The pip-squeak of peripherals has come a long way since 1964 when the first mouse - made of wood - crawled across our desktops and into our hearts. From those humble beginnings, mice have bred like, well, mice! Here are 20 of the most noteworthy, from extra cheesy to the cat’s meow.

The Computer Mouse: Patient Zero

(image via: Techeblog)

Though it may look somewhat primitive - who am I kidding here, it’s positively Soviet - the first computer mouse was custom crafted for a purpose and did its job so well, it became the model for generations of mice to follow. Credit Douglas Engelbart for contriving this contraption from a block of wood, a couple of gear wheels and a shiny, candy-like red light/button that just begs to be pushed. By December of 1968, Englebart had cobbled up a three-button mouse suitable for demonstration before a bemused audience at the Fall Joint Computer Conference in San Francisco.

Xerox Copies , But at a Price

(image via: Oldmouse)

Englebart’s mouse was no one-trick pony, though it would be some time before the computer mouse made its way to home computers. The Xerox 8010 Information System debuted in 1981 and was one of the first commercial all-in-one computing systems to hit the market. Significantly, it included a mouse! Not that many 8010’s were sold, but then again, not that many home computer users had $16,595 to splurge back then.

Apple’s Small Wonder

(image via: Funnyphotos.au)

Apple’s wonder Stevies, Jobs & Woz, had a knack for noting other folks’ good ideas and making them better. The mouse was a case in point. The Apple Lisa of 1983 came with a mouse but was rather pricey ($9,995) for home users; that all changed with the introduction of the Macintosh the very next year.

The Puck Stops Here

(images via: PC-Advisor and Carl Lostritto)

Apple would stick with squarish, boxy styling for some time… too long, some say, before overshooting the mark in 1998 with the Apple USB Mouse, product number M4848. Designed more to match the sensuous curves of the groundbreaking iMac then to address any ergonomic concerns, the so-called “hockey puck” may not have cramped anyone’s style - but their hands were another matter.

Microsoft Makes a Mouse

(images via: Marcin Wichary and Macworld)

Microsoft one-upped the Apple Lisa by bringing the version of the IBM PC mouse to market in 1983. It featured two buttons - that’s the “one-upped” part - and retailed for $195 each. The price sounds shocking today but compared to the $400 three-button Hawley X063X from the Mouse House it seemed quite reasonable.

Logitech Flies Without Wires

(image via: GearCrave)

By the late 1980s, Logitech had emerged as the leading “alternative” peripherals provider. After first releasing a 3-button mouse in 1982, Logitech introduced the MouseMan Left, MouseMan Right and MouseMan Large in 1990. It then released the first wireless mouse, Logitech’s Cordless MouseMan, the very next year. As the first mouse without a tail, so to speak, the Cordless MouseMan used RF (radio frequency) technology which didn’t require line-of-sight alignment and was powered by a quartet of Ni-Cad batteries.