Graphics tablets

[Sean Sedwards]

Dennis, James and anyone with a Graphire

I need a new mouse and, for obvious reasons, I'm thinking about getting my first tablet in the near future. The Graphire seems to fit the bill, but I'm concerned that the seemingly good idea of combining the two functions will result in poor performance in either or both. For example, is the mouse good enough for everyday use on a main work station and what does the tablet lack in terms of usability? All information will be gratefully received. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Regards - Sean

[caraman1]

Sean, I haven't really used it (the Graphire)enough to be much of an expert. I bought it solely to use with my laptop. The mouse is nice but with the stylus, I don't know if I would use it much. I have a 9 X 12 Wacom that I've used with my desktop and it has worked flawlessly for about 3 years, wouldn't trade it for anything.

From first looks on the Graphire though, it looks like it will live up to the Wacom name!

I have an MS optical mouse on my desktop too and it has been great as well.

On most projects I would be lost if I had to use the mouse alone. There is so much more control with the stylus. It even came with Painter Classic, all for about $100 US

Also, you can use a serial or PS/2 mouse at the same time as the tablet, so you can have the best of both worlds!

Hope that answered some of your questions.

Dennis [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

<a href=http://www.inconnect.com/~dennisco/>Carillus Design</a>

[This message was edited by Dennis Cox on August 25, 2000 at 10:47 PM.]

[q]

Sean.. I bought a wacom tablet the same time I bought my first computer in 97 because I'm used to drawing and it seemed the logical thing. I generally use the tablet more than the mouse still, as I'm mostly drawing. But when doing other tasks in xara etc, and searching and clicking on files in explorer I use the mouse. Main problem is the small size of the pen, which is like using a biro with little buttons on the side, and difficult to use in windows industrial tasks.

I use an intuos tablet as well at my university job, and this pen is more ergonomically designed, ie: fatter. But still the mouse wins when double-clicking files, moving them around etc. The main benefit I guess is in the way you have to use your hands differently using both products. Also, I've got into the habit of using both the mouse and pen with my left and right hands to avoid OOS, which I got a bit of a couple of years ago but now gone, probably due to switching hands etc. However my handwriting with an ordinary pen is now illegible, but this may be an unrelated problem..

One thing I'm interested in is the sensitivity of the pen stroke in different programs and I hope xara x improves on this. Drawing is ok but not as smooth and responsive as Illustrator, and selecting/creating new points using the pen is an exquisite exercise in frustration sometimes.. so this is where I grab the mouse (recently destroyed a mouse and threw it out the window after the exquisiteness became rage.. I suppose it should be the pen, but I cant do without it) Xara X will hopefully return me to the meek, patient being I once was..

Q.

http://www.Qdesign.co.nz

[Mark (theKeeper)]

I recently read an article about Win(ME) that proved through thorough testing it is not faster, but instead SLOWER than Win98 (3 to 10% in most operations). Only marginal improvements were noticed in the OS's functionalities and handling of various sys ops.

It was suggested that staying with Win98 (1 or 2) was the way to go.

Sorry if this post is too late for anyone expecting Win(ME) to improve their situation. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img]

BTW: all my friends at the Trekie convention said that "more powa" could be gained by hooking up to bio-neural gel packs through the maximus glutas region would do the trick. But we'll have to wait another 300 years or so for that kind of technology. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif[/img]

Mark (aka theKeeper)...

[This message was edited by theKeeper on August 27, 2000 at 03:50 AM.]

[mgeduld]

In my experience, the real pro of the Graphire mouse is that it's wireless. No cord to get in the way.

The only time I've ever needed a regular mouse is when I've played certain games. I rarely play computer games, but I went through a Doom/Quake stage. During this time, I found it was difficult to use the Graphire mouse, because it doesn't have a wheel, like a normal mouse.

In those 3D games, you often want to "run" down a long corridor. With a regular mouse, you can role forward, slightly lift the mouse (in place), and then role forward again--MOVING a great distance without rolling your mouse a great distance. This is hard to do without a wheel. I don't know if this "problem" could effect other--non-game- applications, but it's something to keep in mind.

At work, I have an old Calcamp Creation Station, which is essentially the same thing as a Graphire (it comes with a pen and a wireless mouse).

At home, I have a Graphire plugged into one of my USB ports and a standard mouse plugged into the serial mouse-port. I find that the standard mouse is just a tiny bit easier to use. Nowadays, standard mouses (mice?) are pretty cheap, so it's worthwhile remembering that you CAN have your cake and eat it too.

Marcus Geduld
{ email me } { visit me }

[Mike Bailey]

>> all my friends at the Trekie convention said that "more powa" could be gained by hooking up to bio-neural gel packs through the maximus glutas region would do the trick. But we'll have to wait another 300 years or so for that kind of technology. <<

It is already available at most any drug store, it's called Preperation H, a high teck dispensor is not available at this time.

[kevinnewby]

I just started shopping for
a tablet and in case anyone
is interested, onvia.com has
the graphire 4x6/painter classic
bundle for 79.00 with free
shipping. Best price Ive seen
yet.

And for some strange reason the
latest color, graphite, is even
cheaper at 74.92

Kevin

[img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif[/img]

[This message was edited by Kevin N. on August 27, 2000 at 08:58 PM.]

[caraman1]

That is a good price! I paid $99 at CompUSA. Shipping was free there too, except for the gas to drive there and back......

Even at $99, it's well worth the price and I'm growing attached to the mouse too!

Dennis [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_razz.gif[/img]

<a href=http://www.inconnect.com/~dennisco/>Carillus Design</a>

[jamesc]

A few things

The graphire mouse is constrained by the size of the graphire "pad" which is smaller than some mouse mats. So if you like to use big mouse movements you'll have to adapt.

I always had a wireless mouse (I have had six of them but the first five were Genius IR rodents that all died within 2 months) and my old logitech wireless mouseman bit the dust (or is that cheese) this very weekend. It is hard to go back to a cabled mouse but the graphire mouse is fine when you adapt to it and I don't think I'll need to replace the logitech.

One good thing. I upgraded to Win2K this weekend and I'm impressed. It is no slower than win 98 - perhps faster but the slight hesitancy I noted above is gone so graphire and Win2K is a definate plus.

So looks like we Xara folks will be keeping Wacom in business. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]



<font face="dom casual, verdana>James</font>

[Michael]

For all of you, waiting with that pile of money ... Have you ever seen Wacom's LCD panels? http://www.wacom.de/Products/LCD_tab...0_features.gif Just think about it. Drawing directly on X's canvas ... I've tried it one and a half year ago and I'm completely sold. They're expensive so I'm still saving