Do you remember the first Russian laptop? Here come the first Russian mice. The design is alike, it should be classy things at that time, 16-17 years ago. Which one do you like the most?
Thanks to the collector Sergei Frolov, for sharing with us such rare photos.
This mice were used by Soviet computer users in 1986-1994 while probably creating some new sort of “MIR” space station, which was never built though. What pitty.
So, the mice:
The cord is nice, nowadays the fashion for such cords return.
I can translate what is written on the mouse back side – “The Manipulator For Graphical Information”
And on this one there is written “The Mouse”. Keep it simple.
Here it is seen clearly. “The Mouse” also is drawn on the mouse.
That’s one I like the most. It is said that the both buttons have letters on them “L”-left and “R”-right, in order not to mistaken. How often do you confuse mouse buttons?
For some reason the ball is missing. The red digits – this is a Soviet inventory number, was used in the govermental companies for better control of the equipment. There is a word “Price ____” embossed into the plastic, that’s a post Soviet phenomena. During the Soviet era the price was embossed into plastic parts of practically every item being sold in the shop, because the goverment set up the price for each item.
This one is a Genius clone, you can see Genius original mouse behind this white one.
Those things are classy, probably if some contemporary mouse designers can be inspired with such images for making a high tech laser optic wireless lightweight replicas of those ones. Who knows. I’ve seen a lot of cords lately styled for the first mouse cord, maybe that is the beginning.
[...] The Manipulator For Graphical <b>Information</b> [...]
The white one (…“L”-left and “R”-right…) looks pretty funny!
[...] The Manipulator For Graphical Information [...]
[...] Pildil on Nõukogude arvutitööstuse saavutus: arvutihiir kaheksakümnendate lõpust. Arvutihiirte disain ei ole viimase kümne aastaga oluliselt muutunud, sest ergonoomiliselt optimaalne kuju on saavutatud ja selle muutmine ainult halvendaks kasutamismugavust. Kujunduselt meenutab hiir pildil Lääne arvutihiiri seitsmekümnendate lõpus ja kaheksakümnendate keskelt, kuigi on teostuselt rohmakam. Küsima peaks hoopiski, miks võttis mugava hiirekuju väljatöötamine kõikjal maailmas nii kaua aega? Link. Sissekanne postitati 7. September 2006, kell 13:14. [...]
[...] I’m especially fond of the model that features a flat ribbon cable. Not only do you get a great arm workout, but James Bond will be able to use your mouse to rappel down the outside of the building after stealing you top secret missile plans and your girlfriendread more | digg story [...]
The Manipulator For Graphical Information…
Wow, the Russians really knew how to rock the hardware back in the day, didn’t they!……
The mouse that has the L & R on the buttons; they were put there because the mouse is built ambidextrous, but didn’t have a “left handed” option, and the ball is in there it’s just a textured black ball… a little tough to make out at first in the picture.
I just liked that the good ol soviet mice had 3 buttons, but in the west it was a huge deal when 3 buttons started showing up in the mid 90s.
[...] read more | digg story [...]
In Soviet Russia, Mice Click You!
My favourite mice were the ones that came with the Amiga 500. Lastest well into the mid 90s that thing.
Mouse-skies from the Russkies…
Check out this photo gallery of computer mice from the old Soviet Union. I mean…wow. You can just imagine Stalin designing these things himself…….
Ah, that brings memories…
I have actually used these while ago. What the
photos do not show clearly that the ball in #1 was metallic
and the whole thing was very heavy.
We jokulary called “slonik” which in russian means “small elephant”
or “kolobok” (personage from russial folklore).
Круто, чёрт возьми.
mouse “kolobok” (on first picture) have steel ball. its mechanism based on metal parts and precision tiny ball bearings. however movement and key press produce very cpecific sound.
Hehe… The last one is still works im my university on 386 PC for assembler learning students ^^
hahahaha @ #9
[...] English Russia » The Manipulator For Graphical Information [...]
About red numbers mentioned above – it’s not an inventory number. It’s a model and a serial number, marked by manufacturer, not user. There was a clear difference between factory markings and user inventory markings. The first one was made with special paints and in designated places, like ones on the photo. User inventory nubers was made with ‘home depot’ oil paints, with big paint brush, often in very strange places, like over faceplate, ruining design and aestetic.
And this really brings memories…
The mouse on the first picture, it was my first mouse in my life. It was atttached to Iskra-1030 (“spark” in english) personal komputer (http://rk86.com/frolov/iskra-1030m.htm). My Iskra-1030 has b/w monitor with CGA compatible adapter. Serial interfaces has rs232 protocol, but was incompatible on phisycal layer, it was a “current loop” instead of voltage levels.
That PC was too poor to beign used in MIR-2 design IMHO
[...] English Russia » The Manipulator For Graphical Information [...]
..just to be precise: at those time we already had a lot of PDP/VAX clones (Electronika-60, DVK2/DVK3), whose was used in heavy design tasks. And we have really good professional graphical tablets for them. Moreover
we have even original VAXes via our Bulgarian friends 
I personally can remember how I firstly touch the VAX at some exibition, which has status “engineers only”. It was at cold-war times
So please, guys, don’t be mispointed by these examples of soviet engineering products!
But now, we don`t have Russian mices at all!
..sorry
one more note 
The left mouse on last photo – it was second mouse in my life, it was really good Genius GM-6 PC Mouse. It has very good book-like plastic box. Up to these days I have this box saved and use it to keep my CDs 
(photo has been made few minutes ago)
Andrio, don’t worry! Nowadays all mices over world, are chinese mices
=)
Hello, all!
I’m Russian, and I saw and used many of those devices about fifteen year ago – they are devices from my childhood and youth
. The mouse, that drawn on the first two pictures, was plugged to the russian clone of IBM PC/XT – EC-1841 (in the russian that letters are read as “ye es”), the mouse from fifth and sixth photo was named “Marsianka” – was in the kit of russian computer named BK0011M, russian analogue of DEC PDP-11 with CGA-like graphics and pluggable musical co-processor Yamaha AY-3-8910.
I worked (studied) with that computer till the 1997 year, then I bought IBM PC.
The first russian notebook alive I saw in the 1997 and I can say, that it was very rugged and respectable thing. It works slowly, but do all, that it was dedicated for. I want to buy that thing for my collection.
Soviet Union’s electronical industry produced two palm-top-like machines – “Elektronika 85″ and “Elektronika 98″. I have only photoes and description of them.
The BK0011M with the floppy-drive is lying on my book-shelf till the now.
[...] So viel Frust musste dann auch nicht sein. Da war ich doch froh, dass Ehrensenf wieder von Kathrin moderiert wird und erfreute mich an Russischen Mäusen und Laptops aus der Kalten-Kriegs-Zeit, die ich irgendwo bei Heise ausgebuddelt hatte. So und anlässlich des Tages suche ich mir noch eine Blutrünstige Stelle aus dem heiligen Buch meiner eigenen Religion raus. Zum Beispiel die Kriegsgesetze aus dem fünften Buch Mose: 1Wenn du in einen Krieg ziehst gegen deine Feinde und siehst Rosse und Wagen eines Heeres, das größer ist als du, so fürchte dich nicht vor ihnen; denn der HERR, dein Gott, der dich aus Ägyptenland geführt hat, ist mit dir. 2Wenn ihr nun auszieht zum Kampf, so soll der Priester herzutreten und mit dem Volk reden 3und zu ihnen sprechen: Israel, höre zu! Ihr zieht heute in den Kampf gegen eure Feinde. Euer Herz verzage nicht, fürchtet euch nicht und erschreckt nicht und lasst euch nicht grauen vor ihnen; 4denn der HERR, euer Gott, geht mit euch, dass er für euch streite mit euren Feinden, um euch zu helfen. […] [...]
[...] You know, there was a time when the Soviet Union produced some of the greatest technology on Earth. Only problem was that was around 1957 — and the USSR took another 30+ years to die a slow, painful death. Sometime during the Gorbachev era, scientists discovered “personal computers,” and thus began a long tradition of making high-quality computer mice. In fact, the Russians were so good at making mice that they decided to write the word “mouse” on them in Cyrillic and include a little picture so that people wouldn’t forget what it was. Perhaps there’s a market for this type of antique obsolete computer hardware? Or maybe Logitech’s next mouse will be inspired by this classic showing of Russian functionality — surely that would be better than its sleek designs of today. [...]
[...] Jeg har lige set at siden English Russia har en ikke alt for respektfuld post om sovjetiske mus (altså dem til computere, ikke dem katte æder). [...]
Were these mice relative copies of western products or wre they innovative in their own might ?
The Russian laptops sure seem eerily similar to Toshiba laptops / notebooks of the time.
http://www.vintagecomputermanuals.com
Wow! It has been quite some time!
I don’t think I used one of these though… My first PC was an AT 286 with a “huge” 10MB HD ans CGA color display. The envy of all colleagues with clunky 8086s. But mostly I worked on a VAX, so I didn’t need a mouse. BTW – I was one of the Bulgarian “tovarishti” who supplied you with the VAXes, Dmitry, we might have met on one of the exibitions… Ha-ha-ha, we had lots of vodka on every trip, plus all the brandy that the technicians hid in the boxes with parts! Big, bulky computers had some use – one could hide a lot of stuff inside!
I have this one:)
[...] The Manipulator For Graphical Information [...]
[...] I’m especially fond of the model that features a flat ribbon cable. Not only do you get a great arm workout, but James Bond will be able to use your mouse to rappel down the outside of the building after stealing you top secret missile plans and your girlfriendread more | digg story [...]
The ” rugged notebook or laptop ” computer sure looks like a direct copy of a Toshiba laptop.
http://www.badgerlinux.net
[...] Communism via computer: This article suggests that socialist economic calculation was impossible — before the computer. Afterward, he thinks it may just be possible. Interesting to think that no one is listening anymore. Also interesting to think how the Soviets, who (if calculation worked) presumably would have had the most to gain from computer technology, never really did very much with it. Glimpses of Soviet computer technology here (photos) and here (an entire e-book). A teaser: “It is said that the both buttons have letters on them “L”-left and “R”-right, in order not to mistaken. How often do you confuse mouse buttons?” How indeed. [...]
The great Soviet Union and it’s computer are unmatchable. The USSR is the first country to develop computers and put them into good use.
Long live Soviet/USSR technology.
Now that is a mouse… not this fancy things we have these days
Круто, мля. Хочу себе такую коллекцию мышей! (уже немного есть, но всёравно мало… Если есть – пишите komp_syava@mail.ru)
great pics too for computer geek like me
thanks from india
Another post illustrating Russian open, shameless copying of Western technology. Is there anything Russians didn’t copy? From military tech like bombers, air-to-air missiles, to computer mice.
Wow. They apparently used higher quality plastic than original western manufacturers since you don’t see them turn yellow after all that time.
95 percent of all military technology made in russia came from the minds of the russian people….just becuase they copied one or two doesnt mean they copied the others..saying so means your ignorant. possibly two percent were strict copies of western technology..while the other three percent a combination of soviet and western design.also many western aircraft look like soviet models…and vice versa. air to air missiles in the soviet union were not copies….unless your ridiculous bias can give me proof….lol which you have none of.after the copy of the american bomber…… the t-4 i think the russians started to develop their own ingenius designs.
did people ever find those reversals to be funny?
随着我国物流业（货架）的快速发展，整个华东地区物流业托盘的发展也正以物流服务塑料托盘提升到较国内其他地区更高的地位而推进。重视具有提升区域物流托盘效率功能的专业化和标准化物流
塑料托盘基础设施建设，打造整体物仓储笼流服务平台。
南京海佩货架公司将积极推行物流仓储笼业标准化战略，建立健全仓储物流铁托盘服务标准化体系，加快推进物流
铁托盘装备设施、信息系统、经营管理、服务提供等的标准化，打造最
先进的仓储设备交易数码港，争取成为国内物流业标准化建设的典范。
近年来，我国物流业发展迅速，物流塑料托盘业增加值持续上升，已成为推动国家经济持续发展的重点产业。与此同时，物流仓储笼业面临运输和仓储钢托盘成本高昂、产业形态相互割裂等问题，亟需推行标准化战略，以降低成本，
提高效率提升服务质量，满足产业提档升级的需要。”
南京海佩货架公司是对物流钢托盘标准化比较重视的公司之一，实施标准化的速度也块。在标准体系研究中注重与很多仓储笼公司进行合作，将重点放在标准的国际通用型上。目前，海佩已经提出了包括物流
铁托盘模数体系、
集装箱的基本尺寸、物流钢托盘用语、物流仓储笼设施的设备基准、输送用包装塑料托盘的系列尺术、包装用语、钢托盘大型集装箱、
塑料托盘用箱、平托盘、仓储笼，卡车车厢内壁尺寸，
铁托盘等。
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Those looks like answering machine, users must have to use sledgehammer to press the button.
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Somewhere I read it already. It is possible that you reprint.
Toshiba laptops are much better than Acer laptops when it comes to longevitiy `
[...] From Russian Roads – Part 10 nbspnbspIt’s Better NownbspnbspHow to Make a Rubberbot nbspnbspThe Manipulator For Graphical Information nbspnbspFrom Toys to RoycenbspnbspThe Engrish Menu nbspnbspTwo Russian Notebook Uses nbspnbspA Wall [...]
Very cool, I liked it