Say goodbye to the mouse

[Camy]

Say goodbye to the computer mouse

By Maggie Shiels

Technology reporter, BBC News, Silicon Valley

It's nearly 40 years old but one leading research company says the days of the computer mouse are numbered.

A Gartner analyst predicts the demise of the computer mouse in the next three to five years.

Taking over will be so called gestural computer mechanisms like touch screens and facial recognition devices.

"The mouse works fine in the desktop environment but for home entertainment or working on a notebook it's over," declared analyst Steve Prentice.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7508842.stm

I like my mouse, so I'm not convinced.

[The Pecman]

Ah, I'm a trackball guy, and have been for years. Can't live without my Kensington TurboMouses. (Mices? Mees? Meeses?)

[Cole Parker]

A tutorial for Pecman:

Mices meese meeses

Makes me prone to sneezes

Which gives the wiggly giggles

To my three-ish twin nieces.

Mices can?t be right, you know

No more than louses lices

And meese? I say, ?No way, Jose.?

Nor do I call wusses wices.

If you?ve a mouse, and then another

It?s like having a blouse, then blouses.

Because it not mices or meese or meeses

It?s obviously only mouses.

C

[Rubilacxe]

A tutorial for Pecman:

Tres kewl!

[TalonRider]

MOUSE BALLS

This was an actual alert to all IBM Field Engineers that went out to IBM Branch Offices. The person who wrote it was serious. The rest of us don't have to work for IBM!

Abstract: Mouse Balls Available as FRU (Field Replacement Unit)

Mouse balls are now available as FRU. Therefore, if a mouse fails to operate or should it perform erratically, it may need a ball replacement. Because of the delicate nature of this procedure, replacement of mouse balls should only be attempted by properly trained personnel.

Before proceeding, determine the type of mouse balls by examining the underside of the mouse. Domestic balls will be larger and harder than foreign balls. Ball removal procedures differ depending upon manufacturer of the mouse. Foreign balls can be replaced using the pop-off method. Domestic balls are replaced using the twist-off method. Mouse balls are not usually static sensitive. However, excessive handling can result in sudden discharge. Upon completion of ball replacement, the mouse may be used immediately.

It is recommended that each replacer have a pair of spare balls for maintaining optimum customer satisfaction, and that any customer missing his balls should suspect local personnel of removing these necessary items.

[DesDownunder]

Sounds like a balls-up to me.

[Guest Fritz]

The English language is strange,

It makes some people deranged,

They debate mouses and mices,

And louses and lices,

And doing so burns up their brains.

[colinian]

Sounds like a balls-up to me.

If you're replace a mouse ball then it's balls-out, I think.

Colin