Graphics Tablet

Graphics Tablet
Mac Tip #230/15-February-2006

This week’s Tip is a bit different as I’m going to suggest you consider doing away with your mouse.

There are many ways of getting information into your computer. Two of the most popular are the keyboard and mouse.

The keyboard is obvious for typing text and numbers, but we rely on the mouse for choosing from menus and clicking buttons.

If you use a Mac laptop you may instead use the built-in trackpad — a small flat area on which you can move your finger to control the cursor.

The first mouse, invented in 1963 by Doug Engelbart was a rather large square block of wood: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_mouse.

Mice now are very slick and sleek, but you’ve probably forgotten how hard it was to learn to use it.

About 10 years ago I visited a client who worked in graphic design. I needed to use his computer to set something up for him and he passed me his graphics tablet and stylus. The moment I tried to use the stylus I was totally flummoxed.

Luckily he had a mouse on hand and I continued to work.

For some reason though I decided after that to try out a graphics tablet for myself.

It took several days to learn to use the stylus to point to menus and select items, but once I’d got the hang of it I’ve never looked back.

I now use a graphics tablet and stylus all the time (I’m holding the stylus in my right hand even as I type this) and find them far easier and more convenient to use than any mouse or trackpad.

A graphics tablet is a flat plastic rectangle. In the centre is an area that can accept input from a special pen, called a stylus.

The stylus itself has a special plastic tip. When you touch it to the surface of the tablet it places the cursor on your screen.

As you move the stylus around on the surface it’s just like moving a mouse and you can select text, pull down menus and so on.

If you lift the stylus it’s like lifting the mouse and the on-screen cursor follows the movement, provided the tip of the stylus doesn’t get too far away from the surface of the tablet.

Now, here are some differences between a tablet and mouse:

• the angle of your arm and wrist are different. It’s just like writing with a pen on paper. Others have told me that using a graphics tablet has relieved pain from OOS.
• you can ‘pin’ the corners of the tablet to corners of your screen and do away with scrolling. If you put the stylus down in the top right corner of the tablet then the cursor goes to the top right corner of the computer screen. Bliss.
• you can use a tablet where you can’t use a mouse — for me this means while I sit in bed or in an armchair with my Powerbook.
• a new mouse may cost just a few dollars while a graphics tablet may cost a couple of hundred.
• if you draw at all on your Mac then you’ll find a stylus is the correct tool for you; drawing with a mouse is like trying to paint a landscape with a paintbrush tied to a car.

It’s a big investment, but I love my graphics tablet. Ask your local Mac dealer to show you one and let you try it out.

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