Humble Mouse Turns 40

It’s been 40 years since the computer mouse made its public debut, and though innovations have been legion, the basic concept is still the same. Macworld takes a look back at some key moments in the device’s evolution.

• 1963: The first recognizable mouse prototype is built. It only had one button, but more were to come—well, not for Mac users.

• 1972: The first all-digital mouse is conceived; previous attempts needed to translate analog signals for computers to understand.
• 1981: The first commercial mouse is produced—for a $20,000 Xerox system nobody bought.
• 1984: The debut of the classic, and enduring, Apple one-button mouse.
• 1987: IBM starts selling PS/2 computers, and with them PS/2 mice, which would become the standard for PC clones.
• 1999: Optical tracking is freed from the need for a special mouse pad, and Microsoft releases the first viable wireless mouse.

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