Computer mouse that inspired Steve Jobs auctioned for Rs 1.48 crore

Walking across the stage in his iconic black turtleneck for every big Apple launch, Steve Jobs remains an inspiration for startup founders and innovators, including college dropouts out to make it big. But from inventor Edwin Land to his trip across India, a lot of things inspired Steve Jobs to transform the world of tech.

One of those, a mouse created by Douglas Engelbart, has fetched a whopping Rs 1.48 crore during an auction.

Inspired Jobs to innovate for simplicity

The mouse sold at a price higher than the original estimate, has three buttons to be used in different combinations for performing various tasks.

It was 4 x 2.75 x 2.5 inches and was first spotted by Jobs in 1979 when the Apple team visited Xerox's labs in exchange for the right to buy one lakh shares.

After securing a license for it, Apple decided to replace three buttons with one for simplicity, despite Engelbart claiming that his tech was dumbed down.

Keyset also on the list

Another item invented by Engelbart that was auctioned for more than Rs 12 lakh, is a coding keyset, which could make 31 key presses with five keys.

Combined together, the mouse and keyset allow users to type with the left hand and use the mouse with the left.

Jobs had also reduced the size of the 245 pound mouse, so that it could be reduced to 12 pounds to be moved around smoothly.