Mouse droppings

So the cat's out of the bag, and it looks like the days of the computer mouse are numbered. According to the BBC News online article today, manufacturers are thinking of dropping the mouse in favour of multi-touch gesturing and facial recognition devices. The BBC article argues that although it may still have a purpose in the office, for home entertainment, the mouse is already a dead duck (?). I remember when the mouse first came on the scene and I asked what its collective noun was. 'Rodentia', said a rather pompous toad of a university lecturer who will remain nameless, because .... well .... his name escapes me.

Well, the mouse has served its time I guess, and for many there is a very real attraction to new and better devices. 'Out with the old, in with the new', they cry. I fear though for certain colleagues, family and friends out there who are still getting to grips with computers. My dear old octogenarian Dad has finally managed to master the mouse and focus his hand-eye co-ordination. Imagine the scene. There he is using his new found skills on his pc, to compile a catalogue of all his garden plants when ..... suddenly on his door come hammering the mouse replacement police. They burst in, forcibly remove his mouse (which is still twitching) and replace it with a multi-gesture interface touch screen. I tell you, Dad would never recover. It's bad enough he is having his analogue TV replaced with digital this year. Losing his mouse would be the last straw.

I guess it's progress and we all need to move on. But I hope that this is not the total demise of the mouse. I think there's still some life left in the old dog yet...