Any hardware componeNT that allows a user to input spatial data to a computer. CAD systems and {Graphical User INTerfaces} (GUI) allow the user to coNTrol and provide data to the computer using physical "gestures" - poiNT, click, and drag - typically by moving a hand-held mouse across the surface of the physical desktop and activating switches on the mouse. MovemeNTs of the poiNTing device are echoed on a graphical represeNTation of a desktop on the screen by movemeNTs of the mouse poiNTer and other visual changes. While the most common poiNTing device by far is a mouse, other kinds include tracker ball, trackpad, lightpen, various kinds of digitising tablets which use a stylus, and even a special "data glove" that translates the user' s movemeNTs to computer gestures. (1997-02-03)