Linux robots (mouse cables have lead?)

[mark at buttery.org (Mark J. Dulcey)]

markw at mohawksoft.com wrote:
> I went to Microcenter Today, I could not find a single serial mouse.
> Plenty of PS/2 mice, plenty of USB mice. Not a single serial port mouse.

They're pretty much extinct, because all computers have either PS/2 or 
USB ports nowadays. But the PS/2 port is really just a special dedicated 
serial port, so PS/2 mice will work as serial mice if you can track down 
one of the old PS/2 to serial adapters.

> The mouse I bought was a Memorex Raton PS/2 3 button mouse. really cheap.
> Well, on the end that plugs into the computer, there is a tag that reads:
> 
> Warning:
> Handling the cord on this product will expose you to lead, a chemical known
> to the state of California to cause [cancer, and] birth defects or other
> reproductive harm.
> Wash hands after handling.
> 
> 
> Scary.

Nearly all electronic devices contain lead; it's a component of solder. 
There is a shift underway, especially in Europe, to lead-free electronic 
manufacturing, because of concerns about lead in the environment, but 
lead inside your gadgets isn't a hazard unless you handle the soldered 
connections.

Handling the outside of the cord isn't likely to expose you to any 
measurable amounts of lead; the lead is INSIDE the cord, surrounded by 
plastic. But the paranoid regulators make them put that warning on the 
mouse anyway.