Computer Mouse Turns 40
Forty years ago Tuesday, a computer scientist from the Stanford Research Institute unveiled a device at a conference in San Francisco. The little wooden block had a button and a wheel, and it controlled an onscreen cursor. The cord in the back looked like the tail of a mouse, so that's what the inventors called it. The device was actually part of a larger demonstration of interactive technologies that would inspire much of the hardware and software used today.
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STEVE INSKEEP, host:
And today's last word in business marks a technology milestone. On December 9, 1968, 40 years ago, a computer scientist from the Stanford Research Institute unveiled a new device. It was at a conference in San Francisco. The little wooden block had a button and a wheel, and it controlled an onscreen cursor. The cord in the back looked like the tail of a mouse, and that's what the inventors called it, a computer mouse. So that's what we remember today - 40 years of computer screens navigated, 40 years of pointing and clicking, all those online purchases, hitting the send button on all those emails that you later regret. And that's the business news on Morning Edition from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.
RENEE MONTAGNE, host:
And I'm Renee Montagne.
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