The History of Microsoft Mice
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- Опубликовано: 21 сен 2023
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Microsoft is well-known for software, but the company was also a key innovator when it came to the computer mouse.
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It's a sin not to mention how much Intellimouse 1.1 and 3.0 were popular within CS 1.6 community. Even with newer gaming mice surfacing years later, these two mice had the most perfect sensor with virtually no positive or negative acceleration. You had pros being sponsored by Logitech or Steelseries, but still using 1.1 and 3.0
My uncle bought me the 3.0 and I've used it for 10 years without realizing how valuable they were. Still sad I broke it.
Bought 1 wireless afterwards that was rubbish and ended up replacing it with a more expensive version of the intellimouse 3.0 that I take everywhere with me
add to that it could handle 10x the polling rate it shipped with and it was easy to tweak
Picked up an intellimouse 3.0 from my parents 10+ years ago. Have bought multiple mice since, they have all broken down within a year. Always come back to the 3.0. Love this mouse.@@intoxicatingGold
I was about to comment the same thing, thank you !
another sin to not even bring up the Sidewinder..
When I was growing up, it's only Microsoft mouse or nothing else. They were so much superior to anything in the market, ergonomics wise. It was not until the 2000s before I switched to anything else.
Had so many Microsoft basic optical mouses its not funny. They just work. My best mouse though was a heavy Zalman mouse a decade ago with removable weights.
@@brokeandtired I remember the decade everyone wanted customizeable weights. Some of the Microsoft Sidewinder Gaming mice did that. Hell, I still use my Logitech G502 Proteus core with removable weights.
These days most people want ultralight. Especially if it's wireless since the battery will add a little extra weight.
EDIT: Had to check, apparently the updated wired versions of the G502 still come with optional weights. Neat.
it was Logitech or some cheap knockoffs from China in my youth. never heard of Microsoft mouse until I get to uni.
Microsoft's mice have long been great for office type work and I used them pretty much exclusively up until I got my first gaming mouse seven years ago and long after for office work.
The last Microsoft mouse I bought was about ten years ago. For a large (one I can get a full hand grip on), wired mouse for office type work, that was a really solid mouse for a great price.
@@brokeandtiredHey I remember that customizable Zalman gamer mouse!
Should have mentioned the SideWinder lineup of gaming mice. They were WAY ahead of their time. LED display, vertical sidebuttons, metal scrollwheel, and it used a magnetic cable to charge. To this day, it had one feature that hasn't been adapted by anyone else: Mousefeet that don't use glue. Instead, they use plastic clips. They were also not wafer thin, making handling them very easy. The mouse came with 2 sets, and they could both be stored in the "puck", which housed the charging cable and the wireless parts.
Halo map 🤤😥
The Wireless IntelliMouse Explorer with 5 buttons was an absolute game changer, especially for gaming at the time!
I still use it after 20years... absoltue unit of a mouse !
Back button barely working, so i think it's time to retire :)
Hear hear! AA batteries went for weeks as well.
The explorer mouse with the laser was a huge improvement, and very ergonomic. Loved it.
Oh, I'm sad. You didn't mention the microsoft sidewinder gaming mice. I had one of those in 2011. I believe it was the X3 (the cheapest and least ridiculous looking of the bunch.) Not the best mouse at the time, but it was cheap and kind of neat.
I also came to the comment section to ask about the sidewinders!
Me too
the thing is the Sidewinder and Habu mice where kinda a colab with Razer.
@@patrickfinie4102 nope, only the Habu was a collab with Razer. The sidewinder mouse was their own product (and if they worked with another company to design it then it was never announced.)
It was meant as a sort of revival of their old sidewinder gaming peripherals, but it didn't last long.
X5 for me - loved that mouse, though the rubberised weight/cable box went all degraded and sticky and weird after 5 years! 🤢
I had the InteliMouse explorer, it was totally worth the money. The ball mice of the time were incredibly irritating and would never work well once they got old, no matter how clean you made them. I think the ball would shrink over time and no longer fit, but it's not like you could get a new ball.
funny enough, I still have an old mouse ball in my drawer. I think. I haven't checked in a while.
in the 80s, everything with a red see through cover was high tech .
was mostly used for IR stuff but then typical household items start to implement them to look high tech
The side-mount trackball was the ballpoint mouse. Compaq had some "laptops" that had the connector built-in on the side of the system. There was also the Easyball the only one-button mouse from Microsoft for kids, with a very large ball as a trackball.
Toshiba was the main user of that type.
The intellimouse is still a remarkably nice mouse to use, as was the intellimouse optical. Much better than many of the later Microsoft mice, unfortunately. I sent back the sculpt mouse as it just has an absolutelys hit sensor, and now went MX master and refuse to look back :D.
I still use the newer Intellimouse Pro released a few years back, and it's fantastic. Great for regular use and gaming.
I had an intellimouse explrorer 3.0 and it was fantastic. I'm so sad I was stupid to try to clean it in 2020 and break it. Took me forever to find a suitable replacement and the one I ended up with is pretty much the same but much more expensive lol
I had no idea the value they still hold to this day
Absolutely! to this day my favorite mouse ever. I had a spinal injury as a young bloke and lost all finger function. Kinda rock my wrist/hand on top of the mouse to use. Mine eventually died about 6 7 yrs ago and despite hunting the internet just couldn't find the original.
My MX Master's thumb button failed surprisingly fast, getting stuck and the mouse pointer refused to move when this button was pressed... I then got a Microsoft Bluetooth Ergonomic and it's alright. At least it hasn't failed. Only major complaint is lack of side scrolling. Software from microsoft to configure the mouse is better than logitech's (who use different software for normal vs gaming peripherals for god knows what reason). Battery has charge for like 2-3 months, works on glass surfaces as well. For the rest very similar to MX Master in features.
I used my intellimouse Explore until the thumb buttons went all wonky--which took about 10 years. I'd still put it up against any mouse out today.
The Intellimouse Optical is still the mouse I probably most remember and used back in the day. The side buttons were super handy in some games and just for browsing in general.
I have that MS Mouse in the thumbnail. Got it for my retro gaming space
Hoping to find the Microsoft mouse 2.0, I have a Dell branded later version with a scroll wheel
4:35
i've got a mouse on both sides of the keyboard. both logitech G900s
i'm a righty, but due to my work (CAD technician), i sometimes suffer from RSI. to remedy that, i've trained myself to use my lefty for simple tasks like web browsing or flicking through File Explorer. oddly enough, the mouse i trained with my left was an Intellimouse. it was an old one & had a newer one for the right.
that was almost 20yrs ago.
The Microsoft Tracman Optical was my favorite mouse ever made.
The 3.0 is by far the best moused i used back in my gaming years and i think about every CS 1.6 would agree to that.
The PS/2 Intellimouse was my CS 1.6 peripheral of choice. At the time when all my friends were switching to USB peripherals, I clung to my PS/2 and still dominated them all with headshot after headshot.
This video completely omits that the first optical sensors in the MS IntelliMouse Explorer and IntelliMouse Optical was not a good one and it made the cursor go in random directions when you would move it quickly. This was fixed in a subsequent model with the Explorer 3.0 and the Optical 1.1 that had a sensor which was truly "full throttle proof", it would not go crazy no matter how quickly you moved it.
I was rocking an MS IntelliMouse Optical 1.1 until the end of 2017 :D. (I still have a box of like 5 black ones I bought on eBay UK many years ago). Needless to say, I used to play competitive CS (1.6) back in the day. The only downside over time was that it had 450 DPI that didn't go to well with the big screen sizes of today. I am now using a Zowie ZA12 with 800dpi on my 27" 1440p IPS screen. Since Zowie mice were made together with many pro gamers from the old days I consider them the spriticual successors to the old MS mice :).
I love the intellimouse explorer, it’s a pretty good mouse and i have it working on the serial port of my retro pcs
We used one with the Windows XP machine we had. Going from a ball mouse to optical really messed up my gaming for a while lol. Grew to love it though
@@JohnSmith-xq1pz i kinda have a problem the other way around where i do have a ms intellimouse with a ball but no adequate deskpad so it barely works
@ lol oof! Yeah those felt pads don't work well with those old ball mice.
Explorer track ball mouse is still my all time favorite design. I recently knocked mine off my desk and smashed it. I'm heart broken.
I used Intellimouse Explorer and also the wireless version for years, optical sensor was indeed a revolution back then.
my intellimouse 3.0 is now over 25 years old and it is still one of the best mice i’ve ever used.
I used to own the sidewinder mouse but you missed that. I still have a couple arc mice but need to replace the batteries.
The IntelliMouse series was basically the first 'gamer' mouse. They'll always have a place in my heart 🥰
Early Intellimouse Explorer adopter here. Drivers didn’t always work well, and it never worked perfectly. But I never went back to balled mice again.
Could could download a driver for Win XP
3:51 I have two of these. Both still work today. They were very popular at our LAN parties
i had 3 logitech optical mouse die in the mid 2000s and my microsoft has been going strong for atleast 12 years. never switching back
Cats also play with computer mice, it wasn't a pet cat? Or a dog?
The intellimouse optical has been and will always be my favourite PC mouse. Perfect size and feel. They have a similar one these days but it is slightly smaller and not as nice to use.
I still have a few of each version of Intellimouse brand new in boxes, always used the same Intellimouse since its introduction in 99. Learned to have some spares when they die
I bought a whole bunch when they were on sale cheap. I felt it was the only mouse I could use, nothing else felt right. After you couldn't really get them anymore I would keep buying mice looking for that one that felt like the old ms mouse. I'm not exactly sure what happened along the way but today I can adapt fairly quickly to almost any mouse from tiny travel ones to big honkers like the G900's. I'm not sure what changed as I do vividly remember struggling to operate other brands of mouse. It was like trying to write with your other hand. Maybe the force of change of types built up some muscle memory in variation. I wonder if others have the same experience.
I remember the mouse with the red light. Had one back in the late 90's. What a throwback.
Content - Great!
Add sponsor - Bad. I was actually excited to hear the deals Tello had. Upon further inspection, it's not available in Canada.
Interesting video !
Could you guys also make a history of logitech mice ?
Me watching all of these mice... "I was there Gandalf..."
Fun Fact : Some of those optical intelimice projected a red skull when lifted a few inches
So it was the Explorer that i used when i was a kid!! I've missed those comfy as hell side buttons so much...
I bloody loved my intelimouse explorer. Used it for years. Still have one in the loft
I am old like you James!
I'm even older (56)!
I remember all of those mice and even the time before, and the time before PC's!
I remember my first wireless mouse, which my dad brought from his office. It was quite big for my hand, but a very cool mouse from Microsoft. It came with a USB antenna similar in shape to a modern wireless charger, which you had to put on your desk in a visible place. It was 2011, my first Pentium E6500 computer and my first experience with Windows 7, where I loved playing built-in games (the Internet was connected a few months later, and then it was time for flash games).
You missed the Microsoft Trackball mice.
I still use one daily (on secondary PC) and used to use it for gaming before returning to a normal mouse about 5yrs ago.
FWIR I think they did 2. One with the ball in the middle like a mouse wheel and one (like mine) slightly larger with the trackball on the left for thumb navigation.
And the one I really liked, the Trackpro Explorer that you didn't touch. And after managing to destroy a few of them, and finding used versions to be ridiculous in cost, I'm now an Elecom trackball wired user, using the HUGE model on my desktop. I've had issues with the wireless ones (every single one, regardless of manufacturer). I'll probably pick up the small version for my laptop eventually. Although for laptops, I prefer the Logitech wired trackballs, but you can't find those anymore. I had one, but the one of my kids has snarfed it, and I haven't seen it since they grew up and out of the house. Which leaves me using the MS Ergonomic keyboard, which I've been using since the original white one. Those I haven't destroyed in rage like I have the mice. They've just stopped working, either an important key, all the keys, or a cat managing to poor water, coffee, or Coke into them.
Forgot the MS Home mouse from the mid 90s, was blue green colored, had a big left button shape of a house, right rectangular house button connected, and brown square peg in the middle where the wire comes out to look like a chimney.
I had an IntelliMouse Explorer, and I loved that thing. Even though it did nothing for functionality, I did love the use of transparent red plastic on the bottom, and the fact that the LED used for the sensor also illuminated the little window on the back of the mouse.
im currently using the wmo optical now. the design is great for palming and i like how far forward that scrollwheel is. the only problem is the poll rate is noticbly kinda low and there is no side buttons
I actually managed to snag a intellimouse 2. Sadly the plastic on them is really really crispy and any attempt to remove the screws result in the screw pole snapping.
The Explorer Wireless I had is uh ... somewhere. It's pretty sick, actually. Lots of buttons, and a non-indexed (resistive) scroll weel. Pretty advanced for its day.
A MS mouse with RGB is pretty rad. I dig it.
I still have my explorer. Was so excited to get it.
The Microsoft Sidewinder was cool!
Finally someone made a video on microsoft mice
I actually have the original explorer until the left mouse button finally stopped working about 2 years ago. Now it sits in a draw, holding the title for the longest lasting mouse I ever owned.
Still rocking the Intellimouse Explorer Wireless 2.0. I've purchased used mice on eBay over the years and have had to solder in new left and right click switches, but otherwise it keeps on going and is the most comfortable to me.
I had a LOT of those older MS Mice. You should have mentioned their Sidwinder Mice. Those were great for their day
Intellimouse explorer was dope! I loved that damn thing,
I think the 2.0 was my first mouse as a kid. I remember getting used to that then using the oldschool macs in school and finding the lack of two buttons so annoying.
No mention of the Sidewinders? Those were awesome to have back in the day!
big miss. another asterisk review
1:50!!!! i love tello! i’ve been using them every day
4:38 - that's what I still use today. Perfection.
My original Intellimouse Explorer still works after over 20 years. 😅
have you guys ever thought of covering how tech has evolved in things like sports? id love to know how football keeps all it stats and manages the overlays on the field. Some things like the yard to gain line (yellow first down line) have been around for a while
We still have those Intelli mouse in our local gaming cafes.
Hey I loved the sculpt (the Wedge was cool too)
Tbh, I preferred mice before the MS standard. Yes, you had to use specific drivers for them, BUT ALL MICE HAD 3 BUTTONS IN THE EARLY 90s. Having to go back to 2 buttons for a few years once Windows became popular was fucking brutal and it wouldn't be until well in the 2000s that you'd get scrollwheel clickable buttons (which felt like you were gonna break the wheel if you used them too much, even more than nowadays, so they were not reliable).
my first optical moue was the intellimouse optical, loved it, played tons of halo on it, then several years later i modded it and put a 555 timer chip in it so i could autofire semi-auto guns in call of duty (yeah i was one of those evil people)
Lefty here, and using most mice left handed is such a pain, so I naturally switched to my right hand just like playing a guitar to keep from having to restring it backwards,
There is no denying that Microsoft really did innovate with mice and even keyboards No one can dispute it period. They gave us allot of really great products in that category and made some very solid long lasting stuff. They should really have a go at a mechanical keyboard i would love to see their take on a mechanical keyboard and gaming mouse set up i bet they could come up with some pretty fantastic stuff
Most of their keyboards have a massive footprint though
The intellimouse optical was a joy to use, I still have one kicking around that still works perfectly after more than a decade of daily use, I don't use it anymore since I switched to a Logitech trackball and never turned back.
Kinda shocked you didnt mention bluetrack mice, because that was a pretty big deal for them back then
I've been using the white (now yellowed) Microsoft Optical Wheel mouse for a while now. It's my favourite.
The original Explorer was the cat’s pajamas! I looooved mine. My last non-Logitech mouse!
I still have the Intellimouse Explorer sitting in a box in the garage somewhere. What a great mouse back then.
I loved the original arc mouse. So portable and fit the hand well
One of my favorite mouse I ever used was the little know M$ Explorer Mouse BlueTrack. It was a giant wide bulbous mouse which was ergonomically wonderful. Bluetrack actualy had a legit purpose by working on a massive variety surfaces and flexible windows of depth from the sensor. I often used it on a couch and pillow. Combination of comfortable and just worked anywhere.
I am more of a trackball guy than a mouse person. I have owned a couple of MS trackballs in the past, including the fantastic Microsoft Trackball Optical 1.0. Used it until the ball bearing wore down. They were very highly regarded. This is no doubt the reason I just looked on eBay and saw one going for £50, used!! So they are still in demand.
I love so much the Microsoft Trackball Optical 1.0! So much that I bought 4 of them - one is at home, one at my work and the other two are stored as replacements.
My father and uncle used to be in IT support for a legal aid firm.
One time they were struggling to work out why people's mouses were not working randomly through the office. They seemed to work some times of the day and not others, and only to certain people. Everyone's mouse was the same mouse, a type of Microsoft mouse. The problem seemed to occur on one side of the building in the morning, and the other side of the building in the afternoon. And seemed to occur more to those with higher positions in the office.
One genius IT guy worked it out. What was happening was that the mouse in question had clear sides, and anyone working with a window office would have sunlight shining on their desk, and the sunlight was penetrating into the mouse and disrupting the laser detector.
Microsoft do not make mouses with clear sides any more for this exact reason.
I had the 1999 Explorer and it was such a goog mouse for the time i still have good memorys about it.
You guys should do an episode on the different gaming peripherals Microsoft used to make, like the Sidewinder joysticks, racing wheels, gamepads, and some of the lesser known items that were intended for specific genres of PC games, like RTS and FPS games. It's amazing how many different PC gaming devices Microsoft made before they went all in on the Xbox.
It's crazy looking back and remembering how fantastic Microsoft _hardware_ was against the competition at the time of release.
very cool!!!! thx james
I quite enjoyed the Microsoft Wedge touch mouse, which is super easy to bring around and use.
I ran into an intellimouse explorer in the field a few weeks ago and it reminded me that it was the first optical mouse I bought as a teenager and that dang mouse lasted forever! The definition of indestructible.
Love the explorer 3.0, I still have it :P
Wow, great vid and you gave me flashbacks.
I had the Dove, replaced it with The Microsoft mouse 2.0, than the Intelle Mouse Explore (which I wish I could still find). I used that Intelle Mouse Explore all the way until I replaced it in 2009 with a Logitech G500 because the buttons were finally going out. I still think the G500 is the best all around mouse ever made and I still have mine and bounce between the G500 (which I finally had to replace a switch on) and the G502 hero. The G500 clickers lasted over a decade before I finally had to replace a switch..
i still have that white optical ms mouse with the red light on the front. that one still endures while ive had multiple expensive corsair rgb gaming mice die on me in the meantime
Great video!
Sidewinder was awesome, used that for years
crazy they didn't even mention it. truly one of the best mice. think i got mine in 2010, not sure when they came out tho.
@@shardhoney I assumed they would mention it. Never did. I got mine around that time too
I remember in 1999 a friend ordered an Intellimouse Explorer (one) but he received 10 of them even though he was only charged for one. So he ended up giving me one of the extra mice. It was nice.
No mention of the Sidewinder series. I still have a Sidewinder X5. I had to remove the rubberised coating after it started to break down but a bit of WD40 and some elbow grease soon fixed that problem. :)
I have that mouse 3:52
My favorite MS pointing device was the Trackball Explorer.
Ayyy the intellimouse explorer. I used that thing from the 90s up to the mid 2000s and then some. Thing was amazing and super reliable!
Man, the Silver Intellimouse explorer was one of my favorites and my first optical mouse , it was great , a real game changer after many years of having to hard boil an egg everyday...
I used the Microsoft mini laptop mouse for years, it was tiny and very lightweight way before those fancy honeycombed ones.
3:50 this was my first mouse
God I remember those mice commercial where they were getting rid of the ball. I wanted one so bad as a young kid
When I was growing up in the early 2000s, we mostly had Intellimouse explorers. When one broke, we just bought the same mouse, since they were really good for shooters and for regular use. 5/5 bureks
I miss my Intellimouse, the Viper Mini is like way better for my use case but damn the Intellimouse felt nice under hand. RIP old buddy
im a mice enthusiast, and i had literally no idea microsoft made them, i remember seeing the surface mouse design, but didnt know it was microsoft
You forgot the "mini wedge" BT mouse around Surface Pro 2 launch.
After recent f-ups I have to question, how accurate are Techquicky videos.
I still have my first gen Microsoft Intellimouse optical. Its still doing duty on my server rack and it still works perfectly.
I expected Microsoft Sidewinder X5 to be mentioned.
2:18 skip ad
I had an ArcTouch mouse! What a beauty!
I had a basic optical mouse that I bought around 2006 that wasn't shown in this video.
You forgot about their Blue Light sensor mice that can track on any surface. Still use one for my laptop