Douglas Engelbart, Inventor of the Mouse, Passes Away

StewShearerOld

Geekdad News Writer
Jan 5, 2013
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Douglas Engelbart, Inventor of the Mouse, Passes Away



Douglas C. Engelbart, computer visionary and inventor of the mouse, has passed at away at the age of eighty-eight.

You'd be hard pressed to find a more common computer tool than the humble mouse. Whether you're surfing the web or partaking in a cordial session of first person shooting with other fans of fragging, you'll have probably used a mouse in the process. If so, you owe some gratitude to Douglas C. Engelbart. A pioneer of early computing, Engelbart, who has sadly passed away at the age of eighty-eight, was the man behind the mouse.

Engelbart devised the mouse in 1964 when he drew up a conceptual sketch of the device which his colleague, William English of the Stanford Research Institute, had fashioned into a prototype. Engelbart would receive a patent for the mouse <a href=http://www.google.com/patents/US3541541?printsec=abstract#v=onepage&q&f=false>in 1970. While the invention of one of the most widely used computer input devices in history would probably be enough laurels for some to rest on, Engelbart would also go on <a href=http://sloan.stanford.edu/mousesite/1968Demo.html#complete>to pitch one of the first visions of networked computers. "Doug was a giant who made the world a much better place and who deeply touched those of us who knew him," said Curtis R. Carlson, president of CEO of SRI. "We will miss his genius, warmth and charm. Doug's legacy is immense -anyone in the world who uses a mouse or enjoys the productive benefits of a personal computer is indebted to him."

Source: PC Gamer





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Renegade-pizza

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Jul 26, 2010
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A moment of silence for the man who gave us the better alternative to the trackball and touch pad. He's using God's mouse pad now.
 

fix-the-spade

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Feb 25, 2008
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Douglas C. Engelbart,
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011111011101
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&#8734;

I wonder when he realised he'd be one of the most important people of the twentieth century, or if he realised it at all.
 

CriticalMiss

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Jan 18, 2013
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Is it a coincidence that my wireless mouse died today? Maybe they know? Maybe they KNOW!

I wonder if he ever knew that what he was creating would go on to be such a widespread device that most people wouldn't know what to do without it? Or that they would one day look like this:

<a href=http://dealsprime.net/images/products/detail/LaptopSexy3DUSBPCNotebookScrollWheelOpticalMouse.jpg> Possibly NSFW
 

MeChaNiZ3D

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Aug 30, 2011
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CriticalMiss said:
Is it a coincidence that my wireless mouse died today? Maybe they know? Maybe they KNOW!
I had to change the batteries in mine as soon as I just sat down! Gosh...this is worse than Captcha.

OT:
StewShearer said:
Douglas C. Engelbart, computer visionary and inventor of the mouse, has passed at away at the age of eight-eight.
 

Quaxar

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Sep 21, 2009
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StewShearer said:
Douglas Engelbart, Inventor of the Mouse Passes Away
Needs either a comma more or less. Either make it "Douglas Engelbart, Inventor of the Mouse, Passes Away" or "Douglas Engelbart Inventor of the Mouse Passes Away". Preferrably the added comma. But the title version just makes it sound weird...

Captcha: party on, garth!
Apparently it is not acceptable to type "party on, wayne!"... what have the Captcha people been thinking!
 

thespyisdead

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Jan 25, 2010
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i am sure that the the guy was a very happy man to see his invention in most modern homes... not many people get that far!
 

StewShearerOld

Geekdad News Writer
Jan 5, 2013
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Quaxar said:
StewShearer said:
Douglas Engelbart, Inventor of the Mouse Passes Away
Needs either a comma more or less. Either make it "Douglas Engelbart, Inventor of the Mouse, Passes Away" or "Douglas Engelbart Inventor of the Mouse Passes Away". Preferrably the added comma. But the title version just makes it sound weird...

Captcha: party on, garth!
Apparently it is not acceptable to type "party on, wayne!"... what have the Captcha people been thinking!
I knew that felt weird. This is why I should trust my gut more! Thanks.

On the topic of dying mice:
I oddly also suffered mouse related problems while playing KOTOR last night. The eeriness continues.
 

N3squ1ck

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Mar 7, 2012
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Weird how much one person could change how we do our daily computing with such a simple thing...

RIP
 

RA92

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Jan 1, 2011
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Rest in peace, knowing that silly touch screens and motion controls will never usurp the mouse.

(Also, my right mouse button isn't responding...)
 

Adam Jensen_v1legacy

I never asked for this
Sep 8, 2011
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Best god damn motion tracking device ever made. All this useless crap that they're trying to show down our throats will never take off because the mouse is just too perfect, precise and easy to use. You can't top it with Kinect or Move or any of that other crap.
 
Apr 28, 2008
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So this is the guy who made the PC my preferred way to play.

Rest in Piece, you genius of a man.
 

Quellist

Migratory coconut
Oct 7, 2010
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Farewell Douglas, without you the modern world might be quite different in some minor but important ways.
 

draigodragon

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Nov 21, 2011
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Ragsnstitches said:
I just bought a new mouse yesterday after my old one stopped working... how very strange.
Damn o_O My mouse broke 3-4 days ago as well so I had to get a new one from the garage what a surpise.
 

Strazdas

Robots will replace your job
May 28, 2011
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thank you for ivnenting the best computer control mechanism ever invented.