Mouse and Pointing Devices

Next to the keyboard, the mouse is the most important device used to send commands to the computer. For Windows users who don't perform data entry, the mouse is even more important than the keyboard. Mouse alternatives, such as trackballs or touchpads, are considered mouse devices because they install and are configured the same way.

Three major interface types are used for mouse devices on systems built since the mid-1990s:

  • Serial

  • 6-pin mini-DIN (PS/2)

  • USB

Systems built in the early 1990s sometimes used a bus mouse, which used an 8-pin round connector. The bus mouse and connector are obsolete.

Most mouse devices supplied ...

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