Young and old have embraced website making with great enthusiasm over the last 10 years. Many of us have only just started down this road – our webmaster careers are in their infancy. So spare a thought for your humble mouse!

Back in December we passed a birthday that’s slightly traumatic for most of us: The computer mouse – our best friend when it comes to computers – turned 40 on the 9th of December. Yet it looks so young, doesn’t it?

A chap called Douglas Engelbart first demoed the mouse back on the 9th December 1968. But it was another 20 years before computers started to make use of the mouse, thanks to the development of the graphical user interface (GUI) we now know as Windows. Unfortunately for Engelhart, his patent ran out in 1987, so he wasn’t able to earn any money from this fantastic invention.

And what riches would have been his, if only that patent lasted for another 30 years: Logitech recently sold its billionth mouse.  ‘If I had a penny every time…’

Whilst the mouse has transformed the interaction between people and PCs, and enabled us to easily learn and use complex software, how much longer will the mouse be around? Whilst its difficult to see it being completely replaced, gadgets such as Apple’s iPhone and the Nintendo Wii have certainly proved that there are now viable alternatives.

On the scrap heap at 40? Not (quite) yet!