8 ms·

I can't believe these actually used to be popular but they were. I wonder if their over-the-top nature made learning how to use a computer mouse a little more

by arriu 4y ago

I can't believe these actually used to be popular but they were. I wonder if their over-the-top nature made learning how to use a computer mouse a little more fun.

dymk 4y ago
I miss webpages with googly eyes that would follow your mouse on the screen. What a sense of whimsy.
- amenod 4y ago
  If you are on Linux, just run xeyes. Classic. :)
  - TakeBlaster16 4y ago
    xeyes was another wayland casualty sadly. I hope someone figures out a way to build wayland_eyes
    - bitwize 4y ago
      For security reasons that's outside the scope of the core protocol. But don't worry, all it would take is for someone to develop an eye-following protocol and for the compositors to implement it. It really is better, folks. Daniel Stone talk!
      - forgotpwd16 4y ago
        Already developed. https://blogs.gnome.org/wjjt/2012/03/14/looking-around-wayland/ https://blogs.gnome.org/wjjt/2012/03/14/looking-around-wayla...
- banana_giraffe 4y ago
  And don't forgot Xeyes And like Solitaire's "it's a tool to teach mouse use", I always thought the "it's a utility to track the mouse, not just a bit of whimsy" was a bit of retconing, but I have no real proof.
- rabuse 4y ago
  I believe Imguror had something like that for their 404 page with some animals following the cursor with their eyes. Always enjoyed that.
  - drewzero1 4y ago
    Didn't GitHub do that too? I seem to remember a framed picture of a giraffe in a top hat (imgur) and an octopus cat in the Tattooine desert (GitHub).
bee_rider 4y ago
Ghost was possible on the desktop as well, IIRC. I wonder if it was intended as an accessibility feature or for new users who had trouble keeping track of the mouse.
- powerhour 4y ago
  Yup. I am glad we've moved on, at least on windows, to double-tapping left ctrl to highlight the cursor. It's a pleasant effect. macOS's shake-the-mouse gesture isn't as nice. It's such a "violent" gesture that it feels like it will just reinforce the feeling of frustration for users.
  - WorldMaker 4y ago
    Note that left ctrl trick is still just a PowerToy in Windows. That's one I'm surprised hasn't graduated to in box given its general usefulness for accessibility and overall simplicity.
    - powerhour 4y ago
      Oh dang. Thanks, I didn't realize that.
      - WorldMaker 4y ago
        Exploring mouse options for something else and stumbled upon a reminder there is an in box feature for it. It's off-by-default and the changes that Power Tool makes are: switch from single Left Ctrl to double Left Ctrl, and switches from classic Windows "wave of rings" visual (it expands a bunch of rings out from the pointer as a very simple animation) to the "Spotlight" mechanic that dims the screen except for a circle around the pointer.
    - recursive 4y ago
      It's built into "Mouse Properties" in the standard settings dialog on this Win11 box.
  - 4y ago
WorldMaker 4y ago
Trails were an accessibility feature in early GUI environments (based on accident of early GUI renderers; even Windows 3.1 used to make trails "naturally" on an over-taxed machine when repaints were taking too long), but I think most of the uses of them, especially in the early days of the web a lot of it was just "personality". That OG Geocities feel of finding a bunch of interesting JS snippets, copy and pasting, and maybe lightly tweaking the ones that spoke to you and seem like the coolest thing to add to your fan page for your current favorite cartoon or local roller coaster.
- pjerem 4y ago
  > Trails were an accessibility feature in early GUI environments I’m pretty sure the option still exists on Windows 11
  - WorldMaker 4y ago
    Yes, but it got removed from overt Accessibility Features at some point Vista-ish and is hidden as an "additional option" that's three or four clicks away from "Ease of Access".
- drewzero1 4y ago
  Not to mention that early laptops had LCDs with very slow refresh rates, which could make a moving pointer very difficult to track. The trail gave an indication of where the pointer had been and was going as it was traveling.
- userbinator 4y ago
  I still leave the mouse trails on and long --- definitely helps on a huge screen with many colourful windows.
dwringer 4y ago
I always use trails, along with the largest pointer I can set and inverted coloration. It makes it a lot easier for me to always find the mouse at a glance when I move it slightly. I didn't always do so in the past, but the move to 4k clinched it. Windows has a bug(?) with inverted colors combined with trails, though, where sometimes the cursor double-inverts when it's at rest. I consider this sort of a feature, though, since I don't care where it is if I'm not actively using it.
- hbn 4y ago
  On Mac if you wiggle the cursor around it'll become giant for a second to show you where it is. Occasionally comes in handy
- drewzero1 4y ago
  I love the inverted colors, it really helps keep the cursor visible in the bleak wasteland of Windows 10's UI.
flir 4y ago
It's not the users that were learning, it was the (amateur) designers. (See also: the 80s DTP revolution).

by arriu 4y ago

I can't believe these actually used to be popular but they were. I wonder if their over-the-top nature made learning how to use a computer mouse a little more fun.

dymk 4y ago

I miss webpages with googly eyes that would follow your mouse on the screen. What a sense of whimsy.

amenod 4y ago
If you are on Linux, just run xeyes. Classic. :)
- TakeBlaster16 4y ago
  xeyes was another wayland casualty sadly. I hope someone figures out a way to build wayland_eyes
  - bitwize 4y ago
    For security reasons that's outside the scope of the core protocol. But don't worry, all it would take is for someone to develop an eye-following protocol and for the compositors to implement it. It really is better, folks. Daniel Stone talk!
    - forgotpwd16 4y ago
      Already developed. https://blogs.gnome.org/wjjt/2012/03/14/looking-around-wayland/ https://blogs.gnome.org/wjjt/2012/03/14/looking-around-wayla...
banana_giraffe 4y ago
And don't forgot Xeyes And like Solitaire's "it's a tool to teach mouse use", I always thought the "it's a utility to track the mouse, not just a bit of whimsy" was a bit of retconing, but I have no real proof.
rabuse 4y ago
I believe Imguror had something like that for their 404 page with some animals following the cursor with their eyes. Always enjoyed that.
- drewzero1 4y ago
  Didn't GitHub do that too? I seem to remember a framed picture of a giraffe in a top hat (imgur) and an octopus cat in the Tattooine desert (GitHub).

bee_rider 4y ago

Ghost was possible on the desktop as well, IIRC. I wonder if it was intended as an accessibility feature or for new users who had trouble keeping track of the mouse.

powerhour 4y ago
Yup. I am glad we've moved on, at least on windows, to double-tapping left ctrl to highlight the cursor. It's a pleasant effect. macOS's shake-the-mouse gesture isn't as nice. It's such a "violent" gesture that it feels like it will just reinforce the feeling of frustration for users.
- WorldMaker 4y ago
  Note that left ctrl trick is still just a PowerToy in Windows. That's one I'm surprised hasn't graduated to in box given its general usefulness for accessibility and overall simplicity.
  - powerhour 4y ago
    Oh dang. Thanks, I didn't realize that.
    - WorldMaker 4y ago
      Exploring mouse options for something else and stumbled upon a reminder there is an in box feature for it. It's off-by-default and the changes that Power Tool makes are: switch from single Left Ctrl to double Left Ctrl, and switches from classic Windows "wave of rings" visual (it expands a bunch of rings out from the pointer as a very simple animation) to the "Spotlight" mechanic that dims the screen except for a circle around the pointer.
  - recursive 4y ago
    It's built into "Mouse Properties" in the standard settings dialog on this Win11 box.
- 4y ago

WorldMaker 4y ago

Trails were an accessibility feature in early GUI environments (based on accident of early GUI renderers; even Windows 3.1 used to make trails "naturally" on an over-taxed machine when repaints were taking too long), but I think most of the uses of them, especially in the early days of the web a lot of it was just "personality". That OG Geocities feel of finding a bunch of interesting JS snippets, copy and pasting, and maybe lightly tweaking the ones that spoke to you and seem like the coolest thing to add to your fan page for your current favorite cartoon or local roller coaster.

pjerem 4y ago
> Trails were an accessibility feature in early GUI environments I’m pretty sure the option still exists on Windows 11
- WorldMaker 4y ago
  Yes, but it got removed from overt Accessibility Features at some point Vista-ish and is hidden as an "additional option" that's three or four clicks away from "Ease of Access".
drewzero1 4y ago
Not to mention that early laptops had LCDs with very slow refresh rates, which could make a moving pointer very difficult to track. The trail gave an indication of where the pointer had been and was going as it was traveling.
userbinator 4y ago
I still leave the mouse trails on and long --- definitely helps on a huge screen with many colourful windows.

dwringer 4y ago

I always use trails, along with the largest pointer I can set and inverted coloration. It makes it a lot easier for me to always find the mouse at a glance when I move it slightly. I didn't always do so in the past, but the move to 4k clinched it. Windows has a bug(?) with inverted colors combined with trails, though, where sometimes the cursor double-inverts when it's at rest. I consider this sort of a feature, though, since I don't care where it is if I'm not actively using it.

hbn 4y ago
On Mac if you wiggle the cursor around it'll become giant for a second to show you where it is. Occasionally comes in handy
drewzero1 4y ago
I love the inverted colors, it really helps keep the cursor visible in the bleak wasteland of Windows 10's UI.

flir 4y ago

It's not the users that were learning, it was the (amateur) designers. (See also: the 80s DTP revolution).