24 Facts About Ball mouse

Computer Ball mouse is a hand-held pointing device that detects two-dimensional motion relative to a surface.

The third marketed version of an integrated Ball mouse shipped as a part of a computer and intended for personal computer navigation came with the Xerox 8010 Star in 1981.

Microsoft's Ball mouse shipped in 1983, thus beginning the Microsoft Hardware division of the company.

However, the Ball mouse remained relatively obscure until the appearance of the Macintosh 128K in 1984, and of the Amiga 1000 and the Atari ST in 1985.

The Ball mouse turns movements of the hand backward and forward, left and right into equivalent electronic signals that in turn are used to move the pointer.

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Telefunken's Ball mouse was sold as optional equipment for their computer systems.

Ball mouse replaced the external wheels with a single ball that could rotate in any direction.

The Ball mouse sends these signals to the computer system via the Ball mouse cable, directly as logic signals in very old mice such as the Xerox mice, and via a data-formatting IC in modern mice.

Ball mouse is mostly steel, with a precision spherical rubber surface.

In combination with a wireless keyboard an inertial Ball mouse can offer alternative ergonomic arrangements which do not require a flat work surface, potentially alleviating some types of repetitive motion injuries related to workstation posture.

Mechanism of the modern 6 DOF mouse consisting of infrared LEDs and detectors with occluders that move with the ball.

In 2000, Logitech introduced a "tactile Ball mouse" known as the "iFeel Mouse" developed by Immersion Corporation that contained a small actuator to enable the Ball mouse to generate simulated physical sensations.

Such a Ball mouse can augment user-interfaces with haptic feedback, such as giving feedback when crossing a window boundary.

The so-called roller bar Ball mouse is positioned snugly in front of the keyboard, thus allowing bi-manual accessibility.

Some advanced mice from gaming manufacturers allow users to adjust the weight of the Ball mouse by adding or subtracting weights to allow for easier control.

The Ball mouse was a simple optomechanical device, and the decoding circuitry was all in the main computer.

However, software can adjust the Ball mouse sensitivity, making the cursor move faster or slower than its CPI.

Mouse acceleration in most Ball mouse software refers to the change in speed of the cursor over time while the Ball mouse movement is constant.

Simple software, when the Ball mouse starts to move, the software will count the number of "counts" or "mickeys" received from the Ball mouse and will move the cursor across the screen by that number of pixels .

Mousepad, the most common mouse accessory, appears most commonly in conjunction with mechanical mice, because to roll smoothly the ball requires more friction than common desk surfaces usually provide.

Around 1981, Xerox included mice with its Xerox Star, based on the Ball mouse used in the 1970s on the Alto computer at Xerox PARC.

Players use the X-axis of the Ball mouse for looking left and right, and the Y-axis for looking up and down; the keyboard is used for movement and supplemental inputs.

The effect of this is that a Ball mouse is well suited not only to small, precise movements but to large, quick movements and immediate, responsive movements; all of which are important in shooter gaming.

Since the Ball mouse serves for aiming, a Ball mouse that tracks movement accurately and with less lag will give a player an advantage over players with less accurate or slower mice.