A mouse is a small pointing device that a user manipulates in order to input information into a computer. By moving a mouse over a surface such as a mouse pad, a user controls an on-screen pointer in order to select, move, and activate various items. The mouse's actions are electronically registered by software called a "mouse driver" and passed on to any active application that is designed to receive such input.

Computer scientist Douglas Engelbart invented the first mouse in 1963 while at the Stanford Research Institute. In 1970 he received a patent on his invention. Engelbart described his patent as an "X-Y position indicator for a display system," and nicknamed it a "mouse" because its connecting cable suggested a mouse's tail. Xerox Corporation brought the mouse to the commercial market, but it first became a widely used computer tool when Apple Computer made it a standard part of...