[WEB4LIB] Recommendations for buying a digital tablet

[Bob Rasmussen]

On Tue, 24 Dec 2002, Andro [iso-8859-1] Gagné wrote:

> Dear Colleagues:
>
> 	In my library and freelance Web development work, I create a lot of
> original artwork using Adobe Photoshop and occasionally Adobe
> Illustrator.  I'm interested in purchasing a digital tablet for doing
> freehand (not FreeHand, the software) drawings and sketches, but I've never
> worked with a digital tablet, and I don't know what to look for.  I'm
> wondering whether there are any other artistic types out there who are
> using digital tablets and can give me advice on what to buy, and, perhaps
> more importantly, what not to buy.

I am not an artist, but...

Wacom makes a variety of tablets. I've played a bit with a small one with
a 4x6" drawing area; it was about $99. It has pressure sensitivity (so you
stroke width can vary with your pressure), an "eraser", and a couple
buttons on the stylus. You can use the stylus as a mouse, or use the
included wireless mouse (on the tablet only).

Some others have an area of programmable "macro buttons" along the top of
the tablet.

It seems to work pretty well, with any software that is designed to
support a tablet.

But the "bleeding edge" is the Tablet PC. With these, you draw ON THE
SCREEN, so you get better visual feedback. I'd go into a large computer
store and try one, by all means. They're hard to obtain right now, as the
companies are still ramping up production.

Regards,
....Bob Rasmussen,   President,   Rasmussen Software, Inc.

personal e-mail: ras at anzio.com
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