mouse

1. any of numerous small long-tailed rodents of the families Muridae and Cricetidae that are similar to but smaller than rats

2. any of various related rodents, such as the jumping mouse

3. Computing a hand-held device used to control the cursor movement and select computing functions without keying

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

What does it mean when you dream about a mouse?

A mouse in a dream can indicate much scurrying, flitting, and running about—like a scared little mouse trying to hide in a hole and not having to confront things that could get one trapped. (See also Rat, Rodent).

mouse

[mau̇s]

(computer science)

A small box-shaped device with wheels that is moved about by hand over a flat surface and generates signals to control the position of a cursor or pointer on a computer display.

(vertebrate zoology)

Any of various rodents which are members of the families Muridae, Heteromyidae, Cricetidae, and Zapodidae; characterized by a pointed snout, short ears, and an elongated body with a long, slender, sparsely haired tail.

mouse, duck

A lead weight on a string; used to pull a sash cord over a sash pulley, to clear a blocked pipe, etc.

Mouse

(1)

A mighty small macro language developed by Peter Grogono in 1975.

["Mouse, A Language for Microcomputers", P. Grogono <grogono@concour.cs.concordia.ca> Petrocelli Books, 1983].

mouse

(hardware, graphics)

The most commonly used computer pointing device, first introduced by Douglas Engelbart in 1968. The mouse is a device used to manipulate an on-screen pointer that's normally shaped like an arrow. With the mouse in hand, the computer user can select, move, and change items on the screen.

A conventional roller-ball mouse is slid across the surface of the desk, often on a mouse mat. As the mouse moves, a ball set in a depression on the underside of the mouse rolls accordingly. The ball is also in contact with two small shafts set at right angles to each other inside the mouse. The rotating ball turns the shafts, and sensors inside the mouse measure the shafts' rotation. The distance and direction information from the sensors is then transmitted to the computer, usually through a connecting wire - the mouse's "tail". The computer then moves the mouse pointer on the screen to follow the movements of the mouse. This may be done directly by the graphics adaptor, but where it involves the processor the task should be assigned a high priority to avoid any perceptible delay.

Some mice are contoured to fit the shape of a person's right hand, and some come in left-handed versions. Other mice are symmetrical.

Included on the mouse are usually two or three buttons that the user may press, or click, to initiate various actions such as running programs or opening files. The left-most button (the primary mouse button) is operated with the index finger to select and activate objects represented on the screen. Different operating systems and graphical user interfaces have different conventions for using the other button(s). Typical operations include calling up a context-sensitive menu, modifying the selection, or pasting text. With fewer mouse buttons these require combinations of mouse and keyboard actions. Between its left and right buttons, a mouse may also have a wheel that can be used for scrolling or other special operations defined by the software. Some systems allow the mouse button assignments to be swapped round for left-handed users.

Just moving the pointer across the screen with the mouse typically does nothing (though some CAD systems respond to patterns of mouse movement with no buttons pressed). Normally, the pointer is positioned over something on the screen (an icon or a menu item), and the user then clicks a mouse button to actually affect the screen display.

The five most common "gestures" performed with the mouse are: point (to place the pointer over an on-screen item), click (to press and release a mouse button), double-click to press and release a mouse button twice in rapid succession, right-click (to press and release the right mouse button}, and drag (to hold down the mouse button while moving the mouse).

Most modern computers include a mouse as standard equipment. However, some systems, especially portable laptop and notebook models, may have a trackball, touchpad or Trackpoint on or next to the keyboard. These input devices work like the mouse, but take less space and don't need a desk.

Many other alternatives to the conventional roller-ball mouse exist. A tailless mouse, or hamster, transmits its information with infrared impulses. A foot-controlled mouse is one used on the floor underneath the desk. An optical mouse uses a light-emitting diode and photocells instead of a rolling ball to track its position. Some optical designs may require a special mouse mat marked with a grid, others, like the Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer, work on nearly any surface.

Yahoo!.

http://peripherals.about.com/library/weekly/aa041498.htm.

PC Guide's "Troubleshooting Mice".

This article is provided by FOLDOC - Free Online Dictionary of Computing (foldoc.org)

mouse

The primary pointing device on a desktop computer. Laptops have the equivalent function in a built-in trackpad, although many users prefer the handheld mouse.

Decades ago, it was called a "mouse" because the cord resembled a mouse's tail, and wired mice plug into the USB or PS/2 port. Today, most mice are cordless, using Bluetooth (if in the computer) or by plugging the transceiver that comes with the mouse into the USB port. See USB and PS/2 port.

Although CAD and drawing programs, as well as every graphical interface, are designed to be used with a pointing device, many key commands in the OS and business applications are also available.

Relative vs. Absolute
Mouse movement is relative. For example, a mouse could be moved along your arm or across your stomach, and the screen cursor would move from its existing location the same angle and distance. In contrast, the mouse-like object on a graphics tablet, which is correctly called a "tablet cursor" or "puck," is often not relative. It contacts the tablet with absolute reference, which means if you place the stylus on the upper left part of the tablet, the screen cursor appears on the upper left side of the screen. See pointing device, scroll mouse, mechanical mouse, optical mouse, Magic Mouse and mickey.

Mice Are Not Always Friendly
It is well known that hours of clicking can strain the wrist (see carpal tunnel syndrome). In addition, there is way too much mouse movement in today's operating systems and applications on desktop computers. Instead of the next item to click presented on screen close to the last position of the pointer (cursor), the next obvious selection is often at the other end of the screen. See good user interface.

First Public Mouse Demonstration

Invented by Doug Engelbart in the 1960s at Stanford Research Institute (SRI), it used two moving wheels 90 degrees apart. Subsequent mechanical mice were similar but with rubberized trackballs moving internal wheels. (Image courtesy of The Bootstrap Institute.)

One Size Does Not Fit All

Contour Design makes mice that come in many sizes for a perfect fit. They also put less strain on the "clicking finger." (Image courtesy of Contour Design, Inc., www.contourdesign.com)

A Variety of Critters

All kinds of mouse designs have come and gone over the years. (Image courtesy of Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), Brian Tramontana, Photographer.)

Copyright © 1981-2025 by The Computer Language Company Inc. All Rights reserved. THIS DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher.

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References in periodicals archive

First, there was no association of expression profile of these genes with pathologic change, and second, by comparison with the gene expression profile of a mutant mouse model of ferrochelatase insufficiency (Tutois et al.

Gene expression profiles associated with inflammation, fibrosis, and cholestasis in mouse liver after griseofulvin. (Article)

Testosterone was assayed in each mouse serum sample using single commercial radioimmunoassay kits (Diagnostic Products Corporation, Los Angeles, CA, USA).

Aggressive behavior and serum testosterone concentration during the maturation process of male mice: the effects of fetal exposure to bisphenol A: (Research)

Since it may be that no single mutation can make a mouse completely insensitive to any inhaled anesthetic, the researchers will likely have to crossbreed the various knockins to combine target mutations in one animal that can then be tested.

Comfortably numb: anesthetics are slowly giving up the secrets of how they work

One key emerging use for mouse cancer models is as tools for research on interventions--to define molecular targets and to test molecularly targeted agents for therapy and prevention.

Fellowships, grants, & awards

When scientists unveiled the mouse genome last year, they suggested that the rodent's DNA had changed much more than the human genome had since the two species diverged from a common ancestor (SN: 2/22/03, p.

The lab rat bares its DNA to biologists

Figure 1 shows the lipid peroxide production in mouse liver.

Antioxidant supplementation prevents oxidation and inflammatory responses induced by sidestream cigarette smoke in old mice. (Articles)

The selected NIEHS centers will sequence mouse genes and compare them to human genes and their sequences, produce mice with mutations or missing genes (knockout mice), and maintain breeding colonies to supply test rodents and breeding stock to other scientists.

NIEHS launches the comparative mouse genomics centers consortium. (Extramurally Speaking ...)

Human liver samples were reported to have 10-fold lower levels of PPAR[Alpha] mRNA than mouse liver (43).

Is Peroxisome Proliferation an Obligatory Precursor Step in the Carcinogenicity of Di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP)?

After a partial hepatectomy, the livers of mice given antibodies that block the protein and of mice genetically engineered to lack SCF grew back more slowly than mouse livers typically do.

Getting back to normal: protein enables the liver to regenerate quickly

The ability to take information from the model system to functional gene study with gain of function (e.g., transgenic) and loss of function (e.g., knock-out) mutations in analogous experimental systems such as the mouse is extremely powerful because of the genetic information available in mouse strains.

The "New" Genetics and Mammalian Cloning in Environmental Health Research

A mouse's age when it received its ovary transplant influenced its life expectancy.

Old mice live longer when given young ovaries. (Lease on Life)

BlueTrack Technology was created in response to people's increasingly mobile lifestyles, letting them ditch their mouse pad and use their BlueTrack mouse virtually anywhere -- from the granite kitchen counter and the wood table at the coffee shop to the armrest at the airport.

THREE NEW MICE GIVE CONSUMERS ULTIMATE MOBILITY