mouse

The mouse is one of the most adaptable and successful animals. It can live in a wide range of conditions and occurs throughout the world. Although they eat relatively little, mice destroy vast quantities of stored food.

In zoology, one of a number of small rodents with small ears and a long, thin tail. The house mouse (Mus musculus) is distributed worldwide. It is 75 mm/3 in long, with a naked tail of the same length, and has a grey-brown body. (Family Muridae.)

Native New World mice all belong to the family Cricetidae that is represented worldwide. American cricitids, sometimes called mice, include voles and deer mice. Jumping mice (family Zapodidae), with enlarged back legs, live across the northern hemisphere.

Tenacious clinging during suckling is exhibited by 44 species; the young clamp onto the nipple so firmly that they hang suspended from the mother as she climbs or even swims. This may be to ensure the pups' safety during transport or flight from predators, or it may be connected to competition for access to the milk supply.

mouse

In computing, an input device used to control a pointer on a computer screen. It is a feature of graphical user interface (GUI) systems. The mouse is about the size of a pack of playing cards, is connected to the computer by a wire or infrared (or other wireless) link, and incorporates one or more buttons that can be pressed (‘clicked’). Moving the mouse across a flat surface causes a corresponding movement of the pointer. In this way, the operator can manipulate objects on the screen and make menu selections.

Mice work either mechanically (with electrical contacts to sense the movement in two planes of a ball on a level surface), or optically (photocells detecting movement by recording light reflected from a grid on which the mouse is moved). Many modern laptops incorporate a Glide Pad or touchpad, just below the keyboard, which performs the same function.

Most GUIs provide alternative keystrokes and these are also useful for advanced users or in emergencies when a mouse fails, or its drivers are deleted or corrupted.

The mouse was invented in 1963 at the Stanford Research Institute, USA, by Douglas Engelbart, and developed by the Xerox Corporation in the 1970s. The first was made of wood; the Microsoft mouse was introduced in 1983, and the Apple Macintosh mouse in 1984.