Mouse Systems
Encyclopedia
Mouse Systems Corporation, formerly Rodent Associates, was founded in 1982 by Steve Kirsch
, inventor of the optical mouse
. In addition to being a vehicle for Kirsch's invention, the company was responsible for bringing the mouse to the IBM PC
for the first time.
Like all early optical mice, their debut product relied on a special metallic and reflective mousepad
printed with a square grid of grey and blue tracking lines: as the device moved over the pad, LED
feedback was processed by an on-board microchip
, which in turn supplied the host computer with machine-readable tracking data via an RS-232
serial
port. An external power supply
was required. Some mice would derive their power supply from the keyboard connector on the motherboard and came with a pass-through connector to be inserted before the keyboard cable.
Early Sun workstation
s used MSC optical mice exclusively. Initial models came with large mousepads with well-spaced lines, while later models were smaller and used a much tighter grid.
In 1982 MSC acquired rights to PCPaint
from Microtex Industries, the first mouse-driven image manipulation program for the IBM PC, written in Assembly language by Doug Wolfgram. Mouse Systems wanted the software re-developed to look more like Apple's Mac Paint so Wolfgram brought in co-developer John Bridges
and together they re-wrote the program in 'C' with an updated user interface. Millions of copies were shipped, primarily bundled with all their mice until the early 1990s.
KYE Systems, producer of the Genius
brand of mice, acquired Mouse Systems in 1990.
Steve Kirsch
Steven Todd Kirsch is an American serial entrepreneur who has started six companies: Mouse Systems, Frame Technology, Infoseek, Propel, Abaca, and OneID. He invented and owns a patent on an early version of the optical mouse. After bringing multiple successful startup companies through IPO and...
, inventor of the optical mouse
Optical mouse
An optical computer mouse or "optic mouse" uses a light-emitting diode and photodiodes to detect movement relative to a surface, unlike a mechanical mouse which has a ball which rotates orthogonal shafts which drive chopper wheels for distance measurement.- Early optical mice :Early optical mice,...
. In addition to being a vehicle for Kirsch's invention, the company was responsible for bringing the mouse to the IBM PC
IBM PC
The IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the IBM PC, is the original version and progenitor of the IBM PC compatible hardware platform. It is IBM model number 5150, and was introduced on August 12, 1981...
for the first time.
Mousepad
A mousepad or mouse mat is a surface for enhancing the usability of a computer mouse.-History:During a 1968 presentation by Douglas Engelbart marking the public debut of a mouse,...
printed with a square grid of grey and blue tracking lines: as the device moved over the pad, LED
LEd
LEd is a TeX/LaTeX editing software working under Microsoft Windows. It is a freeware product....
feedback was processed by an on-board microchip
Integrated circuit
An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit is an electronic circuit manufactured by the patterned diffusion of trace elements into the surface of a thin substrate of semiconductor material...
, which in turn supplied the host computer with machine-readable tracking data via an RS-232
RS-232
In telecommunications, RS-232 is the traditional name for a series of standards for serial binary single-ended data and control signals connecting between a DTE and a DCE . It is commonly used in computer serial ports...
serial
Serial communications
In telecommunication and computer science, serial communication is the process of sending data one bit at a time, sequentially, over a communication channel or computer bus. This is in contrast to parallel communication, where several bits are sent as a whole, on a link with several parallel channels...
port. An external power supply
Power supply
A power supply is a device that supplies electrical energy to one or more electric loads. The term is most commonly applied to devices that convert one form of electrical energy to another, though it may also refer to devices that convert another form of energy to electrical energy...
was required. Some mice would derive their power supply from the keyboard connector on the motherboard and came with a pass-through connector to be inserted before the keyboard cable.
Early Sun workstation
SUN workstation
The original SUN workstation was a modular computer system designed at Stanford University in the early 1980s.-History:The project name was derived from Stanford University Network, the campus network within Stanford....
s used MSC optical mice exclusively. Initial models came with large mousepads with well-spaced lines, while later models were smaller and used a much tighter grid.
In 1982 MSC acquired rights to PCPaint
PCPaint
PCPaint was the first IBM PC-based mouse driven GUI paint program . It was developed by John Bridges and Doug Wolfgram.The hardware manufacturer Mouse Systems bundled PCPaint with millions of computer mice that they sold, making PCPaint also the best-selling MS-DOS-based paint program of the late...
from Microtex Industries, the first mouse-driven image manipulation program for the IBM PC, written in Assembly language by Doug Wolfgram. Mouse Systems wanted the software re-developed to look more like Apple's Mac Paint so Wolfgram brought in co-developer John Bridges
John Bridges (software developer)
John Bridges is the co-author of the software program PCPaint and primary developer of the program GRASP for Microtex Industries with Doug Wolfgram. He is also the sole author of GLPro and AfterGRASP. His article entitled "Differential Image Compression" was published in the February 1991 issue of...
and together they re-wrote the program in 'C' with an updated user interface. Millions of copies were shipped, primarily bundled with all their mice until the early 1990s.
KYE Systems, producer of the Genius
Genius (company)
KYE Systems Corp. is a company founded in 1983, with headquarters in Taiwan and branch offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Hong Kong and China. It manufactures computer-related devices: keyboards, mice, graphic tablets, and game controllers. The company has over 3000...
brand of mice, acquired Mouse Systems in 1990.