Master for Webs » Of mice and mouses http://master4webs.com All tools for web masters Sun, 02 Oct 2011 08:08:36 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Word for the Wise : Of mice and mouses http://master4webs.com/word-for-the-wise-of-mice-and-mouses.html http://master4webs.com/word-for-the-wise-of-mice-and-mouses.html#comments Wed, 31 Mar 2010 05:54:15 +0000 admin http://master4webs.com/?p=304 Today we investigate a question that has perplexed many a
computer user: what do you call more than one of those small mobile manual
devices that controls the movement of the cursor and selects computer functions?
Everyone knows that one of those computer input devices is called a mouse,
but should you refer to several as mice or mouses?

The computer mouse was created in the early 1960s by inventor
Douglas Engelbart. The device didn’t become popular until the mid-1980s, when
personal computers became practical and affordable. Questions of proper mousing
nomenclature developed soon thereafter.

Since English has no governing body or ruling board that
dictates spelling and usage, questions about appropriate plurals are generally
settled in the court of popular opinion. The forms that come to be used most
often are usually the ones that are accepted as standard. But in this case, the
jury is still out.

Some folks think it would be nice to adopt a plural that
clearly distinguishes the furry rodents from the technical mouse. They
prefer mouses, a non-standard plural for the mammal. Unfortunately for
them, studies of actual usage show that most people — computer professionals
and novices alike — seem to be settling on mice as the plural of choice.

Point and click your mouse our way. Our
street address is
Word for the Wise, 318 Central Avenue, Albany, New York 12206. 

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