Why is the mouse cursor tilted at 45 °?
At first glance, the StackExchange question and answer visitor asked a stupid question: why are all the cursors in all operating systems a bit “crooked,” that is, they have a certain inclination, and do not indicate directly? In fact, why the cursor is not placed vertically, because it is most convenient for selecting text and other tasks?
He is answered by an expert who is well acquainted with the history of computer technology. He confirms that the inventor of the mouse, Douglas Engelbart, really depicted a cursor in the form of an up arrow, as the most logical selection option (see the screenshot above).
However, the graphical user interface of the operating system in practice was implemented first by Xerox in the world, namely, its research division Palo Alto Research Center. In particular, the cursor is described in a 1981 document that lists the characteristics of XEROX PARC, the first in the history of a computer with a graphical user interface.
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When designing this machine, it was found that due to the low resolution of the displays of that time, it is impossible to create a normal small vertical cursor from pixels. It was decided not to increase the size of the pointer, but instead, slightly rotate it so that one face was vertical and the other was inclined by 45 °.
Image from Palo Alto Research Center documentation
More than 30 years have passed, high-resolution displays have appeared, but the tradition of depicting a cursor inclined at 45 ° has been preserved.
He is answered by an expert who is well acquainted with the history of computer technology. He confirms that the inventor of the mouse, Douglas Engelbart, really depicted a cursor in the form of an up arrow, as the most logical selection option (see the screenshot above).
However, the graphical user interface of the operating system in practice was implemented first by Xerox in the world, namely, its research division Palo Alto Research Center. In particular, the cursor is described in a 1981 document that lists the characteristics of XEROX PARC, the first in the history of a computer with a graphical user interface.
')
When designing this machine, it was found that due to the low resolution of the displays of that time, it is impossible to create a normal small vertical cursor from pixels. It was decided not to increase the size of the pointer, but instead, slightly rotate it so that one face was vertical and the other was inclined by 45 °.
Image from Palo Alto Research Center documentation
More than 30 years have passed, high-resolution displays have appeared, but the tradition of depicting a cursor inclined at 45 ° has been preserved.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/212939/
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