Logitech Makes 1 Billionth Mouse 456
Smivs writes "Logitech has hailed as a major landmark the production of their one billionth computer mouse.
The news comes at a time when analysts claim the days of the mouse are numbered.
'It's rare in human history that a billionth of anything has been shipped by one company,' said Logitech's general manager Rory Dooley.
'Look at any other industry and it has never happened. This is a significant milestone.'
The computer mouse will achieve a milestone of its own next week when it turns 40.
It was 9 December 1968 when Douglas C. Engelbart and his group of researchers at Stanford University put the first mouse through its paces."
Any othetr industry?? neve happened? (Score:5, Insightful)
McDonalds anyone?
Sheesh...
Re:Any othetr industry?? neve happened? (Score:4, Insightful)
What about pencil/ballpoint pen companies?
1 billion is not uncommon for some things (Score:4, Insightful)
Large manufacturers of small parts like screws can easily reach the billion mark in a decade.
The same goes for "categories" of parts like mice, computers, microprocessors, phones, etc.
I wonder how many CPUs Intel has shipped? I wonder how many phones the pre-1983-breakup version of AT&T shipped. I wonder how many screws and fasteners a large screw-making company ships in 10 years?
No, a billion may be a milestone but it's not huge, not when you put it in context.
What about Microsoft? (Score:2, Insightful)
I'm curious to know how many mice Microsoft has shipped; theirs seem to be more plentiful than Logitech's in the wild. I know that I've got four or five MS mice sitting in the closet, plus two active ones, but the only Logitech mouse I have is the one at work.
One mouse for every six people seems a bit steep for what is—in my limited personal experience—a minority player in the market.
Re:Any othetr industry?? neve happened? (Score:2, Insightful)
Days numbered? (Score:5, Insightful)
The news comes at a time when analysts claim the days of the mouse are numbered.
[citation needed]
No seriously, where is there a mainstream commentator predicting the demise of the mouse, and backing it up with hard data and logic?
Re:Marketshare ? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Good Job Logitech! (Score:3, Insightful)
MS Mice are almost exclusively Logitech OEMs. Why would you replace it with a duplicate?
I don't like logitech mice. (Score:1, Insightful)
Or logitech products in general. Seen way too many fail. and don't even get me started on their joysticks and gamepads.. pure crap.
I like my super generic MOUSE from walmart over anything else i've found. it costed $5. throwaway. high dpi. good shape.
where the logitech throwaway mice are at least 25-30 dollars.
I like my cheap plastic crap to be cheap in price as well as quality.
Re:Any othetr industry?? neve happened? (Score:3, Insightful)
Every other example that has been brought up was a consumable rather than a long term product. While you could argue that a mouse is a consumable, it isn't/shouldn't be designed as such. All these other objects you use them, and you throw them away, so you have to get more.
While the statement was indeed broad and vague, I believe that was the intent of it. So really, find me a single company that has shipped 1 billion units of a non-consumable product. Maybe Hanes with their underwear?
Not to be celebrated (Score:4, Insightful)
I wouldn't call this an event worthy of celebration. These billion mice (along with the billions of other plastic mass-produced products out there) will one day end up in a landfill somewhere, and will take hundreds of years to break down. The major consequence of mass-production is mass-consumption, and the drawback of mass-consumption is mass-disposal.
I find it a bit sad that a device which, essentially, hasn't changed in 20 years isn't re-used more often. I have 10 year old keyboards and mice I still use.
I guess it's just part of our "throw away, buy a new one" culture that seems to ignore what happens to things once they're in the bin. Out of sight, out of mind.
Re:Any othetr industry?? neve happened? (Score:4, Insightful)
there's an industry term called durable goods [wikipedia.org] which I expect is the category Logitec was speaking of. Consumables such as cigarettes, cheeseburgers, ballpoint pens etc, do not fall into this category.
An ARM processor is also a component, not a finished consumer product, so I would equally count them out of it.
Once you get those two issues out of the way, Logitec's claim becomes a lot more solid. I'm sure there's a few others out there like them, but not the hundreds or thousands that people are speculating.
Re:razor blades (Score:1, Insightful)
When he was referring to the fact that not many companies ship a billion of anything, he was alluding to shipping a billion of what is supposed to be a non-consumable product.
Razor blades, paper towels, burgers, etc, are considered consumables, whereas a mouse or microprocessor isn't.
It's easy to ship a billion burgers when people can eat three of them a day. I'm sure if I went through 3 mice a day Logitech would be shipping far more than a billion. Considering my mouse lasts longer than the usefulness of my computer itself, shipping a billion is saying something. I must have gone through 15 computers with my Fujitsu AT keyboard and Logitech PS/2 mouse. Another 3 computers with my Logitech G15 keyboard and G5 mouse.
Re:You'd need fewer mice if they were built to las (Score:5, Insightful)
Holy crap you're right! My parents have a Mighty Mouse on their iMac. I've been trying to right click with it for 2 weeks, with no luck, and its been driving me nuts. I just went upstairs and tried by lifting my index finger when I clicked, and voila: context menu! My reaction: "stupidest mouse ever."
This has to be the worst human interface design ever. This goes way beyond non-intuitive and is in face counter-intuitive. Why should I have to lift one finger to press with another? Point-and-click is now point-lift-and-click? Its going to take forever to explain this to my mom!
Seriously, who comes up with this crap? And how does it ever get past the testing stages? Does Apple deliberately retard their accessories in order to support a strong third party market?
I wish Apple would stop sacrificing function for obscure coolness. "Check it out, my Apple mouse can tell where my fingers are! Sure its a pain in the ass to use it, but IT CAN TELL WHERE MY FINGERS ARE!!!"
"Yeah? Well my Logitech mouse works right." Suck it, Steve.
Re:What about Microsoft? (Score:2, Insightful)
Can just about make out "Suzhou Logitech Electronics Co. Ltd. Made in China" in very tiny fontsize.
So with my exhaustive sampling, I can say definitively that Logitech products are more ubiquitous than I thought.
Re:One billionth? Ha, that's nothing (Score:3, Insightful)
I don't think consumables can be fairly included in this topic. You could talk about bottles of milk, cans of oil, etc. All of those get consumed. I think the difference is that this is a nonconsumable, like a car or an air conditioner.
Re:razor blades (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Toothpicks? (Score:3, Insightful)
Ammunition?
Re:plenty of ways to differentiate it (Score:3, Insightful)
So to answer the OP's: "there's not all that much you can do to set it apart from the rest of the pack"
Something like the G7 but a lot cheaper would set it apart.
Being a wired mouse is fine. The wires don't bother me much, expensive does bother me