Got a Tablet!

[LadyJaine]

I knew I'd need one, now I just have to learn how to use it! I know me and after reading a lot of boxes, I got the Wacom Intuos4 in the smallest size. It comes with a mouse and a pen. I won't need to upgrade this gadget for a long time.

It's very easy to install. Your old mouse will continue to work. The tablet works, too. Since I've got a laptop with a touchpad, I can now use touchpad, tablet or mouse to move the cursor around on the screen. It's all good.

It's also more intuitive/user friendly than I'd thought it would be. The big difference is that there is a direct correlation for cursor position to where I am on the tablet. If I'm not at the top left corner on the tablet, the cursor isn't at the top left corner of the screen. Clicking and dragging are easy. In fact, it's easier to click and drag with the pen than the mouse. Making precise selections is really easy. Even though I'm not really used to it yet, the hand-eye feedback is better. If I tilted the mouse as I held it and pulled straight down, the cursor would move at an angle. That doesn't happen with a tablet.

I'm probably going to turn into one of those folks that throws the mouse away and doesn't look back. This thing is great!

[pbp908]

Actually, you won't throw the mouse away because it's still easier to use the mouse that came with the Wacom than it is the pen. I've got the big Intuos 3, which was top of the line when I bought it. Much prefer it to anything else I've used.

[tichwoli]

I am looking at these too - seems like a perfect complement to CS3/4!! Do tell us about your experimentations please.

Congratulations.

[tlscrap]

My DH bought one a few months ago and I haven't had time to play, so please tell me, what can I use this for, or is this a stupid question

[LadyJaine]

Tablets are really useful when you are drawing precise shapes. Imagine you want to outline a person in a photo to do an extraction. It's MUCH easier and more accurate to use a tablet and a pen than it is to use a mouse. You still zoom in, but you can control the pen tip much more easily. Less hand strain, less fatigue, better results.

I'm finding that since I set the touch ring to scroll, I'm not using my mouse, even for web browsing.

[tlscrap]

Ahhhhh!!! I get it, so that means..... I need to steal this tool away from him

[LadyJaine]

Definitely! Nab it while you can. These things are just too much fun.