
20 Years Ago, Microsoft introduced its optical mouse - turtlegrids
https://gizmodo.com/20-years-ago-microsoft-changed-how-we-mouse-forever-1834274151
======
PeanutNore
I've been using the same Microsoft Optical USB mouse at work since 2008. It's
so heavily used that the textured plastic has been polished completely smooth
where my hand touches it. It's great and I hope it never fails.

Also...

>and a desktop workstation that while powerful at the time, would be laughable
today (16MB of RAM baby!).

16MB of RAM would have been laughable in a workstation in 1999 as well. The
fairly basic family Dell we got in 1998 came with 32MB. The budget gaming PC I
built in 2000 had 128MB. A powerful workstation in 1999 would have had 256MB.

~~~
wiredfool
I’ve been using the same intellimouse for work since about 2001 on a series of
macs and Linux machines. It’s only now starting to be a bit flakey on the
scroll wheel.

I’m kind of curious how long I can make it last and still be effective.

~~~
basch
Buy a new one, and see how long it lasts by comparison.

[https://www.microsoft.com/accessories/en-
us/products/mice/mi...](https://www.microsoft.com/accessories/en-
us/products/mice/microsoft-classic-intellimouse#devkit-highlights)

Message us in 18 years.

------
dmurray
I don't remember the mechanical mice being bad. I cleaned them every few
months, not every fifteen minutes, and the cursor dragged or jumped
occasionally, not constantly. For me, the laser mouse was an incremental
improvement rather than the game changer this article claims. Am I the only
one?

~~~
driverdan
The author significantly exaggerated how often ball mice needed cleaning. I
was a heavy gamer at the time and had to clean my mouse once every week or
two.

~~~
Johnny555
Cleaning the ball was easy - cleaning the rollers inside often took scraping
them off with a q-tip or something since the gunk would build up right where
it tracked the mouse ball, a partial cleaning was worse than no cleaning at
all since the mouse would skip.

I never had much luck with those velcro mouse cleaning kits, I'd still end up
scraping the rollers.

------
Razengan
Microsoft may have changed mice (I loved almost all their Intellimouse
incarnations, and most of their other PC hardware like the awesome Sidewinder
game controllers) but I find Apple's Magic Mouse to be closer to the ideal.

It's a multitouch surface with several independent axes of control: Moving the
mouse itself on the desk, swiping your fingers anywhere on the surface,
tapping the surface, pressing the surface, with different effects depending on
the number of fingers, the direction of the swipe gestures or which side you
tap/press on (emulating left and right buttons.)

The body/shape may not be everyone's cup of cacao and I still prefer the
discrete steps of a physical mouse wheel when scrolling through content like a
list of images (because they fly too many at a time with swipe gestures), but
for everything else you can't beat the flexibility of a touch surface,
especially when panning through 360° content which a 1-axis wheel can't do
well, even with "tilt-scrolling."

A Magic Mouse with "taptic" feedback (with the optional sensation of discrete
buttons under your fingers) may be the perfection we seek.

If you find the default set of options and gestures too limiting there's
BetterTouchTool [1] which lets power users customize Apple's input devices
including the Touch Bar.

[0] [https://www.apple.com/ae/shop/product/MLA02ZM/A/magic-
mouse-...](https://www.apple.com/ae/shop/product/MLA02ZM/A/magic-
mouse-2-silver)

[1] [https://folivora.ai](https://folivora.ai)

~~~
jakobegger
I developed wrist pain from using that mouse. I wish Apple would care more
about ergonomics.

Microsoft and Logitech have a couple of really great devices for people who
have joint issues. And with programmable buttons, most of the gestures aren't
really necessary (the only thing I miss is the nice horizontal scrolling)

~~~
kiwijamo
I get terrible pain if I use the Magic Mouse for more than an house, which
disappared after I switched to another mouse. One thing I dislike about the
Magic Mouse is that if I rest my finger on the 'button' area it registers it
as a click so I always have to hover my fingers above the 'button'
area—something I suspect contributed to my pain. With normal mouses I can rest
entire my hand and fingers over the mouse and the only force I have to do is
when I press the buttons.

~~~
Ardon
I'm sure it wouldn't solve your pain issue, but requiring a press to register
a click is a setting you can change.

------
sharkweek
I remember when my school got a handful of Macintosh computers in the early
90s.

My friend's mom came into the classroom for a parent day shortly after, and I
remember my friend asking her to try out this new cool thing.

When he was showing her the mouse and keyboard, she picked up the mouse and
rolled the little rubber ball on the underside around with her finger to move
the cursor.

We all got a kick out of it at the time. Now that I have young children, I
wonder what my moment of "don't really get how this is supposed to work" will
be when my kids show me some new technology.

~~~
Finnucane
No, your friend's mom was correct. She was figuring out that the trackball is
superior to the mouse. It was obvious to her.

~~~
LyndsySimon
Yep.

I used a Microsoft Trackball Optical for many years, and found it much easier
on my hands. After some time I found that I was much more accurate with it as
well, and about as fast as using a mouse. I played a _lot_ of CS with that
trackball, and I never once felt it held me back.

I did get made fun of a few times at LAN parties when I whipped that thing
out, though!

I miss LAN parties :(

~~~
sundvor
I was also among the first to get the optical MS mouse - the days of cleaning
lint were finally over! I jumped over to the MS Trackball Optical on
developing onset of RSI though - until laser mice by Logitech just ended up
feeling comfortable enough in my hand (the G9X).

Presently I have a Kensington Slimblade and a Logitech G903 at home -
trackball on left, mouse on right.

It feels like I've reached a certain pinnacle of tech here; both products are
great. Due to RSI I try to mix up my hand usage; I've become ambidextrous as
far as input controllers are concerned.

LAN parties are great. When getting older, it's good for your mental health to
set aside some time to just hang out with friends - even if it's just once or
twice a year.

------
bobowzki
I didn't really enjoy that article because I find it to thin on technical
history and engineering.

It's mostly about one man's experience with buying a computer mouse.

~~~
coldtea
The premise is totally correct though, and not just "one man's experience":
that generation of MS mice changed the mainstream mouse landscape towards
laser-based mice.

(I've used such before, on Sun workstations, but PC as users we didn't have
that luxury, we had the easy to clog and collect dust, potentially jumpy, not
very accurate balls in our mice).

~~~
kalleboo
We had an optical Mouse Systems mouse for our Mac Classic in the early 90's,
they weren't exclusively the domain of expensive Sun machines.

~~~
jablan
I've recently watched a review of one of those, paired with a computer from
back then:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBhA25qjL8Q](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBhA25qjL8Q)

------
beamatronic
The TI Explorer LISP machine from the 1980s had an optical mouse. What I
recall about the Microsoft mouse is that it was a broadly available
_affordable_ optical mouse. I have vivid memories cleaning my Amiga mouse with
a Velcro ball and pad contraption.

~~~
magduf
No, that's not it. Sun Microsystems had optical mice too, back in the early
90s, on their SPARCstations.

The difference was that the early optical mice required a special mousepad for
them to work. I think they just used some photodiodes and looked at the
reflections from the mousepad, which had a pattern built in. The optical mouse
starting with MS's worked in a different way, using an actual camera to track
movement, so you could use them on almost any surface.

~~~
ChuckMcM
@magduf has the correct answer. The Sun optical mouse used dual photodiodes
and had two grids in the mousepad. One blue, one red. The filters on the photo
diodes allowed one to see both x & y grid lines and the other to see only the
red stripes. Then based on their signalling you could extract a motion vector.
The upside was no ball to pick up dirt and clog sensors, the downside was you
needed the mousepad with the lines etched on it. You would also get less
reliable results if the mouse pad was not in the expected orientation with the
mouse.

Still I really enjoyed that mouse. It had excellent tactile feedback on the
buttons as well.

~~~
magduf
>It had excellent tactile feedback on the buttons as well.

Almost everything had better tactile feedback back then. It's sad how this is
no longer valued.

------
cwyers
I was so excited when they announced that they were bringing this back as the
IntelliMouse Classic. It's amazing how much they got right that most mice
today don't get right.

------
jockc
I think my first experience with an optical mouse was on a Data General unix
workstation around 1990 or so. It needed a special pad; the pad was metal and
had a grid pattern on it. The mouse was somewhat less responsive than ball
mice at the time.

------
louthy
I still use the original cream Intellimouse Optical [1] and have bought a
stash of them for the future. I’m yet to find anything as ergonomic to use

[1] [http://www.bluetoothmousetech.com/microsoft-intellimouse-
opt...](http://www.bluetoothmousetech.com/microsoft-intellimouse-
optical-1-1a-gaming-mouse-white?___store=uk)

~~~
driverdan
There are much better and more comfortable mice now. Logitech's MX line of
wireless mice are more comfortable and precise. Their gaming mice are also
better if you prefer wired.

~~~
msla
I prefer the Logitech M705.

~~~
frosted-flakes
The toggle-able free-spinning scroll wheel on the M705 was a game-changer for
me. When I got the mouse, I was working for a place that had a lot of buggy
spaghetti-code programs that interfaced with a massive database, and I often
ended up manually scrolling through million-row tables in Toad correcting
broken or missing data. It made my life sooo much easier.

I later upgraded to a MX Master ($100) which automatically enables free-
spinning mode when you scroll quickly. It's fully adjustable, and it works
super well.

------
Magi604
I got one of these when it first came out. It cost something like $45cdn,
which was absurd at the time for just a basic mouse, but it was so worth it
never to have to clean that ball thing again. It worked just great until about
5 or 6 years ago when it was destroyed in a fire.

------
micheljansen
For me it was Logitech that forever changed my mousing experience somewhere in
early 2000. Their Logitech Optical USB mouse (this one:
[https://www.amazon.co.uk/Original-Logitech-Optical-Mouse-
But...](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Original-Logitech-Optical-Mouse-
Buttons/dp/B00S6CHX9U)) was the first optical mouse on the market here. It was
outrageously expensive for my teenager budget, but with a USB-to-PS/2 adapter
and some Windows utility to tweak the OS refresh rate it gave me a real
advantage in Unreal Tournament. No more gunk messing up accuracy. I used it
for years and if I’d still have it, I don’t doubt that it would still work.

~~~
ohyeshedid
It's been years since I've even thought about tweaking sampling rates for
mice.

------
brianprovost
I have been using a series Intellimouse 1.1 Opticals since the early 2000's
but they are getting harder to find now.

Even when sold "new" now
([https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E1682610...](https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826105122))
they seem to be old stock or factory seconds and do not sit level or have one
or more broken buttons.

Any suggestions for a replacement? The new Intellimouse Classic does not have
the right side button.

~~~
evandev
Check out this comment:

> Today, I use the SteelSeries Sensei models which kind of are modern versions
> of this mouse: [https://steelseries.com/gaming-mice/sensei-
> raw](https://steelseries.com/gaming-mice/sensei-raw) [0]

0:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19851273](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19851273)

~~~
larrik
I replaced an 2001 or 2002 Intellimouse with a Sensei a few years ago. Then it
broke and I got a warranty replacement (upgraded to the full model). Then THAT
broke and I replaced it with a Logitech (which is fine, although I spilled
coffee all over it).

Meanwhile, the Intellimouse is still 100% functional in my laptop bag.

~~~
brianprovost
My Intellimice last for a few years but eventually either the rubber coating
on the scroll wheel detaches or the left button starts occasionally double
clicking instead of single clicking.

I'll try out the Sensei, thanks.

~~~
larrik
Both my Sensei's developed issues with the scroll wheel.

Otherwise they're really nice.

~~~
ahartmetz
IIRC mine once had some issue with the scroll wheel that I fixed by removing a
dust ball and / or applying silicone grease. Silicone grease is great for
lubricating anything plastic.

------
logfromblammo
I recall using that 3-button SPARC mouse on a rigid, semi-reflective, gridded
mouse pad, and also a Logitech optical trackball, with patterned black dots on
a red marble, long before optical mouse tech could work on any surface.

If you waited until the MS Intellimouse to go optical to relieve your
Photoshop woes, you weren't being very proactive. I even recall using a Wacom
stylus-tablet, and I wasn't even a graphics creator or manipulator.

I'd argue that those mouses from around 2000 with the vibration motors in them
were more revolutionary to mousing, as it allowed for cheap haptic feedback.
It's really too bad the TouchSense tech wasn't licensed loosely enough by
Immersion to get more than annoying toy applications for it to alter your
desktop experience (and Black & White). Every time I get a little vibration
bump through my finger on a touchscreen, I remember that could have already
been everywhere 15 years ago.

~~~
lscotte
I had the same recollection - I'm pretty sure I used a Sun Workstation with an
optical mouse back in the late 80s. Clearly Microsoft did not invent the
optical mouse, but the early ones required a special gridded pad.

------
i386
In the old days the most under appreciated Microsoft division was Microsoft
Hardware. Keyboards and mice were top notch.

------
kubbity
I started to use an Anker[0] mouse few years (1-2?) ago for work and I can't
turn back.

[0] -
[https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B018LR04B8/ref=psdcmw_1103649...](https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B018LR04B8/ref=psdcmw_11036491_t1_B07CT9X48L)

~~~
city41
I have a similar ergonomic mouse. Once you get used to it, it's fantastic. One
day I forgot my usb receiver and had to use a normal mouse and it was a bad
day.

------
dariusj18
No mouse discussion would be complete without mention of the greatest mouse
ever made, the Logitech MX Revolution. Logitech would truly outshine
themselves if they merged the MX Revolution and the G602.

~~~
CharlesW
Have you tried the Logitech M705? I find it to be the perfect mouse.

~~~
dariusj18
Not enough buttons IMO

------
noer
I was just thinking about how much I miss cleaning compacted dirt off of the
wheels inside of my mouse. It was so satisfying.

edit: not being sarcastic at all. I actually miss the cleaning.

------
hs86
I am left-handed and the IntelliMouse Optical was my favorite mouse. It broke
after a couple of years and then I just bought three of them in bulk packaging
for the same price!

Today, I use the SteelSeries Sensei models which kind of are modern versions
of this mouse: [https://steelseries.com/gaming-mice/sensei-
raw](https://steelseries.com/gaming-mice/sensei-raw)

------
ken
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19778672](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19778672)

------
jdlyga
I'm still using that exact same mouse. It's my lucky programming mouse I've
been using since 2008.

------
mixmastamyk
I remember being pretty good at scraping the hardened goo off the rollers with
my finger nail.

------
sircastor
I remember paying some ridiculous amount for an intellimouse explorer in 1999
or so, and being so thrilled (and baffled) that Microsoft provided drivers for
it.

Fantastic mouse. I still have it, though it started having some issues

------
zghst
We also forget that in 1999, Microsoft was a massive monopoly that consumed
everything in the tech industry... Now innovation comes from all directions,
the tech industry can breathe!

~~~
bdcravens
There were many hardware manufacturers then, as now. Perhaps the hardware
division benefitted from name recognition afforded by the OS monopoly but
there was no monopoly there. Around 98-01, IMO they genuinely had the best
mice and keyboards.

~~~
handzbagz1
They still do if you ask me. They seem to be good at simple and durable
designs.

------
bryanrasmussen
Anecdotally I am convinced at best they changed how we mouse for about 15
years, if indeed a significant portion of people still mouse.

------
postalrat
Just reminded me the asheron's call developer named devilmouse.

------
jxramos
> (Tabs hadn’t been invented yet.)

Wow, so true.

------
lebowskier
I remember this!

------
flukus
And to this day their OS still considers the scroll wheel on top of it to be
part of the keyboard.

------
sandworm101
I abandoned windows on my home machines because of a Microsoft mouse.

I had bought a new asus netbook. I intended to put linux on it but it came
with some sort of student edition of windows. I thought I'd at least see how
well ran out of the box. So I plugged in my decade-old and trustworthy MS
mouse. "Need to connected to internet to download drive for external mouse"
... windows was then dead to me.

~~~
jrace
How long ago was that>

I have not had a mouse, wired or wireless, fail to function in windows,
internet connection or not. They all just work almost instantly.

~~~
sandworm101
2007? 2008? - It was the student edition on a $150 netbook. I plugged in the
mouse shortly after turning it on. Maybe if I had fully booted into windows
... but once I stopped laughing shut it down and installed backtrack.

