You describe an adapter to make a PS2 mouse into a USB mouse.  The mouse plugs into the adapter end with pins, and the flat end of the adapter with the trident plugs into a USB port on your computer or on a USB hub if you have one.  If you have an empty PS2 port on your computer you could plug the mouse into that without the adapter.  The PS2 port on your computer looks like the end of the adapter that you plugged your mouse into. That it is now a USB mouse is the reason you have to update the mouse software.

On a MS mouse, I had an adapter that looks like this:
one end is a flat/slot shape; it has a trident image at that end
one end is a round shape with pins; it has a mouse image at that end

The pins didn't fit into the hole on my computer, so I took off
the adapter and used the flat end of the mouse "tail" and
plugged that into a corresponding hole.  It works, but now I
have to update the mouse software.

 apologize for the laymen's terminology, and I *think* I
understand what's what, but could somebody please tell me
which is the port, which is the...whatever else...and, if
possible, why stuff works on one and not the other?



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