Why your computer mouse could become an endangered species

 

By Claire Bates
18th July 2008

Computer mice may be extinct in just three years, according to an analyst

The days of the computer mouse are numbered, according to a leading research analyst.

The device could be obsolete in as little as three years as touch screens and gesture recognition software are developed.

'The mouse works fine in the desktop environment but for home entertainment or working on a notebook it’s over,' computer industry analyst Steve Prentice said.

'It's all about using computer power to do things smarter,' he told BBC News.

'With the Nintendo Wii you point and shake and it vibrates back so you have a two-way relationship.

'The new generation of smart phones like the iPhone all have tilting mechanisms with a multi-touch interface.

'Panasonic software recognises your face and displays your own menu on your TV screen. You can move your hand to select what you want.'

The film Minority Report predicted we would be using interactive computer screens

In a case of life echoing science fiction these developments were predicted in Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report in 2002. It was a film based in a near future where data could be manipulated around giant screens by the movement of the user’s hands.

The future: Wii users have a two-way relationship with the device

The latest technology seems light years away from the humble mouse, which was invented by Dr Douglas Engelbart 40 years ago while he was working for the Stanford Research Institute.

Bill English then invented the 'ball mouse' in 1972 while working for Xerox, which replaced the external wheels with a single ball that could rotate in any direction. This mouse was first used with PCs in 1981.

However, computer manufacturers disagree that the computer mouse is reaching the end of its life and say it has never been more important in the developing world.

'The death of the mouse is greatly exaggerated,' said Rory Dooley, from Logitech, the world's biggest manufacturer of mice and keyboards.

'The devices we use have been modified for our changing lifestyles but it doesn't negate the value of the mouse,' he concluded.