Steven T. Kirsch invented and owns a patent on the optical mouse. After bringing multiple successful startup companies through IPO and corporate buy-out, he became a multi-millionaire. A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to a person for a fixed period of time in exchange for the regulated, public disclosure of certain details of a device, method, process or composition of matter (substance) (known as an invention) which is new, inventive and... Two wireless computer mice, with scroll wheels A mouse is a handheld pointing device for computers, involving a small object fitted with one or more buttons and shaped to sit naturally under the hand. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

As a 12 year old student, he became fascinated with a programmable calculator. An empathetic instructor at a Computer Learning Center introduced him to the IBM 360, and within a year, the youngster wound up sneaking into a computer lab at UCLA, where Vinton Cerf and his team were working on the fledgling ARPANET, and welcomed him with open arms. Kirsch was soon programming an email system and parts of an operating system. The IBM System/360 (S/360) is a computer system family announced by International Business Machines on April 7, 1964. ... The University of California, Los Angeles, popularly known as UCLA, is a public, coeducational university situated in the neighborhood of Westwood within the city of Los Angeles. ... Vinton G. Cerf (born June 23, 1943) is commonly referred to as the father of the Internet. During his tenure from 1976 to 1982 with the United States Department of Defenses Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Cerf played a key role leading the development of Internet and Internet-related... ARPANET logical map, March 1977. ... E-mail, or email, is short for electronic mail and is a method of composing, sending, and receiving messages over electronic communication systems. ...

At the suggestion of Cerf, Kirsch matriculated at MIT, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree and master's degree in electrical engineering and computer science in 1980. Vinton G. Cerf (born June 23, 1943) is commonly referred to as the father of the Internet. During his tenure from 1976 to 1982 with the United States Department of Defenses Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Cerf played a key role leading the development of Internet and Internet-related... The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT, is a research and educational institution located in the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. MIT is a world leader in science and technology, as well as in many other fields, including management, economics, linguistics, political science, and philosophy. ... A bachelors degree is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course or major that generally lasts for three or four years. ... A masters degree is an academic degree usually awarded for completion of a postgraduate or graduate course of one to three years in duration. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...

He founded Mouse Systems Corporation in 1982. After he left the company, he co-founded Frame Technology Corp. in 1986 to market the FrameMaker publishing software. After Frame was acquired by Adobe Systems, he founded a Web portal company, Infoseek Corporation, in 1994. After Infoseek was acquired by Disney, he founded Propel Software Corporation. Mouse Systems Corporation, formerly Rodent Associates, was founded in 1982 by Steve Kirsch, inventor of the optical mouse. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Adobe FrameMaker is a desktop publishing application that is popular for large documents. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Adobe FrameMaker is a desktop publishing application that is popular for large documents. ... Adobe Systems (NASDAQ: ADBE)(LSE: ABS) is a computer software company headquartered in San Jose, California that was founded in December 1982 by John Warnock and Charles Geschke. ... A web portal is a web site that provides a starting point or gateway to other resources on the Internet or an intranet. ... Infoseek was a search engine founded in 1994 by Steve Kirsch. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... The Walt Disney Company (most commonly known as Disney) (NYSE: DIS) is one of the largest media and entertainment corporations in the world. ...

He used part of his fortune to set up a $75M charitable fund and became an philanthropist. He has also used some of his fortune to sue people who send junk faxes. A philanthropist is someone who devotes his time, money, or effort towards helping others. ... Junk faxes are unsolicited advertising via fax transmission. ...

His latest project is the eradication of spam. The spam product that he designed regularly achieves 99.9% accuracy in the field. He's now working on a spam filter that he believes will be more than 99.99% accurate. Spamming is the abuse of any electronic communications medium to send unsolicited messages in bulk. ...

External links

• His own website
• His charitable foundation's website: kirschfoundation.org
• His company's website
• His website dedicated to stopping junk faxes: junkfax.org
• A profile on him