Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer: the first consumer mouse with an optical sensor celebrates its quarter century

A quarter of a century after its launch, the Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer, the first consumer mouse with an optical sensor, retains a special place in the history of computing. A look back at this technological innovation which marked the end of the 90s.

Remember those balls that adorned our mice at the end of the 90s. If they seem rudimentary today, at the time they nevertheless represented a major advance in the field of new technologies. Far too busy having to remove the dirt piled up inside our good old ball mice, we were far from imagining that a breath of fresh air was about to blow at the end of the last century, driven by Microsoft and its IntelliMouse Explorer. A mouse whose history will forever remain connected to that of Clubic, since it was the first device to have been tested in our columns, almost 25 years ago. This doesn’t make us any younger…

Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer: a technological revolution intended for the general public

It was 1983, when the Redmond company marketed its very first mouse. The first in a long series, since Microsoft will continue its momentum for many years before launching the first model in the IntelliMouse range. The latter was one of the first to feature a wheel, located just between the two usual buttons. An idea that would ultimately give rise to another innovation a few years later: that of mice equipped with optical sensors.

On April 19, 1999, Microsoft unveiled the IntelliMouse Explorer, undoubtedly marking a turning point in the history of mice for personal computers. By replacing ball technology with an optical sensor, the IntelliMouse Explorer offered previously unprecedented ergonomics, precision and fluidity of movement, thereby revolutionizing the user experience with their PC. Because a little nostalgia never hurts, here is what Microsoft said in its press release at the time, in order to extol the merits of its IntelliEye technology:

“ IntelliEye uses an optical sensor to capture high-resolution digital snapshots at a rate of 1,500 frames per second. A built-in digital signal processor compares these images and translates the changes into on-screen pointer movements. This technique, called image correlation processing, executes 18 million instructions per second (MIPS) and results in smoother, more precise pointer movement. Current mice only run about 1.5 MIPS, making a mouse with Microsoft IntelliEye about 12 times smarter than regular mice “.

A legacy that endures, 25 years later…

As our colleagues from Neowinthe optical sensor technology used by Microsoft was initially developed by Agilent Technologies, a subsidiary of HP, which finally became independent in 1999. If, therefore, the IntelliMouse Explorer is not the first mouse model to having embedded an optical sensor, it is nevertheless the first to have been designed for the general public (many accessory manufacturers having quickly followed in Microsoft’s footsteps subsequently).

Remember that previous mice of this type were, until the arrival of the IntelliMouse, far too expensive to fall into the hands of ordinary mortals. Regardless, Microsoft’s range will see the birth of several successors in the following decades, including the IntelliMouse Explorer 3.0 in 2006 and the Classic Intellimouse in 2017.

As you will have understood, the influence of this mouse on the computer industry is undeniable, and its legacy continues, even today, to inspire mouse manufacturers. Just 25 years after its launch, the IntelliMouse Explorer remains an essential reference in the history of computing.

Crystallizing the end of an era, Microsoft announced last year that it was ceasing production of keyboards and mice, deciding to concentrate its activity on Surface range products. A page in history is turning, therefore…

Source : Neowin