Top answer [1] (when I'm looking, others seems to refer to other top answers) says that the original cursor _was_ straight, and links to an image, which 404's [2]. Anyone have a working link? [1] https://ux.stackexchange.com/a/52338 [2] http://origin.arstechnica.com/images/gui/4-NLSgui.jpg
Why is the mouse cursor slightly tilted and not straight?
51–60 of 326 posts
Re: Why is the mouse cursor slightly tilted and not straight?
#52Time for one of my favourite Youtube videos, by Posy (Michiel de Boer.) 'Mouse cursor history (and why I made my own).' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YThelfB2fvg It runs through the history of mouse cursors, as well as problems with some of the standard ones, and shows, among other things, historical cursors which were straight and not tilted. It is one of those amazing videos that make the internet worthwhile, is…
Seems like this should be in a list somewhere with that big sized keyboard history book that was on HN last week?
Re: Why is the mouse cursor slightly tilted and not straight?
#53Top answer [1] (when I'm looking, others seems to refer to other top answers) says that the original cursor _was_ straight, and links to an image, which 404's [2]. Anyone have a working link? [1] https://ux.stackexchange.com/a/52338 [2] http://origin.arstechnica.com/images/gui/4-NLSgui.jpg
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Re: Why is the mouse cursor slightly tilted and not straight?
#54I feel the need to immediately change to an upward pointing cursor to honour Douglas Engelbart.
Re: Why is the mouse cursor slightly tilted and not straight?
#55Without reading everything there is on the subject, I'd guess it's tilted for the same reason it's tilted to the left . Humans are tool makers and tool users. After enough time the tool becomes an extension of the body, even if the tip of the tool is mechanically or virtually detached from the hand that is controlling it. The tool maker designed this as a right-handed tool, coming into the frame in the right hand. If…
What matters is the hand you use your mouse with, I'm left handed for writing and most things but use the right hand for the mouse and it doesn't feel strange.
Re: Why is the mouse cursor slightly tilted and not straight?
#56The real question is: Why does Windows cursor look "imperfect"? https://mspoweruser.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/windows-c...
Because Windows is made with poor attention to details and in a tasteless manner. For instance, when Windows XP came out, I remember clearly how some stock icons weren't properly aligned on the same baseline (it was corrected in some later SP).
Re: Why is the mouse cursor slightly tilted and not straight?
#57Re: Why is the mouse cursor slightly tilted and not straight?
#58The point of a pointer is that it should stand off against the things it points at.
A usual GUI for the most part has straight edges and certain symmetries. A cursor that is similarly symmetric will blend in more easily, and get visually lost.
Which way it tilts is secondary, the irregularity of the tilt itself against the rest of the interface is key.
Re: Why is the mouse cursor slightly tilted and not straight?
#59It's a bit scary to see that one of the highest-voted answers to this question (188 points) is completely wrong. It says that the (0,0) hotspot simplified the calculations for a cursor position update, because you didn't have to add any (X,Y) offset. https://ux.stackexchange.com/a/52349/43259 The problem with this idea is that the arrow pointer was never the only cursor. On the first Macintosh, there were many others…
You can see similar things in the Apple Lisa source code as well: https://info.computerhistory.org/apple-lisa-code
The linked SO page is a page of complete speculation.
History isn't just a bunch of logical thought exercises, it's an assembling of documentation and evidence.
As far as I can see, there is no contemporaneous documentation claiming intentionality so the question remains unanswered.
A smoking gun would be a file with a name like cursor.bitmap or some code like "declare cursor_default = [ [ 1, 0 ... ] ];" from a major source (ms/xerox/apple) say, pre-1988 or so, with some comment above it explaining the rationale of why that cursor style in particular. I'd even accept a more minor source like Acorn, Digital Research, Quarterdeck, NeWS, VisiOn or MIT Athena (X).
Finding something that talks about say, lightpens and then defends the mouse cursor style in that way is working backwards from a hypothesis. It's weak and doesn't preclude other possibilities. Let's be rigorous and get it right.
Re: Why is the mouse cursor slightly tilted and not straight?
#60It's a bit scary to see that one of the highest-voted answers to this question (188 points) is completely wrong. It says that the (0,0) hotspot simplified the calculations for a cursor position update, because you didn't have to add any (X,Y) offset. https://ux.stackexchange.com/a/52349/43259 The problem with this idea is that the arrow pointer was never the only cursor. On the first Macintosh, there were many others…
The arrow has a white outline around it, so the hotspot is at the tip of the black arrow, at (1,1).