What is the name of a computer mouse. What is a computer mouse and why is it needed

In previous articles, we started to tell you about computer peripherals. We started with the keyboard. Next in line is the mouse. In the article we will tell you about what a computer mouse is, what are their types and main characteristics.

What is a computer mouse

Computer mouse is an integral part of the computer. It allows the user to control the cursor that is displayed on the screen by moving the mouse itself on the table surface.

Simply put, a computer mouse is a tool with which we can select objects on the computer screen and manipulate them. These actions include: copying, opening documents, selecting and text, and much more. When using a computer, a person practically does not let go of the device, which proves the importance of this device.

What is a computer mouse made of?

Computer mice, if you do not pay attention to the features of some types, consist of a scroll wheel with which you can move (scroll information) on the computer screen, and keys that are used for actions such as: activate the context menu, activate or open object, grab and move it, etc.

On the underside of the mouse is a sensor for tracking the movement of the manipulator on the surface. Depending on the type (to be discussed below), it can be a ball (practically not used in our time) or a laser scanner.

The mouse also has either a cable (with USB or PS / 2 interface) with which it connects to a PC, or, in the case of wireless mice, a compartment for installing batteries.

Types of computer mice

The computer mouse has come a long way of evolution and today we know the following types:

• Mechanical - a type of mouse that is practically not used today. As a motion tracking sensor, a device made of a rubberized steel ball, rollers and angle sensors is used here. While the mouse is moving, the steel ball is spinning, rollers are pressed against it, which fix this and transmit information by rotation angle sensors. The sensors, in turn, convert the received data into electrical signals. The disadvantages of such mice are the relatively large size and the need for periodic cleaning for good performance. She also definitely needs a rug, without it it will be impossible to work as a manipulator;
• Optical - differ from mechanical ones in that instead of a ball, to track the movement, a “camera” is used, which photographs the surface on which the mouse moves at a frequency of several hundred frames per second. Analyzing the made images, there is a movement of the cursor on the screen. In order to better highlight all surface irregularities, and therefore improve the quality of mouse positioning, a bright LED is used that is installed in the device at a slight angle;
• Laser - a great alternative to the previous type of mice. The principle of operation can be called identical to optical, only in this type, instead of an LED, an infrared laser diode is used for illumination. Thanks to this solution, the positioning accuracy of the device increases. A plus can also be called the fact that the type of surface is practically not important for the correct operation of a laser mouse;
• Touch - here the name speaks for itself. This mouse has neither buttons nor a scroll wheel, all commands can be set using gestures. Touch mice are the newest type, which are easy to use and amazing in appearance;
• induction mice that work by using induction energy. In use, a mat is required, serving as a so-called graphics tablet;
• Trackball mice - devices without buttons, which are controlled by an inverted ball called a trackball;
• Gyroscopic - positioning of the cursor with such a mouse is due to the gyroscope. For correct operation, the surface is not important for these mice; they read information about the movement not only from it, but from space.

Another way to classify computer mice is to separate them by the way they are connected. So mice are:

• Wired - connect to a PC using a wire via USB or PS / 2;
• Wireless - The connection is made using the Bluetooth protocol.

Characteristics of computer mice

The main characteristics of computer mice:

1. Type (kind) . As mentioned above, this affects the operation of the mouse itself, convenience and practicality. Each user chooses an individual item of use, since the purpose is based on: there are those who actively play computer games - a gaming mouse is ideal for him, since it is equipped with additional keys for easy navigation. For others, a conventional laser will be enough, with the help of which they will perform all the operations necessary for the average user.
2. Size and shape . These characteristics primarily affect its practicality in use: the choice, in most cases, is determined by the size of the hand - girls love small and beautiful mice, men are used to feeling in their hands a weighty and rather large mouse, which will be convenient to control.
3. Sensitivity . This criterion affects the accuracy of moving the cursor on the screen. More experienced users pay great attention to sensitivity, because, in addition to the standard settings, some of their activities require maximum accuracy and balance of movements, which can affect the result of the work.

conclusions

To date, a large number of presented types of computer mice allows each person to make an informed choice based on individual requirements. I hope that the article helped you learn a lot about such an indispensable subject of a computer user as a mouse.

The mouse is one of the tools that can be connected to a computer to manipulate the cursor. The cursor, a flickering rectangle of light on the screen, indicates where the operator's next action will be located. When a letter is typed, it appears on the screen at the location marked by the cursor. The cursor control keys allow the operator to move the cursor across the screen, up and down.

But the rotating mouse on the operator's desk (below) can move the cursor around the screen in any direction at the speed of a hand. Buttons on the mouse allow the operator to select options from the OSD or draw lines on the screen.

There are two types of mice - mechanical and optical; any easily fits in the human palm. When a mechanical mouse (right) moves across a surface, its internal mechanism measures the distance, direction of movement, and tells the computer to repeat that movement on the monitor. The optical mouse (bottom left) performs this task using light rays to determine the direction of the mouse on the grid. The joystick (bottom right) serves as a control mechanism in many video games.

Mouse movement and cursor

Connected to the keyboard by electrical wires, the mouse causes the cursor to imitate its movements on the screen at any distance and direction. Therefore, when moving the mouse, the operator must look at the screen. Since the mouse can move in any direction, forming curved and diagonal lines, it is an excellent drawing tool.

How an optical mouse "sees"

The optical mouse is arranged on a special grid. As the mouse moves over the grid, light from the LED, a Light Emitting Diode, enters the grid. The lenses and mirror send beams to a sensor, or photodetector, which marks the coordinates of the lines passed.

How a mechanical mouse works

On the inside of a mechanical mouse, there is a brake ball associated with slotted discs (brown) that rotates as the mouse is moved. An LED on each disk emits light, while a photodiode, on the other hand, counts the pulses of light passing through the slots in the rotating disk. These pulses are converted into cursor movement on the screen.

Inside the joystick

Like a mouse, a joystick detects movements in two directions and coordinates signals. The handle passes through the movable axle (center) and enters the right hand corner of the lever (bottom). Two electronic devices, called variable resistors, send signals that change the position of the axis and lever and make the cursor move.

Hello, dear readers of the blog site. Computer mice or mice, they are called differently, there are a huge number. According to their functional purpose, they can be divided into classes: some are designed for games, others are for ordinary work, and others are for drawing in graphic editors. In this article I will try to talk about the types and design of computer mice.

But for starters, I propose to go back a few decades, just at the time when they came up with this complex device. The first computer mouse appeared back in 1968, and was invented by an American scientist named Douglas Engelbart. The mouse was developed by the American Space Research Agency (NASA), which granted a patent for the invention to Douglas, but at one point lost any interest in developing it. Why - read on.

The world's first mouse was a heavy wooden box with a wire, which, in addition to its weight, was also extremely inconvenient to use. For obvious reasons, they decided to call it "mouse", and a little later they artificially came up with a decoding of this kind of abbreviation. Yep, now the mouse is nothing more than a "Manually Operated User Signal Encoder", that is, a device with which the user can manually encode a signal.

Without exception, all computer mice include a number of components: a case, a printed circuit board with contacts, mics (buttons), a scroll wheel (s) - all of them are present in one form or another in any modern mouse. But you are probably tormented by the question - what then distinguishes them from each other (besides the fact that there are gaming, non-gaming, office, etc.), why they came up with so many different types, see for yourself:

1. Mechanical
2. Optical
3. Laser
4. Trackball mice
5. induction
6. Gyroscopic

The fact is that each of the above types of computer mice appeared at different times and uses different laws of physics. Accordingly, each of them has its own disadvantages and advantages, which will certainly be discussed later in the text. It should be noted that only the first three types will be considered in most detail, the rest will not be so detailed, in view of the fact that they are less popular.

Mechanical mice are traditional ball models, relatively large in size, requiring constant cleaning of the ball for effective operation. Dirt and small particles can get between the rotating ball and the body and need to be cleaned. It won't work without a mat. About 15 years ago it was the only one in the world. I will write about it in the past tense, because it is already a rarity.

At the bottom of the mechanical mouse there was a hole that covered a swivel plastic ring. Under it was a heavy ball. This ball was made of metal and covered with rubber. Under the ball were two plastic rollers and a roller, which pressed the ball against the rollers. When moving the mouse, the ball rotated the roller. Up or down - one roller rotated, to the right or left - the other. Since gravity played a decisive role in such models, such a device did not work in zero gravity, so NASA abandoned it.

If the movement was difficult, both rollers rotated. At the end of each plastic roller, an impeller was installed, like in a mill, only many times smaller. On one side of the impeller was a light source (LED), on the other - a photocell. When moving the mouse, the impeller was spinning, the photocell read the number of light pulses that hit it, and then transmitted this information to the computer.

Since the impeller had many blades, the movement of the pointer on the screen was perceived as smooth. Optical-mechanical mice (they are simply "mechanical") suffered from great inconvenience, the fact is that they had to be disassembled and cleaned periodically. The ball in the process of work dragged any debris into the case, often the rubber surface of the ball became so dirty that the movement rollers simply slipped and the mouse was buggy.

For the same reason, such a mouse simply needed a pad for correct operation, otherwise the ball would slip and get dirty faster.

Optical and laser mice

In optical mice, you do not need to disassemble and clean anything., since they do not have a rotating ball, they work on a different principle. An optical mouse uses an LED sensor. Such a mouse works like a small camera that scans the surface of the table and "takes pictures" of it, the camera manages to take about a thousand of such photos per second, and some models even more.

The data of these images is processed by a special microprocessor on the mouse itself and sends a signal to the computer. The advantages are obvious - such a mouse does not need a pad, it is light in weight and can scan almost any surface. Nearly? Yes, everything except glass and a mirror surface, as well as velvet (velvet absorbs light very strongly).

A laser mouse is very similar to an optical mouse, but its principle of operation differs in that laser instead of LED. This is a more advanced model of an optical mouse, it requires much less power to work, the accuracy of reading data from the working surface is much higher than that of an optical mouse. Here it can work even on glass and mirror surfaces.

In fact, a laser mouse is a kind of optical mouse, since in both cases an LED is used, just in the second case it emits spectrum invisible to the eye.

So, the principle of operation of an optical mouse differs from that of a ball mouse. .

The process starts with a laser or optical (in the case of an optical mouse) diode. The diode emits invisible light, the lens focuses it to a point equal in thickness to a human hair, the beam is reflected from the surface, then the sensor catches this light. The sensor is so precise that it can pick up even small surface irregularities.

The secret is that precisely the irregularities allow the mouse to notice even the slightest movement. The pictures taken by the camera are compared, the microprocessor compares each subsequent picture with the previous one. If the mouse has moved, the difference between the pictures will be marked.

Analyzing these differences, the mouse determines the direction and speed of any movement. If the difference between shots is significant, the cursor moves quickly. But even when stationary, the mouse continues to take pictures.

Trackball mice

Trackball mouse - a device that uses a convex ball - "Trackball". The trackball device is very similar to the device of a mechanical mouse, only the ball in it is on top or on the side. The ball can be rotated, and the device itself remains in place. The ball causes a pair of rollers to rotate. The new trackballs use optical motion sensors.

Not everyone may need a device called "Trackball", in addition, its cost cannot be called low, it seems that the minimum starts from 1400 rubles.

induction mice

Induction models use a special mat that works on the principle of a graphics tablet. Induction mice have good accuracy and do not need to be properly oriented. An induction mouse can be wireless or inductively powered, in which case it does not require a battery like a conventional wireless mouse.

I have no idea who would need such devices that are expensive and hard to find on the open market. And why, who knows? Maybe there are some advantages over conventional "rodents"?

Gyro mice

Well, we quietly approached the final type of computer mice- gyroscope mice. Gyroscopic mice with the help of a gyroscope recognize movement not only on the surface, but also in space. It can be taken from the table and controlled by the movements of the hand. The gyroscopic mouse can be used as a pointer on a large screen. However, if you put it on the table, it will work like a regular optical one.

But this type of mouse can really be useful and popular in certain situations. For example, at some presentation, it will be very useful.

And finally: For normal operation of the mouse, it is very important that the surface on which it moves is flat. Usually, special mats are used for this. An optical mouse is more demanding on the surface, you can use it without a pad, but on surfaces with potholes or on glass it will fail. A laser mouse can work even on a knee, even on a mirror.

I think this article has helped you better understand the design of a computer mouse, as well as find out what types of computer mice exist.

How to choose?

Technology does not stand still and modern devices do not surprise anyone, moreover, they turn into a routine and routine, and purchasing them instead of outdated or broken equipment turns into a boring task for the buyer, in addition, an invoice for the wallet. Everyone wants a new purchase to please or at least not cause inconvenience, and to remain relevant at least for a while.

This article will tell the reader how to choose a computer mouse. After all, the criteria can be very different, as well as price categories and technical specifications. So which is the best computer mouse?

Device

The first such devices were created in 1970 of the twentieth century. Technology does not stand still and today it is difficult to imagine a computer without a mouse. Over the years, the device and the principle of operation have changed, initially something like several wheels was used to move the device on the table, later the technology was abandoned in favor of a special ball, which was located in the controller case.

The latter served users a little longer due to its simplicity of technical execution, and, perhaps, such devices are gathering dust on the shelves of some computer scientists to this day.

A little later, a computer optical and laser mouse appeared. These technologies have made it possible to increase the accuracy of user actions, as well as solve some problems associated with the failure of the ball drive of older models. Fine dirt and dust often stuck to the latter, which caused the quality of movements to seriously deteriorate.

Market

Modern such devices are in great demand. There are many factors here, for example, a large number of budget models, and failures of old equipment, moral obsolescence, the desire of users to "upgrade".

Accordingly, the concept of "good computer mouse" will be different for everyone. Someone needs to buy a cheap and practical device to replace the old one, someone wants to update the interior and chooses according to its appearance.

There are also gaming computers, in this case there will be increased requirements for both technical characteristics and design, ergonomics. Accordingly, the price range will be higher.

Having dealt a little with the big picture, we should move on to the various segments of this market.

Budget models

How to choose a computer mouse? The most common option for buyers is to choose budget models. They are bought in bulk as office equipment or for educational purposes. The price of such devices rarely exceeds the bar of 10-15 dollars, and often it is lower.

Such devices have a simple design, minimal convenience, rarely have additional functionality in the form of any buttons and sensitivity add-ons.

Can we say that such a computer mouse is good? If you are not a professional player and do not have excessive design requirements, then it is quite possible. There is nothing superfluous in it. As a rule, it is sold in ascetic packaging with the inscription "optical computer mouse".

Wireless models

There are many such devices on the market for computer mice and other controllers. When purchasing, do not immediately choose a cheap model. Also, do not neglect the technical characteristics, the most important thing here is the battery capacity and how to charge it.

You should choose the one that is convenient for you. For example, the Logitech computer mouse is from the middle price segment.

In general, the company produces high-quality devices, there are both budget and expensive models, depending on the needs of the user.

Otherwise, wireless models often differ in the way they connect, it can be a wireless network, its own radio module, or communication via bluetooth technology. Here it is important to focus on which connection method your device supports and not buy a gadget that you cannot use.

Game models

These devices have more sophisticated technical equipment. In the case of gaming devices, users will look at many factors, and price will most likely play the last role. After all, players need professional devices for their hobbies, where every movement is important and even the smallest delay can ruin the result.

Some choose such devices as a status item, and they are concerned, again, with design. By the way, the appearance of such devices is very specific, unusual shapes, many additional buttons, sensor sensitivity controls, etc.

If we talk about gaming devices, then a Logitech computer mouse is suitable for someone, Razer or SteelSeries for someone. The brand is essentially not as important as technical qualities, ergonomics, how the device fits in the hand and how comfortable it is to use.

In terms of prices, gaming devices can cost anywhere from $30 to $300, but these figures are only approximate and may vary depending on the place of purchase.

Additional software

Gaming mice often come with additional software. Often it can be useless and only has an advertising function, but this is not always the case. Therefore, it is best to study the contents of the package at all times, as well as read the specifications and requirements for your new purchase.

Some technologies, for example, additional control keys or cursor stabilization, are not available without additional programs, and very often they are installed directly on the mouse itself (there is a processor and memory inside). As a rule, this process is not complicated and requires only consistent user actions. In addition, very often the buyer has to independently search the manufacturer's website for the necessary drivers in order to download them. Guidelines for these processes should also be on the specified resources related to gadget manufacturing companies.

Laptop mice

If the reader is interested in a good computer mouse for a laptop, then again, everything is individual. The main thing is not to look at the price, but to choose a device for personal needs. For example, if you have a blue ultrabook, then why not choose a mouse similar in color to it? Or are you interested in the size? All these parameters can and should be taken into account.

You should also choose the type of device connection you are interested in, especially in modern laptops, this issue will be relevant. The most versatile option would be to connect via a USB port, which is probably on all laptops and netbooks, since this connector is considered the most common.

It should be noted that manufacturers have separate lines of devices specifically for laptops. They often feature shorter wire, reduced size and design.

How to choose the right device

In principle, recommendations for choosing a controller have been described above. The main point will be the task for which the device is purchased. For a home or office, a budget option is suitable, with as few additional features as possible and at a low price. Such a device can work for a long time, and in the event of a breakdown, it will not be a pity to simply replace it with a similar one.

As for gaming devices, e-sportsmen choose them exclusively for themselves and their needs, checking whether the mouse is comfortable in the hand, whether it is heavy, what resolution and response time it has, and whether these parameters can be adjusted. Accordingly, the price of such devices will be higher.

If we return to wireless devices, then we should be more careful. Cheap models are prone to breakage, some use low-quality batteries that quickly lose charge. In addition, low-cost wireless devices often have very short receiving and sending ranges. The same can be said for keyboards.

So if your work at the computer can contain urgent actions such as sending emails, checking documents and printing, then wireless devices are not the best choice, as they can let you down at the most inopportune moment.

Various accessories

During a certain period of time, various mats were popular that protected ball and optical mice from pollution, and also improved glide over the surface. Now it is rather a tribute to traditions, well, or a piece of furniture. By the way, a branded gaming mouse pad can cost more than $20, which makes it worth buying only if you need it as an image item or to improve the quality of work with your device.

As for other cases, we can say that this accessory is practically useless, and sometimes it can interfere with work due to its small size.

Results

However, it is not a fact that a computer mouse that you like outwardly will suit you. You can always read the description of the devices, as well as customer reviews. If in doubt, it is better to look at reviews on video hosting sites, study the comments of various users, including well-known bloggers. The most important thing is not just to be led by advertising, but to select the product you really need, which will be a pleasure to use.

The most important thing is that the purchase matches its tasks, does not interfere with work and fits, for example, to the connectors of a particular laptop. A good computer mouse is for everyone.