Mouses – “Joysticks, tracking balls and mouses are used to specify the point on a display where a certain instruction is to be obeyed” (by David Cowan

1989 – Numonics Manager Mouse Cordless, 2nd generation

The second-generation Numonics Manager Mouse is a redesigned version of the original Manager Mouse released in 1985 by the Torrington Company, a major international bearing manufacturer headquartered in Connecticut. Since mouse production was far away from Torrington’s core business, they eagerly licensed Manager Mouse to other companies, such as Maynard Electronics and Numonics Corporation. Numonics specialized in precision measuring instruments…

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1985 – Xerox AI Mouse

In 1985 Xerox released the last computer in the series of so-called D-machines – Daybreak (following the previous generations named Dorado, Dolphin, and Dandelion). The workstations were separately presented as office computers and as scientific ones. That was an already established tradition, because along with developing first GUI-based and mouse-driven office computer systems (Xerox Star), the company was actively experimenting…

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1985 – Xerox Daybreak Mouse

In 1985 Xerox released the official successor of it’s Xerox Star 8010 Information System (the world first office computer with window-based interface from 1981) – the 6085 Professional Computer System workstation, also known as Daybreak. The computer came with the 1.0 version of the ViewPoint GUI (a graphical shell based on the Star software). Among other improvements, these computers received…

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1981 – Xerox Star Mechanical Mouse

In April 1981, Xerox Corporation announced the Xerox Star 8010 Information System, considered the first office computer, as well as the first window-based graphical shell with icons, folders, and two-button mouse. The mouse was available in two variants: optical mouse, invented by Xerox specially for those computers, and mechanical mouse. Mechanical mouse featuring an older ball-based Xerox Alto mouse design…

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1999 – Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer mouse

The IntelliMouse Explorer 1.0 model, released in 1999, was an important milestone in the Microsoft IntelliMouse family, a line of mice and trackballs started in 1995 with a scroll wheel equipped mouse. The IntelliMouse Explorer featured a pair of extra buttons (first time in Microsoft cursor controllers) and a clickable wheel, but it’s most important feature was the IntelliEye optical…

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1982 – A2D Joystick 2001

The A2D Joystick 2001 is a second-generation analog joystick from A2D for Apple II computers. Introduced in 1982, it turned out to be a sort of the “correction work” over the ergonomics flaws of the first model released two years earlier. The joystick was available at the same time as the similarly looking A2D paddles, model 2002[1]J. Mazur. Hardtalk //…

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1980 – A2D Joystick for Apple II, 1st generation

The A2D Joystick, the first-generation analog joystick from the A2D Company for the Apple II computers, was initially developed in the late 1970s and is associated with Jef Raskin, a renowned engineer and interface researcher who played a key role in the creation of the Apple Macintosh. The device borrows the appearance and internal design from aircraft R/C models remote…

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1984 – Dave Brown Dual Joystick

Dave Brown Dual Joystick is actually a doubled two-axis joystick that copies the appearance and design features of radio-controlled model airplane controllers from the 1980s. However, instead of being used with radio control, the joystick is a wired one, designed specifically for Dave Brown RC Flight Simulator, a flight simulator program written by model aircraft enthusiast John Kallend. This flight…

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1990 — Aero Trackball

The Aero Trackball device was introduced to the market by Taiwanese company ICA Technology in 1990. Marketing materials mention the trackball’s “advanced optomechanical technologies”, “dynamic resolution from 100 to 1000 dpi, typically set to 200 dpi” (that is, apparently, a software resolution scaling), and an “improved electronic clock” being the eye-catching part of this retrofuturistic cursor controller[1]Aero trackball reaches your…

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1989 — Prohance PowerMouse 100

The Prohance PowerMouse 100 mouse was released by Prohance Technologies inc. in 1989 as part of a family of several mice and one trackball designed for use with Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheets (and some other similar applications). The concept of Prohance is to place a lot of additional buttons on the body, which, according to the developers, save the user from…

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1994 – Trinity Mariqua Mouse

The Trinity Mariqua Mouse was released in 1994 for the Japanese market by the Miyuki Electronic Design company. Following in the footsteps of the Prohance family of mice and trackballs from 1989, the Mariqua Mouse embodies the idea of placing additional buttons on the mouse body, which, according to the developers, eliminates the need for the user to frequently move…

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1993 — Colani Mouse

Apparently, the Colani Mouse was, along with the trackball of the same name, among the first so-called “designer” mice – devices officially developed in collaboration with celebrities in the field of technical design. This mouse was named and shaped by Luigi Colani. Colani is best known in the automotive industry, with about 40 concept cars; no less actively he designed…

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1994 – Elecom Lunaris Mouse

The Lunaris mouse was introduced to the market in 1994 by Elecom, a Japanese electronics manufacturer which was founded eight years earlier and which by that time had already introduced two computer mice to the market. The Lunaris mouse was released in several variants, differing in connection interface and the presence or absence of the mouse resolution adjustment. This one…

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1984 – Mindset Joystick

Mindset Joystick was developed as an additional accessory for the Mindset personal computer. The Mindset computer was released in 1984 by Mindset Corporation, and was on sale for only a year. In technical terms, the computer was partially compatible with the IBM PC. It featured an Intel 80186 processor, 32 to 256 KB of RAM, and a non-standard graphics subsystem…

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1997 – Kensington Mouse, ADB 2nd generation

The single-button Kensington Mouse, marketed and advertised as “Mouse in a Box” due to its cube-shaped packaging, was released by the American company Kensington Computer Products Group as part of a line of several similarly shaped mice. This particular model is a 2nd generationKensington Mouse designed for Apple computers with an ADB interface, presented in 1997 along with its two-button…

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1995 – Kensington Mouse

Kensington Mouse, marketed and advertised as “Mouse in a Box” due to its cube-shaped packaging, was released by the American company Kensington Computer Products Group as part of a line of several similarly shaped mice. In 1995, the manufacturer, which had been using the word “mouse” in the names of its trackballs (Turbo Mouse and Expert Mouse) for ten years…

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1995 – Kensington Thinking Mouse

Thinking Mouse was released by the American company Kensington Computer Products Group as part of a line of several similarly shaped mice. The Kensington Thinking Mouse, the top model in the line, was available for PCs and for Apple computers with an ADB interface, like the company’s other mice and trackballs. This is a PC model, but ADB ones looked…

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1986 – TPX Mouse

TPX Mouse is a cursor control device released by the Brazilian company Tropic Informática in 1986 for the TK90X computer (a Brazilian clone of the ZX Spectrum) and modified a year later for computers with the MSX architecture (a version with the MSX interface was sold by Input Digital under the name “Input Mouse”). The TK90X computer, for which the…

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1986 – Apple Desktop Bus Mouse

The Apple Desktop Bus Mouse was introduced by Apple in 1986, along with its new interface bus for peripherals, the Apple Desktop Bus (ADB). It was the first mouse officially designed in the “Snow White” design language, developed for Apple by Frog Design, the company of industrial designer Hartmut Esslinger. Along with the “Snow White” concept, the mouse body, including…

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1985 – Torrington Manager Mouse

The Manager Mouse was released in 1985 by the Torrington Company, which began its business as Excelsior Needle Company in the mid-19th century — an innovative manufacturer of sewing needles. In the more than a century preceding the release of the Manager Mouse, the company had undergone several phases of product expansion into neighboring markets, such as bicycle spokes and…

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