Like a lot of you, the first optical mouse I ever used was the optical version of the Microsoft Intellimouse. Until I used a ball-less mouse for the first time, I had no idea how annoying that little sphere was to use and maintain. But the iIntellimouse was more than just an average mouse with its ball removed. The overall design was timeless, and I’d even say a mouse that’s still usable today.
At a time when PCs were shifting from beige boxes for the office to machines for gamers, creators, and enthusiasts, the Intellimouse found itself in the hands of both professionals and hobbyists. It quickly earned a reputation as the mouse that could do it all, blending comfort, reliability, and performance in a way that few others managed.
Why the Intellimouse Matters
Before I first encountered the Intellimouse, the typical computer rodent was pretty uncomfortable, but the curves of the Intellimouse changed all that. Now, while the Intellimouse is certainly not the first ever ergonomic mouse, this form-fitting mouse is the first time I saw a mouse that really took the shape of your hand into consideration. Today, I’m a diehard fan of the Logitech MX Master Mouse, but it was the Intellimouse that opened my eyes to what a mouse could be.
- Weight
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4.97oz
- Color Options
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Graphite, Pale Grey
- Connectivity
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Wi-Fi
- Maximum DPI
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8000 DPI
A Design That Stood the Test of Time
If you put your hand on an Intellimouse today, it still feels right. Other than the decayed plastic and rubber, that’s not the mouse’s fault! It might be hard to imagine today, but Microsoft was a giant of the peripheral world, making some of the best keyboards, mice, and joysticks money could buy. The design of the Intellimouse is an example of Microsoft’s hardware design talents firing on all cylinders.
Compared to its contemporaries, many of which were either too flat, too blocky, or ergonomically confused, the Intellimouse struck the perfect balance. Its sculpted, ergonomic design was carefully shaped for long hours of use, with a natural curve that supported the hand instead of fighting it.
A Mouse That Actually Does What You Tell It
The ball versions of the Intellimouse were nothing special. Well, unless you count its ergonomic design and addition of the brand-new scroll wheel , as opposed to the middle-mouse button we’d all been using up to that point.
As innovative as that original 1996 model was, the first optical model (called the Intellimouse Explorer) really changed the game. I remember how much the accuracy and reliability of the IntelliEye sensor changed just my normal desktop experience. The mouse glided over my desk—yes my desk. I no longer needed a mouse pad, and since moving to optical mice all those years ago, I have never used a mouse pad again. It was an optical Intellimouse that made that change for me.
I no longer had to clean a dirty ball and rollers, I didn’t have to worry about the surface (other than glass, which needed lasers) and there was just no going back ever again. Best of all, these mice were basically bulletproof. The only reason I had to retire mine, and I had several, were accidental damage or frayed cables.
A Gaming Revelation
Today, we think of certain mice as being specific to gaming, but that wasn’t the case for a long time. The first gaming mouse, the Razer Boomslang, was released the same year as the optical Intellimouse—1999.
Very few people were going to shell out for a dedicated gaming mouse in 1999, and esports was in its nascency—but you didn’t need to! A plain optical Intellimouse was already such a big upgrade for gaming that I personally never felt the need to buy a dedicated gaming mouse until I was out of college. I know many of my friends had the same sentiment, and it wasn’t strange at all to see optical Intellimouses at LAN parties.
There are undoubtedly thousands of Intellimouses that collectively have millions of hours on the clock for games like Quake 3 and the classic Counter-Strike.
It’s Legacy and Modern Relevance
Though the original models have long been discontinued, the Intellimouse’s legacy hasn’t faded. Microsoft revived the line with the Classic Intellimouse and the Pro Intellimouse, modern reinterpretations that kept the familiar shape while updating the internals with modern sensors and switches. Sadly, as of this writing, these versions of the mice aren’t available anymore as far as I can tell, but you can buy the IntelliMouse Optical 1.1A, though I do think the $79 asking price is a little steep for the nostalgia.
The IntelliMouse Explorer 3.0 is, in my opinion, the definitive version of the classic mouse, and retro PC enthusiasts are liable to snap them up when new old stock surfaces on sites like eBay.
A Mouse Worth Remembering
While the last IntelliMouse release (as of this writing) was as recent as 2019, this brilliant all-rounder had its day in the 2000s and has since been surpassed by other modern mice in just about every way, but when they say that someone stood on the shoulders of giants, this is one of the giants in question.
- Sensor
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400 DPI
- Wireless?
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No
- Compatability
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WIndows, macOS, Linux
