ARTi
The Little Clicker
Chapter 1

The wooden block of 1964

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Answer

Chapter 2

The Xerox PARC refinement

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Answer

Chapter 3

The democratic click

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Chapter 4

Beyond the wire

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YOUR GOAL

Master of The first computer mouse

Ch 2 · The Xerox PARC refinement
steve

steve Introducing the rolling ball

Jul 30

steve

steve Xerox Alto Mouse

Roll the ball, roll the ball, let the cursor glide!

Jul 30

steve

steve The birth of the GUI

Jul 30

steve
The birth of the GUI

steve Graphic interfaces replaced text commands, making the mouse an essential tool for navigation.

Jul 30

steve
The Xerox Alto and the desktop

steve The 1973 Xerox Alto was the first computer designed to use a mouse and a graphical desktop.

Jul 30

steve
The Little Clicker
BETA

steve Drag the wooden prototype to discover how the first computer mouse changed the world forever.

Jul 30

steve
Fun Fact

The mouse ball: Xerox engineers tried using solid metal, rubber, and even plastic for the mouse ball before finding the perfect weight and grip.

Jul 30

steve
Glossary
ball mouse (noun)
A handheld computer pointing device that detects movement on a flat surface using a rotating sphere. In 1972, engineer Bill English built this device for the Alto computer at a Palo Alto laboratory.

Jul 30

steve
Gossip

How many buttons makes for the ultimate computer mouse design?

Jul 30

steve
Quiz

What did Bill English use to replace the perpendicular wheels in his 1972 mouse redesign?

Jul 30

steve

steve The Xerox Alto and the desktop

Jul 30

steve
Quiz

What major interface concept did Xerox PARC introduce to represent files on a screen?

Jul 30

steve

steve The multi button debate

Jul 30

steve
Quiz

Why did Xerox PARC engineers prefer a three-button mouse over a single-button design?

Jul 30

steve
Quiz

Which research center refined the mouse in the 1970s by replacing wheels with a rolling ball?

Jul 30

steve
Quiz

How many buttons did the standard Xerox Alto mouse have?

Jul 30

steve
Quiz

Which 1973 computer was the first designed from the ground up to use a mouse and graphic interface?

Jul 30

steve
Quiz

What does the acronym GUI stand for in computer science?

Jul 30

steve
Quiz

Before the graphical user interface, how did users primarily interact with computers?

Jul 30