A mouse is a pointing device in computer that works by detecting the motions related to the supporting surface it has. It is physically an object that is held under the one hand of the computer user. A mouse has one or more buttons to work. Many times it features many other extra features like wheels and extra buttons that allow the user free movement, better control, more operative functions and dimensional inputs. The mouse is the translator of the rotation that cursors have on a monitor that allows the user a better control in a graphical user interface.

The first mouse prototype was invented by Douglas Engelbert. He named the device as a mouse because it looked like the real mouse in the prototypes. The first mouse used to alloy wheels with gears, which were perpendicular to each other. Engelbert patented his device and get his patent on 17 November at 1970, but he never received any royalty from the mouse because when the moue became popular and used widely in personal computers, his patent ran out. The mouse became really popular after apple marketed the personal computer named apple Macintosh with a mouse. It was a much upgraded version of the first original Lisa mouse.

There are many computer mouse types in the market. The most used and most common mice are the mechanical mouse known as the ball mouse, the optical mouse, the laser mouse, inertial mouse, gyroscopic mouse and the 3D mouse. The mechanical mouse known as the ball mouse was invented by Bill English, who helped create the first mouse. The ball mouse was first invented in 1972. This mouse replaced the wheels with a trackball that can move in any directions. The ball of the mouse is made of mostly steel covered in a smooth rubber surface. The weight of the ball gives the moue a good grip to the user. The optical mouse is a mouse that uses the light emitting diodes to detect movements relative to the surface instead of balls. A laser mouse is an optical mouse that use laser light instead of light emitting diodes. Now these are the most common mice. The inertial and gyroscopic mice are called air mouse because they do not need a surface to work on. These mice use the accelerometer to detect movements in every axis. The 3d mouse functions via ultra sound and provide all three dimensions to move. They are known as bats or wands. Some of the new 3D mice offer no limitations.