your computer are not the only option.  Why not check out the websites of Apple, icrosoft, HP and Logitech and see what else is out there as there could be an option that suits your computing habits better. If you’re left handed you might even find a left handed mouse.