William English, The Founder Of The Computer Mouse Dies

William 'Bill' English (By Marcin Wichary from San Francisco/wikimedia commons)

JAKARTA - William 'Bill' English, one of the world's technology figures who designed the computer mouse has passed away. He died due to respiratory failure while being treated at a hospital in San Rafael, California, United States (US), on July 26.

The owner's full name Willliam Krik English was born January 27, 1929, in Lexington. Bill is one of the important figures behind the creation of the computer mouse in 1968.

With Douglas Engelbart, William developed the first mouse at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI). The first mouse demonstration for a computer device is known as the "Mother of All Demos".

In fact, it wasn't just the mouse that was introduced, they also provided many of the concepts that computers use today, for example graphical interfaces, online text editing, video calls and hyper-text links which are now used to navigate web pages on the internet.

Career Journey

Launching from Engadget, Bill started his career after leaving the Navy and joining SRI in the late 1950s. There he then met Douglas Engelbart who later became the person behind the creation of the computer mouse.

If Engelbart is known as a figure with visionary ideas, then Bill is the one who embodies these ideas. “He is the one who makes everything happen. If you tell him something that needs to be done, he knows how to do it, "as quoted by the New York Times, Tuesday, August 4.

Conceptually, the mouse prototype made by Bill and Engelbart, uses a trackball mechanism that has been used since 1946 from post-World War II. At that time, the trackball was used to determine the target position of the aircraft which was previously done with a joystick.

Image Credit: Photo William Krik English / English Family

However, Bill and Engelbart's tools are used separately and are easier to use. Instead of having to type a command code, just click the icon on the monitor where the navigation is free to move using the mouse.

In addition, the operating system was also the first to merge folders, server files and e-mail. The prototype of this first mouse was also a simple form of pine block with only a few buttons and connectors.

Referring to its shape and its movement across the desktop screen, this device is called a 'mouse'. Where before, this device had a name that was quite difficult to remember, namely "XY position indicator for display system" or potentiometer.

Several years after the mouse demonstration, Xerox Corporation adopted the device made by 'Bill' English and Engelbart to become part of the personal computer (PC) which was first sold on April 27, 1981.