‘The computer mouse at 50’ – Professor Paul Atkinson on the BBC World Service’s Click

Professor of Design and Design History Paul Atkinson  was a guest on BBC World Service’s Click programme on Saturday 29 December talking about the computer mouse on its 50th anniversary and how the design was developed and refined.

Fifty years ago Doug Engelbart, engineer and inventor from the Augmentation Research Center Lab, gave what has become known as the ‘mother of all demos’ – a demonstration of many computing concepts – such as the mouse, text links, and videoconferencing, that today we take for granted. Yet despite this landmark showcase it took another twenty years for the mouse to come into our homes and offices. In the programme, Click looks back at the development of the mouse and how interfaces may change in the future.

Paul Atkinson is Professor of Design and Design History and researcher at the Art and Design Research Centre (ADRC) at Sheffield Hallam University.