Mouse celebrates 40th birthday

14:50 1st December 2008

A fundamental tool in computer innovation will be celebrating its 40th birthday next week.

The mouse is now synonymous with computers and the rather ungainly name needs no explanation despite the inventors never actually assuming that it would stick.

Doug Engelbart headed a team of researchers at the Stanford Research Institute in California that invented the mouse.

Its first incarnation was a block of wood on wheels with a control panel inside and was nicknamed a mouse by the researchers who had intended for a more dignified name to eventually take its place.

The mouse may be an integral piece of equipment now, but its days may be numbered muses Gartner Research analyst Steven Prentice, who told the Guardian:

"They will still be around in four or five years, but will they be the standard we see today? We're starting to see more complex and intuitive controls develop and the mouse will be left behind."

With innovations in technology moving at such a rapid rate, companies and individuals would do well to invest in IT training to ensure they and their employees are up-to-date on the latest innovations.