The Commodore 1351 is a

computer mouse A computer mouse (plural mice, sometimes mouses) is a hand-held pointing device that detects two-dimensional motion relative to a surface. This motion is typically translated into the motion of a pointer on a display, which allows a smooth ...

made by

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

in 1986, which can be directly plugged into the 9-pin control port of a Commodore 64 or 128.

Description

The Commodore 1351 is similar in appearance to the mouse supplied with Amiga computers of the time, but the two are not mutually compatible. (A quick way to identify is to look at the plug. The Amiga mouse has a thinner plug which looks like regular joystick connectors.) In its default mode, it is a true proportional mouse, but by holding down the right mouse button when powering up the machine, it can be made to emulate its predecessor, the 1350 (which while physically a mouse acted electrically like a joystick). The 1351 utilizes the 6581/8580 SID chip's

analog-to-digital converter In electronics, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC, A/D, or A-to-D) is a system that converts an analog signal, such as a sound picked up by a microphone or light entering a digital camera, into a digital signal. An ADC may also provide ...

, thus it is only compatible with the C64/C128 and will not work on the VIC-20 despite using the same 9-pin connector. An Amiga mouse, although electrically compatible with the C64, uses the paddle registers and will be much more CPU-intensive to read than the 1351. A few programs such as Interpaint support Amiga mice. The mouse was distributed with a user manual containing maintenance instructions,

pinout In electronics, a pinout (sometimes written "pin-out") is a cross-reference between the contacts, or ''pins'', of an electrical connector or electronic component, and their functions. "Pinout" now supersedes the term "basing diagram" that was the s ...

s, and sample BASIC and

machine language In computer programming, machine code is any low-level programming language, consisting of machine language instructions, which are used to control a computer's central processing unit (CPU). Each instruction causes the CPU to perform a very ...

programs for the Commodore 64 and 128. Also included was a diskette containing diagnostic tools, demos, drivers, and an upgrade for the GEOS operating system. The first mouse released for the C64 was the NEOS Mouse in 1985 by the company Nihon Electronics Co. Ltd., however it was quickly superseded when Commodore introduced their own mouse the following year. A handful of drawing programs, GEOS, and the C64 port of ''

Arkanoid is a 1986 block breaker arcade game developed and published by Taito. In North America, it was published by Romstar. Controlling a paddle-like craft known as the Vaus, the player is tasked with clearing a formation of colorful blocks by deflect ...

'' can use the NEOS Mouse.

Reception

The 1351 was favorably reviewed by ''

The Transactor ''The Transactor'' was a computer magazine directed at users of Commodore home computers. In contrast to other Commodore-focused publications such as ''Commodore Magazine'' and ''COMPUTE!'s Gazette'', ''The Transactors popularity was based o ...

'', which praised the unit's ergonomic design and tactile feedback and the quality of the accompanying documentation. The reviewer noted that, at the time of writing, very little commercial software supported the 1351 in proportional mode, but suggested that the mouse would be of benefit in joystick mode in drawing programs, font and sprite editors, and certain kinds of games. Software that can use a 1351 mouse includes GEOS, ''

The Faery Tale Adventure ''The Faery Tale Adventure'' is a 1987 action role-playing video game designed by David Joiner and published by MicroIllusions for the Amiga, and later ported to the Commodore 64, MS-DOS, and Sega Genesis. The MS-DOS version is titled ''The Fa ...

'', '' Operation Wolf'', and assorted application/drawing programs.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite book , date=1986 , title=1351 Mouse , publisher=

Commodore Business Machines Commodore International (other names include Commodore International Limited) was an American home computer and electronics manufacturer founded by Jack Tramiel. Commodore International (CI), along with its subsidiary Commodore Business Mach ...

{{cite journal , author-last=O'Brien , author-first=Malcolm , date=1988 , title=The 1351 Mouse and GEOS 1.3: Graphic Environment on a Roll , url=http://csbruce.com/cbm/transactor/pdfs/trans_v9_i01.pdf , journal=

, publisher= Transactor Publishing , volume=9 , issue=1 , pages=72–73 , accessdate=5 December 2015 {{cite web, accessdate=18 May 2020 , date=13 October 2018 , title=NEOS Mouse , url=https://www.c64-wiki.com/wiki/NEOS_Mouse Computer mice Products introduced in 1986 CBM hardware