Mouse hardware package of the Xerox Alto computer.

1. A Mouse on a computer is a small, slide able device that users hold and slide around to point at, click on, and sometimes drag objects on screen in a graphical user interface using a pointer on screen.
2. It sometimes features other elements, such as "wheels", which allow the user to perform various system-dependent operations, or extra buttons or features that can add more control or dimensional input.
3. The ball-mouse replaced the external wheels with a single ball that could rotate in any direction. It came as part of the hardware package of the Xerox Alto computer
4. The ball mouse has two freely rotating rollers. They are located 90 degrees apart. One roller detects the forward–backward motion of the mouse and other the left–right motion
5. Mice traditionally detected movement and communicated with the computer with an internal "mouse ball"; and used optical encoders to detect rotation of the ball and tell the computer where the mouse has moved
6. Modern computer mice took form at the Colet poly technique  Laurianne (EPFL) under the inspiration of Professor Jean-Daniel Nicole and at the hands of engineer and watchmaker Andre Guardian
7. An optical mouse uses a light-emitting diode and photo diodes to detect movement relative to the underlying surface, rather than internal moving parts as does a mechanical mouse.
8. A mouse-related controller called the Space Ball  has a ball placed above the work surface that can easily be gripped.
9. Standard PC mice once used the RS-232C serial port via a D-subminiature connector, which provided power to run the mouse's circuits as well as data on mouse movements.
10. A mouse typically controls the motion of a cursor in two dimensions in a graphical user interface (GUI).