The mouse is 33 years old today

Profile America — For many years, the word “mouse” commonly evoked thoughts of Mickey. But that association began to be eclipsed on this date in 1981 when the Xerox Corporation, then a major developer, introduced the mouse to the commercial computing world. Its 80-10 information system — with the mouse — didn’t catch on, mostly because it cost $20,000. But the mouse itself roared elsewhere in the computer industry and is still holding its own.

Today, there are 420 domestic computer manufacturers in the country, along with almost 670 establishments making peripheral equipment and items. Together, they employ some 67,000 workers. You can find current data on the country’s economy by downloading the America’s Economy mobile application at www.census.gov/mobile.

Sources: http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2011/04/0427first-computer-mouse/
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/05/16/110516fa_fact_gladwell 
http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ECN_2007_US_31I1&prodType=table 334111 
http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ECN_2007_US_31I1&prodType=table 334119