A mouse is a hand-held pointing device that tracks motion across a surface to move a cursor on screen, with buttons and usually a scroll wheel for selecting and navigating.1
Overview
A mouse is an input peripheral. Modern mice sense movement optically — an LED or laser plus a tiny camera reads the surface and reports how far the device has moved — replacing the old mechanical rolling ball. The position data drives the on-screen cursor, while button clicks and wheel scrolls send their own events to the operating system. Variants include the trackball (a stationary ball you spin), the trackpad built into laptops, and ergonomic or high-precision gaming mice. Connection is over USB or Bluetooth.
Where it fits
The mouse and the keyboard are the standard input pair for any desktop computer; a touchscreen replaces both on phones and tablets. Choice comes down to grip, sensitivity, and whether you want extra buttons. For panning a wide spectrum waterfall or zooming into a GopherTrunk plot, a smooth scroll wheel and steady tracking are the features that actually matter.
Sources
-
Computer mouse — Wikipedia, on the mouse as a pointing input device. ↩