idhopper (01/13/83)
I have literature from three companies who are manufacturing mice and selling them to the general public: Mouse Systems Corp., Logitech, and 3G Company. I have not used any of them; all the information that follows is taken from the manufacturer's spec sheets. First: Mouse Systems Corp. 655 S. Fairoaks Ave. No. D-313 Sunnyvale, CA 94086 (408) 730-2132 Their mouse (Model M-1) is an @i(optical) mouse with 0.25 mm (0.01") resolution. It has two (!) sensing points 100 counts apart centered 25 mm below the true center of the mouse. This allows the mouse to be used to enter @i(rotational) as well as positional information. It requires a specially patterned "mouse pad" to run on (included). Signals come out on an RJ11C with GND, +5@150mA, 1200/300 baud serial (switch selectable). Other connectors/interfaces may be available. It is 98 x 66 x 28 mm in size, has 3 buttons on top, a black body with grey buttons, and a 4' cord. Shipments supposedly began on Jan 1 (The brochure was written much earlier). Price list: Mouse: $286 IBM PC Interface: $51 Apple ][ Interface: $51 RS-232 Interface: $26 10% discount on 3-24, more on larger orders For orders >1000, they will build to your specs. Second: Logitech Inc. 165 University Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94301 Contact: Peirluigi Zappacosta (415) 326-3885 This is a Swiss (Depraz) mechanical ball mouse with 1/15 mm resolution (~375 points/inch!). Connector is a 9-pin Canon submini with +5 V @ 40 mA, GND, x+, x-, y+, y-, and one line for each of the three buttons (serial interfaced version is also available). The position signals are quadrature encoded (like Hawley, I think). It is a hemisphere with the sides chopped off and three buttons mounted vertically on the front. It is 90 x 74 x 45 mm in size, and has an 80 cm cord. Should be available now at $295 each, ($275 for 2-9, more discount for larger quantities). Third: 3G Company, Incorporated Route 3, Box 28A Gaston, Oregon 97119 (503) 662-4492 Their product is a two-button wheel mouse with a serial interface (they didn't send me any detailed technical info). It costs $180 each for 1-9, $145 for 10-99. That's all I have. Happy mouse hunting! --ravi