Features Research & Innovation
Connecting a mouse to the computer

Mice can be connected by serial port, PS2 port, USB port or dedicated mouse card. For serial and PS2 ports, there are several plug configurations on the market, which can be a major nuisance. We have had them all in this office, and do not see any clear advantage for one over the other. Your computer must of course have an available socket that matches the plug.

It is of course convenient if all the machines in office use the same connections, so that they can be swapped as spares.

We bought the USB version for the tiny Toshiba laptop discussed last month, simply because is has only one PS2 port, and that is used for a full size keyboard in the office. The USB connection has the slight advantage in that it is recommended that the mouse be plugged in or removed while powered up. This makes swapping easy. Most of the more recent computers have a USB port, and some have two.