3-button computer mouse that inspired Steve Jobs auctioned off for Rs 1.48 crore

X-Y Axis mouse and coding keyset created by tech pioneer Douglas Engelbart. (Image credit: RR Auction)

A three-button computer mouse that served as one of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs's major inspirations was recently auctioned for 147,000 Pounds (about Rs 1.48 crore). The rare mouse and coding keyset created by computing icon Douglas Engelbart was sold for around 12 times its estimate of £12,000 in a sale by Boston-based RR Auction, Metro reported. The mouse had apparently inspired Jobs's first rollerball-controlled mouse.

''The rare, early three-button computer mouse designed by Engelbart, measuring approximately 4″ x 2.75″ x 2.5″, utilizes two metal discs (corresponding to the X-axis and Y-axis) on the bottom to locate the position of the cursor, rather than a ball or optical light that came to be used later,'' RR Auction stated in its website.

Apple had licensed Engelbart’s mouse patent for around £33,000, and Jobs hired the design firm IDEO to bring the mouse to the masses, Metro reported. Steve Jobs's mouse -- a version which used a rollerball mechanism -- was introduced with the very expensive Lisa computer in 1983, but achieved fame and popularity when the more affordable Macintosh was released in 1984.

Apple's Lisa computer. (Image credit: RR Auction)

"Engelbart’s invention would, in part, change the course of modern life," the publication quoted Bobby Livingston, executive VP at RR Auction, as saying. "This device played a crucial role in the evolution of computer history."

According to Mike Hanlon of New Atlas publication, “The mouse was one of the key enablers of the computer revolution, the best known legacy of Engelbart, and there are very few still in private hands. If there is ever another original that reaches auction, the price can be expected to be considerably higher."

Read more: Bill Gates says Steve Jobs used to overwork staff: 'He wasn't a perfect thing'