This refers to the report "The computer visionary who invented the Mouse" (July 5). Douglas Carl Engelbart the inventor of the Mouse was a visionary who laid the foundation for the modern computing age and the internet. He did not receive royalties for his invention that he later licensed to Apple Inc. Others got the credit for his ideas and made billions from them. Every user of any modern computer, tablet, or smartphone is in debt to Engelbart. Technological advances are allowing scientists to bring in a revolution in building cognitive computers that can function like the brain. Recent developments in the fields of neuroscience, supercomputing, and nanotechnology have made this possible and the Mouse was one of early steps in this evolution of technology. The original Mouse was a wooden contraption that rolled on metal wheels and connected to the desktop with a cord that resembled the tail of a mouse.
As a senior citizen, I am comfortable using the Mouse but even I realise that this is already a fading innovation with the advent of touch technology.
HN Ramakrishna Bangalore
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