Return-Path: Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id ; Sun, 18 Feb 2001 14:14:35 -0500 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org id ; Sun, 18 Feb 2001 14:14:26 -0500 Received: from alcove.wittsend.com ([130.205.0.20]:56589 "EHLO alcove.wittsend.com") by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id ; Sun, 18 Feb 2001 14:14:15 -0500 Date: Sun, 18 Feb 2001 13:04:00 -0500 From: "Michael H. Warfield" To: "Gregory S. Youngblood" Cc: "Michael H. Warfield" , Ben Ford , linux kernel Subject: Re: Linux stifles innovation... Message-ID: <20010218130400.B13553@alcove.wittsend.com> Mail-Followup-To: "Gregory S. Youngblood" , "Michael H. Warfield" , Ben Ford , linux kernel In-Reply-To: <20010218114230.B11903@alcove.wittsend.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline User-Agent: Mutt/1.3.2i In-Reply-To: ; from greg@tcscs.com on Sun, Feb 18, 2001 at 12:00:03PM -0600 Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org On Sun, Feb 18, 2001 at 12:00:03PM -0600, Gregory S. Youngblood wrote: > On Sun, 18 Feb 2001, Michael H. Warfield wrote: > > On Sat, Feb 17, 2001 at 09:15:08PM -0800, Ben Ford wrote: > > > > > > > > On the other hand, they make excellent mice. The mouse wheel and > > > > the new optical mice are truly innovative and Microsoft should be > > > > commended for them. > > > > > > > The wheel was a nifty idea, but I've seen workstations 15 years old with > > > optical mice. It wasn't MS's idea. > > I think their "innovation" was not requiring the optical cross > > grid mouse pad common on Sun workstations over the years. The Microsoft > > optical mouse uses variations in the surface characteristics of whatever > > it's on to perform it's function. The old optical mice just used two > > different colors of LED's (red and IR) and a special pad. This would > > actually have to scan and track the surface below it. Don't know that > > I've seen anyone do that before. > I remember being at a computer show in Minneapolis where a small company > was showing off this mouse that worked on a variety of surfaces without a > ball. I'm trying to remember if the mouse was optical or used yet another > method of functioning -- I think it was optical, though I could be > mistaken. This was in 1992/1993. I think you are correct here. I seem to recall mention of some of those earlier devices at the time of the Microsoft announcement. I seem to also recall some of the reliability problem they had. I believe they were extremely fussy about the surface they were on. > The point is, I really do not believe Microsoft made the "leap" to provide > opitcal mice without the need of the mousepad grid. Their "innovation" was > in marketing it on a wide scale though. I would agree there. They did something to improve the reliability on a wider variety of surface textures, though. Is that innovation or merely getting a good idea, that's been around, to finally work? Don't know. I didn't find the idea itself particularly innovative. The fact that they did get it to work reliable is something to be said. The marketing is a given, of course. Particularly in the face of the preception in some camps that this style of optical mouse was unreliable. > I could be mistaken - if so then let's give them their credit - but I have > a hard time believing it was their idea without some serious proof. Agreed. Mike -- Michael H. Warfield | (770) 985-6132 | mhw@WittsEnd.com (The Mad Wizard) | (678) 463-0932 | http://www.wittsend.com/mhw/ NIC whois: MHW9 | An optimist believes we live in the best of all PGP Key: 0xDF1DD471 | possible worlds. A pessimist is sure of it! - To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/