// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhy was the Microsoft Mouse sad? It had a scroll-ing problem.
 | |
| Design firm | Microsoft |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Alps Electric |
| Introduced | May 2, 1983 |
| Cost | $195 (= $630 in 2025) |
| Type | Computer mouse |
| Ports | DE-9 |
The Microsoft Mouse, nicknamed the green-eyed mouse,[1] is a computer mouse developed by Microsoft and released in 1983. It was the company's first ever mouse,[2] designed for use on the IBM Personal Computer. It was bundled with the first version of its Microsoft Word word processing software and a number of other software, intended to get users familiar with the then-abstract concept of the pointing mouse. The Microsoft Mouse has a pair of green buttons, and as with other mice at the time, it uses a steel ball for tracking.[3]
History
[edit]While Microsoft was primarily a software company, the success of their 1980 product SoftCard for the Apple II indicated to its CEO Bill Gates that temporary hardware investments can prove beneficial for Microsoft software (in this case Microsoft BASIC).[4] The company was developing major software projects Microsoft Word for MS-DOS as well as Windows, but realized that the lack of mice popularity and familiarity would prevent take-up of their software making use of a graphical cursor. The Microsoft hardware group was formed in 1982 to build a pointing mouse compatible with the IBM Personal Computer and force the industry to adapt.[3] The mouse followed the release onto market of another by Mouse Systems in 1982.
Released on May 2, 1983, the Microsoft Mouse was bundled with the first versions of Microsoft Word, and/or Notepad (inclusion of these two programs varied in the initial product release), an on-screen teaching tutorial, a musical piano program, a game, and one of the first home computer color bitmap creation programs, called “Doodle,” for an initial price of US$195 (equivalent to $630 in 2025).[5][6][7] The Japanese company Alps Electric produced the mouse.
The initial version uses a DB-25 serial port. Later versions were available with an InPort ISA interface, requiring a Microsoft bus card to be installed in the computer or a DE-9 serial connector. All versions of the Microsoft Mouse could be used with MS-DOS compatible systems[8][9][3] as well as Xenix.
It has been claimed that Microsoft built 100,000 units but only 5,000 mice were sold to end users.[10]
Later Microsoft mice
[edit]In 1985, Microsoft introduced the "gray-eyed" Microsoft Mouse, featuring a higher resolution than competing mice, and a rebadged copy of ZSoft PC Paintbrush called “PC Paintbrush,” which replaced Doodle in version 4 of the drivers.[11] This would later be re-tooled and included with Windows 1, and formed the basis for Microsoft Paint. In 1987 the "dove bar" Microsoft Mouse (so called for the curved palm rest's resemblance to a Dove soap bar) was introduced, in variants for both Microsoft's InPort, serial port and PS/2 port. In 1991, the trackball "Microsoft BallPoint Mouse" was made. The "kidney" Microsoft Mouse 2.0 was introduced in 1993, and its design served as the basis for the IntelliMouse, which debuted in 1996.
More Microsoft mice have been released in later years, including Microsoft Natural Wireless Laser Mouse, Microsoft SideWinder, Arc Mouse, Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Mouse and others.
In January 2024, Microsoft announced that it would license the design and manufacturing of its current mice products to Incase, as part of an effort to focus more on its Surface-branded accessories. These products will be branded under the Incase name, but as being designed by Microsoft.[12]
See also
[edit]- IBM PS/2 Mouse, competing mouse from IBM (also manufactured by Alps)
References
[edit]- ↑ Source, Microsoft (2003-05-02). "Microsoft Hardware Celebrates 20 Years of Product Innovation". Source. Retrieved 2026-10-02.
- ↑ Markoff, John (1983-05-30). "Mouse and new WP program join Microsoft product lineup". InfoWorld. p. 10. Retrieved 2024-12-29.
- 1 2 3 "Microsoft Green Eyed Mouse ~ o l d m o u s e .c o m ~". www.oldmouse.com. Archived from the original on 2017-05-08. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
- ↑ Edwards, Benj (2012-07-15). "The Secret History of Microsoft Hardware". PCMAG. Retrieved 2026-10-02.
- ↑ "The good, bad and ugly history of Microsoft hardware". PCWorld. Retrieved 2017-05-04.
- ↑ Weber, Harrison (2012-05-28). "30 Years of Microsoft Hardware: From Mice to Men". The Next Web. Retrieved 2017-05-04.
- ↑ "Winworld: Microsoft Mouse 1.0". Winworld. 2024-03-03. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
- ↑ "What did Microsoft's first computer mouse look like? It was created exactly 40 years ago (photos)". NEWS.am TECH - Innovations and science. 2023-05-12. Retrieved 2024-03-04.
- ↑ "The History of Microsoft - 1983". Channel 9. Archived from the original on 2019-07-02. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
- ↑ "May 2: Microsoft Introduces 2-Button Mouse | This Day in History | Computer History Museum". www.computerhistory.org. Retrieved 2026-10-02.
- ↑ Microsoft Mouse Programmer's Reference (Microsoft Press, 1989)
- ↑ Warren, Tom (2024-01-05). "Microsoft's keyboards and mice will live on under a unique new partnership". The Verge. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
Further reading
[edit]- Paul, Matthias R. (2002-04-06). "Re: [fd-dev] ANNOUNCE: CuteMouse 2.0 alpha 1". freedos-dev. Archived from the original on 2020-02-07. Retrieved 2020-02-07. (NB. Has various information how to detect different mouse types.)