High-density cursor: an improved mouse cursor that accelerates target acquisition
Patrick Baudisch, Edward B. Cutrell, George G. Robertson, Pravin Santiago · 2003
As bigger screens and multi-monitor configurations become more popular, users employ higher mouse accelerations in order to traverse the screen reasonably quickly. The faster the mouse cursor moves, however, the more it seems to jump from one position to the next because it is updated only at the refresh rate of the monitor. This lack of visual continuity increases the risk of users losing track of the cursor. High-density cursor addresses this issue by filling in additional cursor images between actual cursor positions. Unlike existing techniques, such as the Windows mouse trail, the proposed technique preserves the responsiveness of the mouse cursor. In our user study, high-density cursor improved participants' performance for target acquisitions across long distances, often without the conscious awareness of any visual change in the cursor.