Rich Garner

My interest was peaked around 1994 when I saw the movie Rising Sun. An edgy young cop and a culturally wise investigator team up to solve a crime in high-tech Japan. In one scene, a computer expert shows the two characters how security footage could easily be graphically manipulated with the right tools… one of which was a slick new type of interface called a graphics tablet. The expert gracefully move her pen over the grey rectangle and with a few strokes, created a very cool effect on screen. I was in love!

The Mouse

Even though I’m not an artist nor can I create anything even remotely attractive with a pen (you should see my handwriting) I was impressed that something so simple could be so much more effective than a mouse. I hate mice. The corded ones get their cords caught just when you need them most, and the cordless ones either have bad reception, features or battery life. I’ve only found one mouse that I loved so much I bought it twice: The Logitech MX518. (Check out CNet’s review.)  This sleek palm toy fits my hand perfectly, has side navigation buttons and on-the-fly sensitivity adjustment. It’s so cool to be in my favorite shooter game, struggle with aiming and click a small button on my mouse to change the precision allowing me to line up the perfect shot.

But as cool as it is, it’s still a corded mouse and I still have issues with it.

The Pen

Enter the Wacom Bamboo Fun Pen and Touch tablet. (CNet’s review here.) I got this little pad as a Christmas present and I’m loving it… to a degree. First, it was easier to learn than I expected. Once installed, an optional interactive slideshow plays that walks you through your first few actions. Once you get the basics down, mastering it becomes a bit more tricky.

Second, when using the pen, you can specify if your tablet will effect both of your screens (most web and graphic developers have dual monitors), just one screen, or just a specific area of one screen. However, setting this up was not intuitive and I had to ask on forums before I figured it out.

Finally, I’m not sure if it’s my computer or the tablet itself, but there are times when it doesn’t respond. For example, with a flick of your fingers, you should be able to scroll a web page. Sometimes it works beautifully. Other times, I flick… and flick… and flick… and give up by grabbing my mouse. Seems to me that the graceful lady in that movie would not tolerate such a disobedient device.

My Verdict

TIE! I think the pen tablet is great for detailed design such as photo editing, image manipulation and drawing. But when I’m not designing, my hand still rests comfortably on my favorite mouse.