An Ode to the Optical Microsoft Intellimouse
Like many of you, the first optical mouse I have ever used was the optical version of the Microsoft Intellimouse. Until I use a ball without a ball for the first time, I did not know how boring this little sphere was to use and maintain. But the Iintellimouse was more than a simple average mouse with its removed ball. The overall design was timeless, and I would even say a mouse that is still usable today.
At a time when PCs passed beige boxes for the machine office for players, creators and enthusiasts, the intellimouse found itself in the hands of professionals and launchers. He quickly acquired a reputation for mice that could do everything, mixing comfort, reliability and performance in a way that few others have managed.
Why the intellimouse counts
Before meeting the intellimouse for the first time, the typical computer rodent was quite uncomfortable, but the Intellimouse curves changed all this. Now, while the intellimouse is certainly not the first ergonomic mouse, this adjusted mouse is the first time that I saw a mouse that really took the form of your hand in consideration. Today, I am a pure and hard fan of the Master Logitech MX mouse, but it was the intellimouse that opened my eyes to what mouse could be.
- Weight
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4.97 Oz
- Color options
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Graphite, pale gray
- Connectivity
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Wi-fi
- DPI maximum
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8000 DPI
A design that has resisted the time test
If you put your hand on an intellimouse today, it still seems good. Apart from plastic and decomposing rubber, it is not the fault of the mouse! It could be difficult to imagine today, but Microsoft was a giant of the peripheral world, which makes the purchase of some of the best keyboards, mice and joysticks. The design of the intellimouse is an example of Microsoft’s hardware design talents pulling on all cylinders.
Compared to his contemporaries, many of whom were either too flat, too in blocks or ergonomically confused, the intellimouse found the perfect balance. Its sculpted ergonomic design was carefully shaped for long hours of use, with a natural curve that supported the hand instead of fighting it.
A mouse that actually does what you tell him
The ball versions of the intellimouse were nothing special. Well, unless you count its ergonomic design and its addition of the brand new scrolling wheel, as opposed to the intermediate mouse button that we all used to this point.
As innovative as this original model of 1996 is, the first optical model (called Intellimouse Explorer) really changed the game. I remember how much the accuracy and reliability of the Intellieye sensor only changed my normal office experience. The mouse slipped on my desk – yes my desk. I no longer needed a mouse cushion, and since the transition to optical mice all these years ago, I have never used a mouse cushion again. It was an intellimouse optical that made this change for me.
I no longer had to clean up a dirty ball and rollers, I did not have to worry about the surface (apart from the glass, which needed lasers) and there was simply no more return. Better yet, these mice were mainly in the ballooning. The only reason for which I had to withdraw mine, and I got several of them, were accidental damage or flaked cables.
A game revelation
Today, we believe that some mice are specific to the game, but this was not the case for a long time. The first game mouse, the Razer Boomslang, was published the same year as the Optical Intellimouse – 1999.
Very few people were going to pay for a gaming mouse dedicated in 1999, and Esports was in his nascence – but you did not need it! An intellimouse ordinary optical was already such an important improvement for the game that I have never felt the need to buy a dedicated game mouse before I left the university. I know that many of my friends had the same feeling, and it was not at all strange to see optical intelligences during LAN games.
There are undoubtedly thousands of intelligence that collectively have millions of hours on the clock for games like Earthquake 3 And the classic Counter-Strike.
It is inherited and modern relevance
Although the original models have long been abandoned, the heritage of the intellimouse has not disappeared. Microsoft has revived the line with the classic intellimouse and the pro intellimouse, modern reinterpretations that have kept the familiar shape while updating interns with modern sensors and switches. Unfortunately, to date, these mouse versions are no longer available as long as I know, but you can buy the Optical 1.1a intellimouse, although I think the price requested at $ 79 is a little high for nostalgia.
The Intellimouse Explorer 3.0 is, in my opinion, the final version of the classic mouse, and retro PC lovers are likely to break them when new original areas on sites like eBay.
A mouse that deserves to be recalled
Although the last smart outing (to date) is as recent as 2019, this versatile brilliant had its day in the 2000s and has since been overwhelmed by other modern mice in all directions, but when they say that someone stood on the giant shoulders, it is one of the giants in question.
- Sensor
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400 dpi
- Wireless?
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No
- Compatibility
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Windows, MacOS, Linux
