mice \mice\ (m[imac]s), n.,
   pl. of Mouse.
   [1913 Webster]

Mouse \Mouse\ (mous), n.; pl. Mice (m[imac]s). [OE. mous, mus,
   AS. m[=u]s, pl. m[=y]s; akin to D. muis, G. maus, OHG. &
   Icel. m[=u]s, Dan. muus, Sw. mus, Russ. muishe, L. mus, Gr.
   my^s, Skr. m[=u]sh mouse, mush to steal. [root]277. Cf.
   Muscle, Musk.]
   1. (Zool.) Any one of numerous species of small rodents
      belonging to the genus Mus and various related genera of
      the family Muridae. The common house mouse (Mus
      musculus) is found in nearly all countries. The American
      white-footed mouse, or deer mouse (Peromyscus
      leucopus, formerly Hesperomys leucopus) sometimes lives
      in houses. See Dormouse, Meadow mouse, under Meadow,
      and Harvest mouse, under Harvest.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. (Naut.)
      (a) A knob made on a rope with spun yarn or parceling to
          prevent a running eye from slipping.
      (b) Same as 2d Mousing, 2.
          [1913 Webster]

   3. A familiar term of endearment. --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. A dark-colored swelling caused by a blow. [Slang]
      [1913 Webster]

   5. A match used in firing guns or blasting.
      [1913 Webster]

   Field mouse, Flying mouse, etc. See under Field,
      Flying, etc.

   Mouse bird (Zool.), a coly.

   Mouse deer (Zool.), a chevrotain, as the kanchil.

   Mouse galago (Zool.), a very small West American galago
      (Galago murinus). In color and size it resembles a
      mouse. It has a bushy tail like that of a squirrel.

   Mouse hawk. (Zool.)
      (a) A hawk that devours mice.
      (b) The hawk owl; -- called also mouse owl.

   Mouse lemur (Zool.), any one of several species of very
      small lemurs of the genus Chirogaleus, found in
      Madagascar.

   Mouse piece (Cookery), the piece of beef cut from the part
      next below the round or from the lower part of the latter;
      -- called also mouse buttock.
      [1913 Webster]

MICE
       Modular Integrated Communications Environment
       

mouse
mice

    The most commonly used computer pointing
   device, first introduced by Douglas Engelbart in 1968.
   The mouse is a device used to manipulate an on-screen
   pointer that's normally shaped like an arrow.  With the
   mouse in hand, the computer user can select, move, and change
   items on the screen.

   A conventional roller-ball mouse is slid across the surface
   of the desk, often on a mouse mat.  As the mouse moves, a
   ball set in a depression on the underside of the mouse rolls
   accordingly.  The ball is also in contact with two small
   shafts set at right angles to each other inside the mouse.
   The rotating ball turns the shafts, and sensors inside the
   mouse measure the shafts' rotation.  The distance and
   direction information from the sensors is then transmitted to
   the computer, usually through a connecting wire - the mouse's
   "tail".  The computer then moves the mouse pointer on the
   screen to follow the movements of the mouse.  This may be done
   directly by the graphics adaptor, but where it involves the
   processor the task should be assigned a high priority to
   avoid any perceptible delay.

   Some mice are contoured to fit the shape of a person's right
   hand, and some come in left-handed versions.  Other mice are
   symmetrical.

   Included on the mouse are usually two or three buttons that
   the user may press, or click, to initiate various actions such
   as running programs or opening files.  The left-most
   button (the primary mouse button) is operated with the index
   finger to select and activate objects represented on the
   screen.  Different operating systems and graphical user
   interfaces have different conventions for using the other
   button(s).  Typical operations include calling up a
   context-sensitive menu, modifying the selection, or pasting
   text.  With fewer mouse buttons these require combinations of
   mouse and keyboard actions.  Between its left and right
   buttons, a mouse may also have a wheel that can be used for
   scrolling or other special operations defined by the software.
   Some systems allow the mouse button assignments to be swapped
   round for left-handed users.

   Just moving the pointer across the screen with the mouse
   typically does nothing (though some CAD systems respond to
   patterns of mouse movement with no buttons pressed).
   Normally, the pointer is positioned over something on the
   screen (an icon or a menu item), and the user then clicks
   a mouse button to actually affect the screen display.

   The five most common "gestures" performed with the mouse are:
   point (to place the pointer over an on-screen item), click
   (to press and release a mouse button), double-click to
   press and release a mouse button twice in rapid succession,
   right-click (to press and release the right mouse button},
   and drag (to hold down the mouse button while moving the
   mouse).

   Most modern computers include a mouse as standard equipment.
   However, some systems, especially portable laptop and
   notebook models, may have a trackball, touchpad or
   Trackpoint on or next to the keyboard.  These input
   devices work like the mouse, but take less space and don't
   need a desk.

   Many other alternatives to the conventional roller-ball mouse
   exist.  A tailless mouse, or hamster, transmits its
   information with infrared impulses.  A <foot-controlled
   mouse> is one used on the floor
   underneath the desk.  An optical mouse uses a
   light-emitting diode and photocells instead of a rolling
   ball to track its position.  Some optical designs may require
   a special mouse mat marked with a grid, others, like the
   Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer, work on nearly any surface.

   <Yahoo!>.

   <http://peripherals.about.com/library/weekly/aa041498.htm>.

   <PC Guide's "Troubleshooting Mice">.

   (1999-07-21)

Multimedia Integrated Conferencing for European Researchers
MICE

    (MICE) A project which aims to
   create a pilot (virtual) network between European researchers,
   and also to connect them to sites in the US.  The MICE system
   currently allows multimedia conferencing (audio, video
   and shared workspace) between conference rooms and
   workstation-based facilities, hardware and software,
   packet-switched networks and ISDN, using both unicast
   (point-to-point) and multicast (multi-point) protocols.

   <http://www-mice.cs.ucl.ac.uk/mice>.

   (1997-12-18)