Episode notes
Alex Schmidt and Katie Goldin explore why computer mice are secretly incredibly fascinating.
Visit http://sifpod.fun/ for research sources and for this week’s bonus episode.
LINKS FOR KATIE GOLDIN:
- Katie Goldin on Bluesky
- @ProBirdRights on Bluesky
- ‘Creature Feature’ podcast (iHeartRadio)
- When Is a Bird a ‘Birb’? An Extremely Important Guide (Audubon)
RESOURCES USED TO INFORM THE EPISODE’S LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
- native-land.ca
- U.S. Department Of Arts And Culture
- The True Native New Yorkers Can Never Truly Reclaim Their Homeland (Smithsonian)
- “Finding Lenapehoking” (YouTube / Hudson River Maritime Museum)
- Why Do They Call It Beacon? (The Highlands Current)
- Dutch & Native American Heritage In The Hudson River Valley (National Park Service)
RESEARCH SOURCES:
- “The Best-Laid Plans of Mice and Men: The Computer Mouse in the History of Computing” by Paul Atkinson (JStor / Design Issues)
- How Douglas Engelbart Invented the Future (Smithsonian Magazine)
- Who Made That Mouse? (The New York Times Magazine)
- 1968: Today’s Authors Explore a Year of Rebellion, Revolution, and Change, edited by Marc Aronson and Susan Campbell Bartoletti
- The Mother of All Demos: In December 1968, Douglas Engelbart debuted many of the concepts of modern, interactive computing. (The Lemelson Center For The Study Of Invention And Innovation / Smithsonian)
- Wirecutter article about “The Best Wireless Mouse” — at time of taping, their top pick was the Logitech M720 Triathlon Multi-Device Wireless Mouse.
- Entertaining Training: Usability Guidance Built into Solitaire, Hearts & Minesweeper (article for 99% Invisible by Kurt Kohlstedt)
- Memory Alpha wikia page for Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
- YouTube upload of Star Trek IV scene where Scotty uses a computer in 1986
- Messy Convergence: When technology concepts awkwardly merge together, or why someone thought it might be a good idea to combine a mouse and a telephone. (Tedium.co)
- How fast is fast? Some pro gamers make 10 moves per second (NBC News)
- StarCraft fan wiki page for Actions per minute
- Remote workers using ‘mouse-mover’ technology are getting caught (The Verge)
- The Time I Met Bill English (Cybercultural.com)
- Historic Firsts: The Mouse: Mouse Alternatives (fan website about Douglas Engelbart)
- How Doug Engelbart Pulled off the Mother of All Demos (Wired)
- When the Computer Mouse Was New (The Atlantic)
- Secretly Incredibly Fascinating: Keyboards
- Secretly Incredibly Fascinating: Computer Cursors
- Secretly Incredibly Fascinating: Microsoft Excel
- gif of a Will Ferrell character on ‘SNL’ using a tiny cellphone
In this episode...
About the show
A weekly podcast about the history, science, lore and surprises that make everyday things secretly incredibly fascinating. Hosted by comedy writer, emoji creator, and ‘Jeopardy!‘ champion Alex Schmidt. Join Alex & his co-host Katie Goldin for a joyful deep dive into seeing the world a whole new way!
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@sifpod
@sifpod
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