Today let's talk about mouse, where it came from, how it's changed, why it's changed, and continue to face old and new challenges, therefore, needs to keep changing.
Around 58 years ago, since the dawn of Doug Engelbart's first debut of "mouse", the need to move along and change between x and y have continued to request improvements. But it wasn't until early 1990's the world began to embrace and adapt usage of mouse, along with the PC.
There had been enough articles and commentaries on computer science history, and since I've not lived in most part of that, I will refrain from talking about it. Instead, I want to address current issues I've encountered personally with the modern day mouses. Yes, mouses, not mice.
The Inaccuracy Problem:
When it comes to accuracy, it's hard to ignore gaming mouses, the best selling gaming mouse designs have palm support.
Some examples are: corsair scimitar, razer deathadder, and logitech g403
Why the palm support?
You see, when the mouse was first made popular, it was made popular by retail business workers. Employees who stood behind a computer desk, walk around the shop, and punching in orders for their seemingly never satisfied customers. The keyword here is Standing.
Why am I talking about retail stores, hang on tight, I'm getting there.
When the sales associate is standing next to a computer, like we still see today at most retail shops, their wrist in relationship to the mouse they use is resting between 35 ~ 60 degrees, when asked, most would say 45 ~ 55 degrees being the most comfortable angles to use a mouse without feeling any type of stress.
And when these workers go home to hop on their PC at end of the work day, they continue to expect the same kind of usage habit they did at work earlier, but all of a sudden begin to experience a surge of discomfort from suddenly having to grab the mouse tighter in effort to stop the mouse from moving too much after each click.
So that's why mouse makers made the palm support wide and big. It's an effort to minimize backslide or random unintended movement after each click. When the user needs to use the mouse at home, while being relaxed and sitting down.
If the user's usage habit changes, product can't help but functions improperly from its original design. It's like pedaling a bicycle the same way both downhill and uphill yet expecting the same results.
I will continue writing on this blog another day.