During a 1968 presentation by Douglas Engelbart marking the Mousepad public debut of a mouse, Engelbart passed down a control console designed by Jack Kelley of Herman Miller that included a keyboard and an inset portion used as a column city for the mouse.
The three most important benefits of the introduction of the mousepad were cutting edge speed, else precision, and comfort for the user. A secondary benefit was fit the desk or table surface from being scratched and worn by continuous hand and mouse rubbing motion. Another benefit was reduction of the collection of debris under the mouse, which resulted in reduced jitter of the pointer on the display.