A mouse can defined as a hardware device which is used for providing input to the computer. It is a mouse-like device which allows the user to control the cursor the manipulate data without the use of complicated commands.
Types of Mouse Technologies
- Mechanical Mouse – Mechanical mouse requires to be placed on a flat surface in order to work properly and efficiently. The distance and speed of the rollers inside the mouse determine how far the mouse cursor moves on the screen depending on the software configuration.
- Optical Mouse – Optical mouse require special mouse pads which contain grid patterns. A sensor inside the mouse determines the movement by reading the grid as the mouse passes over it while emitting a beam of light from a Light Emitting Diode (LED) or sometimes a laser. This type of mouse is more accurate and efficient than the ordinary mechanical mouse which relies on the traction between the mouse ball and the roller. A drawback of optical mouse is that it can create problems due to bright lights. New optical mice no longer have the drawbacks of earlier optical mice and are capable of being utilized on any type of surface. In comparison to the traditional optical-mechanical mouse, the optical mouse is the better solution for a computer mouse.
- Optical-Mechanical Mouse – The optical-mechanical hybrid consists of a ball which rolls a wheel inside the mouse. This wheel contains a circle of holes and or notches to read the Light Emitting Diode (LED) by a sensor as it spins around when the mouse is moved. This mouse is much more accurate than the mechanical mouse. This mouse is now the most commonly used mouse with Personal Computers (PCs) and Macintosh computers.
- Bus Mouse – A bus mouse comes with its own interface card. Older computers which do not contain a PS/2 (Personal System/2) port dedicated to a mouse respond to mice attached to the serial port. Most computers had only two serial ports, and typing one up with a mouse could cause problems for some users. Having a dedicated card for the mouse freed up a serial port for an external modem or other serial device.
How does a mouse work?
The optical-mechanical mouse’s operation is fairly simple. As we can see in the illustration, the mouse movement is tracked by four parts. As the mouse is moved, the ball rolls in the direction of the movement which, in turn, moves the roller (in X or Y axis). As the roller begins to rotate, so does the chopper or gear. The gear has small notches within it or around the edges of it; as it rotates; light shines through the openings which is then detected by the two light sensors which then sends the computer a signal of that movement. The offset of the light received by the two light sensors determines the direction of each axis.
Within the mouse, we will find a total of two rollers and choppers/gears. Each roller represents an X or Y axis which is the horizontal or vertical movement of the mouse error.
