Who wants my "old" Intellimouse Pro?
Written: Oct 17 '99
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Product Rating:
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Pros: great features and flexibility, pressure sensitive pen
Cons: no printed help files except basics
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| Techru's Full Review: Wacom Intuos Tablet Series |
After much delay, I finally got around to getting a tablet to enhance the graphical design work that I do. I spend about 55 hours a week doing Architectural design and another 15 to 20 hours "playing" with graphics. I’ve seen some nice tablets in use, and then I've seen some bad ones. I wanted to be able to have total control over how the tablet, and input devices, would work in each program I used them in.
After some research and seeing it in action, I decided to get the Wacom Intuos 9x12 tablet. It comes with a working area 9" x 12" tablet, an Intuos pen, and an Intuos puck. The tablet is large enough for the Architectural work I do, yet small enough that I don't need to build an extension for my desk!
The Intuos pen was an extra that I thought would sit in my desk drawer. Boy was I wrong about that. It is great. It makes using the computer more natural when designing things. As an Architectural designer, I have a natural tendency to want to sketch. This tool facilitates that very nicely. In graphical programs, such as Paint Shop Pro, the pen is pressure sensitive. This feature alone makes this a great product. It is nice to be able to watercolor, or do calligraphy naturally, just as you would in real media! This saves tons of editing time messing with line characteristics. The pen also has a built in eraser, just like on a regular pencil. There is also a two setting thumb button.
The Intuos puck is very nice also. It has five fully programmable buttons and a thumb wheel. What I like about the thumbwheel is that it's actually a wheel that has a radius of about 1 1/4" rather than the standard 3/8" radius of mouse scroll wheels. This means that with the puck, I can scroll with greeter accuracy and with blazing speed, depending on how much I move the wheel. The buttons can have 3 programmed actions per button for a total of 15, plus the wheel. It is a very diverse tool in itself.
The software that comes with the tablet works great. It makes customizing the tools very easy, even for different applications. The tablet identifies each tool independently, so you can switch between the puck and the pen on the fly. You can also switch to your regular mouse at any time. If you purchase a separate pen or puck, you can configure it to have unique settings that will be identified. So you could have two pens and set one to a paintbrush and the other to a fine point pen, and as you switch back and forth the output changes accordingly.
I wish they had included a printed version of the help files. I hate having to use the online help when I'm trying different setups and can't get something to work correctly. It would be much easier to have a book I can flip through to find the answer. The other downside to this product is that it's sometimes hard to remember what all the different options that have been set up are. Maybe I just have too many toys!!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 415.00
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Epinions.com ID:
Techru
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Member: Andrew D. Smith
Location: Zebulon, NC
Reviews written: 12
Trusted by: 1 member
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