Jul 17 2008
Could the Mouse Really Go Out of Production?
Steve Prentice, a Gartner analyst, is reported in the BBC news as predicting computer mice will be obsolete in less than 5 years, especially for notebooks and home entertainment systems. Well I have no idea why one would need a mouse to work a home entertainment system, I manage quite nicely with a remote control – but then again my “home entertainment system” comprises one mid size TV, a DVD player, a VCR and a CD/radio – but not using a mouse on my laptop is something I wouldn’t want to contemplate!
I’m sure that there are many people who use these touch screen thingies at the front of their notebook with precision and ease, but I’m not one of them. It takes me minutes to move the cursor with that when using a mouse takes seconds to achieve the same thing. I’m not a touch screen person! I like taking my hand off the keyboard and use the mouse to navigate around the programs I’m using.
All I can say is that if technology is moving along it continues to give us USB ports so that those of us who are happy with our current system aren’t forced to change. Sometimes change is good, for example the transition from electronic typewriter to computer was welcomed, but change should be something that’s a personal choice and not something dictated by those who think they know best. I like to see what’s available in the field of technological advancement and then see what works for me, I don’t like having to use something just because someone else thinks it’s faster. It may very well be faster for them, but we’re all different and have different ways of working. Thankfully those nice people at Logitech don’t agree with Mr Prentice and so hopefully will keep up their manufacturing efforts! The mouse may have outlived its usefulness in the techno labs, but may it live in my world, that’s what I say!
