A mousepad is a surface for placing and moving a computer mouse. A mousepad enhances the usability of the mouse compared to using a mouse directly on a table by providing a surface to allow it to measure movement accurately and without jitter. Some mousepads increase ergonomics by providing a padded wrist rest, although the benefits of this are debatable.
During a 1968 presentation by Douglas Engelbart marking the public debut of a mouse,[1] Engelbart used a control console designed by Jack Kelley of Herman Miller that included a keyboard and an inset portion used as a support area for the mouse.[1][2] According to Kelley[3] and also stated by Alex Pang,[4] Kelley designed the first mousepad a year later, in 1969.
Details of a mousepad designed by Armando M. Fernandez were published in the Xerox Disclosure Journal in 1979 with the description:[5]
CRT Cursor Control Mechanism Pad To assist the operation of a cathode ray tube pointer 10 wherein a metal ball is rolled on a hard surface, the disclosed pad may be utilized. A resilient, rubber-like material 12 is bonded or otherwise attached to a hard base material 14 which keeps the rubber-like material flat. The base has four rubber-like pads 16 on the opposite side from the resilient material to refrain the pad from sliding on the surface of a table, for instance.
— Xerox Disclosure Journal, Volume 4, Number 6, November/December 1979
By 1982, most users of the Xerox ball mouse were using special pads to increase the friction of the ball in the mouse.[6]
The first commercial manufacturer of mousepads was Moustrak, founded by Bob McDermand. The company began gaining traction when Apple decided to distribute its mousepads, featuring the Apple logo, to computer stores in the United States. Moustrak signed licensing deals with Disney, Paramount, and LucasFilm, and advertised in magazines including MacWorld. However, by the end of the 1980s, lower cost mousepads turned the product into a commodity.[7][8]
The Oxford English Dictionary tracks the term mouse pad to the August 24, 1983, publication of InfoWorld, and the predominantly British term mousemat to October 17, 1989, in the publication 3D.[9]
The three most important benefits of the introduction of the mousepad were higher speed, more precision, and comfort for the user. A secondary benefit was keeping the desk or table surface from being scratched and worn by continuous hand and mouse rubbing motion. Another benefit was reduction of the collection of debris under the mouse, which resulted in reduced jitter of the pointer on the display. Also, it is important to clean mousepads.
The mousepads can be cleaned by special detergents, liquid soap, hand wash or dry cleaning. Not all mousepads are machine washable.
When optical mice, which use image sensors to detect movement, were first introduced into the market, they required special mousepads with optical patterns printed on them. Modern optical mice can function to an acceptable degree of accuracy on plain paper and other surfaces. However, some optical mouse users (especially gamers, designers, and other heavy users) may prefer a mousepad for comfort, speed and accuracy, and to prevent wear to the desk or table surface.
Types
A mousepad with a padded wrist rest
A variety of mousepads exist with many different textured surfaces to fit various types of mouse technologies. Vinyl board cover, because of its natural adhesive properties, was a popular mousepad surface around 1980.[citation needed]
After the steel mouse ball was given a silicone rubber surface, the popular fabric-surface mousepad was found to be the most appropriate. It helped keep the rubberized roller-ball surface cleaner and gave better tracking, speed and accuracy than just a desk surface. Such surfaces collected dirt which was then deposited onto the internal rollers that picked off ball movement. Dirty rollers caused erratic pointer movement on the screen.
Early types of optical mice have the problem of not working well on transparent or reflective surfaces such as glass or highly polished wood. These surfaces, which often include desk and table surfaces, cause jitter and loss of tracking on the display pointer as the mouse moves over these reflective spots. The use of mousepads with precision surfaces eliminates spot jitter effects of older and/or low-quality optical mice.
Newer generations of mouse pads incorporate a wireless charging system into the pad, allowing a wireless mouse to be used without the need to replace or recharge batteries. (ex. Logitech PowerPlay)
^ ab"The Demo (article on Engelbart's demo)". from the original on 2008-01-18. Retrieved 2007-02-26., final video
^"Mousepad Guide From Strumace". from the original on 2022-07-30. Retrieved 2022-02-26., time: 1:12:35
^. Archived from the original on 2006-10-29. Retrieved 2007-02-26.
^Alex Soojung-Kin Pang. . Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-02-26.
^"CRT Cursor Control Mechanism Pad". Xerox Disclosure Journal. November–December 1979. from the original on 2020-08-03. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
^Richard F. Lyon and Martin P. Haeberli (1982). "Designing and Testing the Optical Mouse" (PDF). VLSI Design (Jan./Feb): 21. (PDF) from the original on 2022-03-31. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
^Smith, Ernie (12 July 2016). "The Best Mouse Pads Money Could Buy". Tedium. from the original on 2 February 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
^Lewis, Peter H. (15 December 1987). "PERSONAL COMPUTERS; Holiday Hardware". The New York Times. from the original on 21 October 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
^Oxford English Dictionary Online, "mouse", compounds 20. d.
External links
Look up mousepad, mouse pad, mousemat, or mouse mat in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Media related to mousepads at Wikimedia Commons
pad
February 25, 2023
mousepad, text, editor, software, mousepad, surface, placing, moving, computer, mouse, mousepad, enhances, usability, mouse, compared, using, mouse, directly, table, providing, surface, allow, measure, movement, accurately, without, jitter, some, mousepads, in. For the text editor see Mousepad software A mousepad is a surface for placing and moving a computer mouse A mousepad enhances the usability of the mouse compared to using a mouse directly on a table by providing a surface to allow it to measure movement accurately and without jitter Some mousepads increase ergonomics by providing a padded wrist rest although the benefits of this are debatable A mouse and mousepad Contents 1 History 2 Benefits 3 Types 4 Materials 5 References 6 External linksHistory Edit Mousetray screenshot from Engelbart s video During a 1968 presentation by Douglas Engelbart marking the public debut of a mouse 1 Engelbart used a control console designed by Jack Kelley of Herman Miller that included a keyboard and an inset portion used as a support area for the mouse 1 2 According to Kelley 3 and also stated by Alex Pang 4 Kelley designed the first mousepad a year later in 1969 Details of a mousepad designed by Armando M Fernandez were published in the Xerox Disclosure Journal in 1979 with the description 5 CRT Cursor Control Mechanism Pad To assist the operation of a cathode ray tube pointer 10 wherein a metal ball is rolled on a hard surface the disclosed pad may be utilized A resilient rubber like material 12 is bonded or otherwise attached to a hard base material 14 which keeps the rubber like material flat The base has four rubber like pads 16 on the opposite side from the resilient material to refrain the pad from sliding on the surface of a table for instance Xerox Disclosure Journal Volume 4 Number 6 November December 1979 By 1982 most users of the Xerox ball mouse were using special pads to increase the friction of the ball in the mouse 6 The first commercial manufacturer of mousepads was Moustrak founded by Bob McDermand The company began gaining traction when Apple decided to distribute its mousepads featuring the Apple logo to computer stores in the United States Moustrak signed licensing deals with Disney Paramount and LucasFilm and advertised in magazines including MacWorld However by the end of the 1980s lower cost mousepads turned the product into a commodity 7 8 The Oxford English Dictionary tracks the term mouse pad to the August 24 1983 publication of InfoWorld and the predominantly British term mousemat to October 17 1989 in the publication 3D 9 Benefits Edit The mousepad for early Mouse Systems optical mouses The three most important benefits of the introduction of the mousepad were higher speed more precision and comfort for the user A secondary benefit was keeping the desk or table surface from being scratched and worn by continuous hand and mouse rubbing motion Another benefit was reduction of the collection of debris under the mouse which resulted in reduced jitter of the pointer on the display Also it is important to clean mousepads The mousepads can be cleaned by special detergents liquid soap hand wash or dry cleaning Not all mousepads are machine washable When optical mice which use image sensors to detect movement were first introduced into the market they required special mousepads with optical patterns printed on them Modern optical mice can function to an acceptable degree of accuracy on plain paper and other surfaces However some optical mouse users especially gamers designers and other heavy users may prefer a mousepad for comfort speed and accuracy and to prevent wear to the desk or table surface Types Edit A mousepad with a padded wrist rest A variety of mousepads exist with many different textured surfaces to fit various types of mouse technologies Vinyl board cover because of its natural adhesive properties was a popular mousepad surface around 1980 citation needed After the steel mouse ball was given a silicone rubber surface the popular fabric surface mousepad was found to be the most appropriate It helped keep the rubberized roller ball surface cleaner and gave better tracking speed and accuracy than just a desk surface Such surfaces collected dirt which was then deposited onto the internal rollers that picked off ball movement Dirty rollers caused erratic pointer movement on the screen Early types of optical mice have the problem of not working well on transparent or reflective surfaces such as glass or highly polished wood These surfaces which often include desk and table surfaces cause jitter and loss of tracking on the display pointer as the mouse moves over these reflective spots The use of mousepads with precision surfaces eliminates spot jitter effects of older and or low quality optical mice Newer generations of mouse pads incorporate a wireless charging system into the pad allowing a wireless mouse to be used without the need to replace or recharge batteries ex Logitech PowerPlay Materials EditModern mousepads are typically made of lesser density rubber composites open cell styrene butadiene rubber or open cell SBR with fabric bonded to the upper surface However many other types of material have been used including fabric plastics recycled rubber tires neoprene silicone rubber leather glass cork wood aluminum stone and stainless steel References Edit a b The Demo article on Engelbart s demo Archived from the original on 2008 01 18 Retrieved 2007 02 26 final video Mousepad Guide From Strumace Archived from the original on 2022 07 30 Retrieved 2022 02 26 time 1 12 35 Jack Kelley Herman Miller page Archived from the original on 2006 10 29 Retrieved 2007 02 26 Alex Soojung Kin Pang The Making of the Mouse Archived from the original on 2007 09 29 Retrieved 2007 02 26 CRT Cursor Control Mechanism Pad Xerox Disclosure Journal November December 1979 Archived from the original on 2020 08 03 Retrieved 2020 07 23 Richard F Lyon and Martin P Haeberli 1982 Designing and Testing the Optical Mouse PDF VLSI Design Jan Feb 21 Archived PDF from the original on 2022 03 31 Retrieved 2007 08 10 Smith Ernie 12 July 2016 The Best Mouse Pads Money Could Buy Tedium Archived from the original on 2 February 2022 Retrieved 25 July 2016 Lewis Peter H 15 December 1987 PERSONAL COMPUTERS Holiday Hardware The New York Times Archived from the original on 21 October 2021 Retrieved 25 July 2016 Oxford English Dictionary Online mouse compounds 20 d External links Edit Look up mousepad mouse pad mousemat or mouse mat in Wiktionary the free dictionary Media related to mousepads at Wikimedia Commons pad Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mousepad amp oldid 1138435154, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
