Almost every improvement in mouse technology has rendered older generation mice obsolete. Eventually we stop using the older mice because the newer ones are so much better. That hasn't been the case with USB optical mice since there hasn't been any sign that a new mouse innovation is on its way to replace this older mouse technology.
I'm bringing up the history of advancements in mouse technology because I had a sudden realization that my 8 year old mouse didn't seem to be in any danger of becoming obsolete. Wireless mice haven't caught on because of their need for batteries and/or charging. This is why I feel that my 8 year old USB optical mouse is still relevant and will still be in use for a few years more.
Our first mouse was a serial ball mouse that had an external power adapter. This gave way to standalone serial ball mice that didn't need any power source. Serial mice were dominant from the late 80s to the late 90s. Next came the PS/2 ball mouse. PS/2 mice were dominant from the late 90s to the early 2000s.
The next mouse technology introduced was USB. USB mice became dominant in the early 2000s. The introduction of the optical mouse finally rendered the ball mouse obsolete as it became dominant from the mid 2000s on.
All-in-all, ball mice were dominant from the late 80s to the mid 2000s. Ball mice were usually replaced within 6 years because of the changes in mice technology which occurred around every 6 years, going from powered to unpowered, from serial to PS/2.
The reign of the USB optical mouse started from the mid 2000s and so far there's been no sign of any new technology that would render it obsolete. If my 8-year old USB optical mouse stays healthy, in all likelihood, I'll still be using it for a number of years more. This should push it to over a decade in service and it could remain useful for a couple of years more.
I'm pretty lucky if you consider the service record of my USB optical mouse. I was given this mouse early on, at a time when optical mice were still expensive and USB mice were rare. Because I got the latest technology in its early years, and without any new technology to replace it, my mouse has remained up-to-date for so long. In addition, my USB optical mouse was sturdy enough for it to last for such a long time. It's for these reasons that I'm still using my mouse after 8 long years.
My brother gave me my USB optical mouse for Christmas in 2002. He got it for free after a rebate. It was a Micro Innovations mouse and this was my first ever optical mouse and first ever USB mouse.
The mouse has had a wonky left button and it's been that way for 8 years. Because of that wonky left button, on two occasions, I soaked the mouse in alcohol, thinking that it would clean whatever was preventing mouse clicks from being read.
After drying the mouse and plugging it back in, both times I found that the mouse wasn't responding anymore. Both times I thought it was completely dead and both times, after leaving it alone for a few days and then trying it again, found it was working fine.
I thought my mouse had finally died when it became totally unresponsive for the second time. This only happened recently. I was delighted when, after a few days, I learned that it was back in working condition. I started thinking about the sturdiness of this old input device after it surprisingly started working again. I was ready to write a post about its death but instead I'm posting about its revival and its longevity.
This mouse is one of the few computer items I still have left from the start of my I.T. career. It's older than my son and yet it still works and isn't obsolete yet. I've put up with it for 8 years and it has served me well for so long. I still love it, but because of its wonky left button, I don't see myself using this mouse heavily anymore so I'll probably keep it as a spare in case one of my other mice fail.
I was pleasantly surprised that the company that made this mouse, Micro Innovations, still exists and still makes optical mice. Here are a few links I found for Micro Innovations:
http://www.linkedin.com/companies/micro-innovations
Formerly at http://www.mi-products.com/, now at http://www.digitalinnovations.com/.
0 comments:
Post a Comment