Can the humble computer mouse and keyboard -- products of an industry typically concerned with function and price -- be considered works of art? Absolutely, according to two of the design industry's most influential forces, the Industrial Design Society of America (IDSA) and New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Both organizations have recently honored path-breaking designs by Microsoft for computer hardware. Each year, the IDSA and BusinessWeek magazine partner to honor outstanding product designs with the Industrial Design Excellence Awards. Honors for 2001 include Microsoft’s IntelliMouse Optical and Trackball Explorer chosen, among other criteria, for superior aesthetics and functionality. Another important element in each design is innovation. This was also a determining criteria for products included in the New York Museum of Modern Art’s "Workspheres" exhibition this year. The show studied the "changing nature of the workplace and the role of design in creating effective solutions," according to its catalogue. Microsoft’s Trackball Optical and IntelliMouse Optical were used to highlight desktop products that exemplify these design solutions.