Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with tablet

How much is my tablet worth?

smartless — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 12:14:04 -0800

I'm trying to determine the value of my Fujitsu Tablet pc. It is a Fujitsu Lifebook T2010. I bought it in May ('08), and have barely used it since June... Specs to follow: Specs:
intel core 2 duo @1.20 GHz 1.20 GHz
2GB RAM
120GB HD
It's really lightweight, has fingerprint reader, smart card reader, media card reader. No materialistic flaws.

I don't know how the value of laptops works. Anyone know how much I should sell it for?

How do I learn to use a Wacom tablet to make digital art?

deeman — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 18:21:43 -0800

So I bought a Wacom tablet. How can I learn to do THIS http://www.5min.com/Video/SPIDERMAN---photoshop-speed-painting-by-Missfeldt-29124285

Recommended Graphics Tablet For Note Taking and Sketching

defben — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 08:39:47 -0800

I'd like to try a graphics tablet for the work I do. I know Wacom is the big dog in the field, but am unclear on what the real differences between the models are (too much marketing spiel). The work I see myself using it for includes note taking, sketching and storyboarding (paper prototyping). I use linux (ubuntu) at home and WinXP for work. OneNote and Visio are used pretty often on the windows side. I don't see myself doing any high fidelity work on this; I'm pretty lousy at drawing. Does it matter what I choose? What should I look for/focus on? Any recommendations?

Thanks

Can old Wacom tablets work on newer macs?

Brandon Blatcher — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:42:32 -0800

I've come across a Wacom ArtPad II Tablet, but with connectors for the old Mac serial/ADB port. Is there an adaptor that will allow it to work with a USB only Mac G4, 10.4 or 10.5 system? I'd want to use it with Photoshop and Painter.

Tablets, the lease of these

gensubuser — Tue, 27 May 2008 19:27:58 -0800

How might I lease a tablet PC, and will it change my life? I've been envious of my friends' tablets for quite some time now, but don't quite need to throw out my laptop yet (bought spring 2006) and upgraded my PC this fall as per my alternating cycle.

I've been putting off a lot of real work/understanding for a while, and think a tablet might be a useful tool in completing it (science grad student. lots of equations. Basically, I need to finally master my lab's genre.). When I normally work through something like this I use printer paper and fill out inch high stacks of scratch-work, refining derivations, often re-copying them to condense them. I think quickly creating a connecting web of hand-written notes might help me tackle this project, and if money spent would mean I accomplish this, it's worth it.

On the other hand, maybe I'm just using this as a reason for procrastination, maybe an actual tablet in my hands will be more cause for distraction than assistance.

So, I was thinking of leasing a tablet. Last time I looked into it, I wanted either a Toshiba Lifebook or Lenovo tablet--though, rationally, anything that gets the job done works. Since I'm not a company, can I still lease these (or "try" them for a month or two?) With the option to buy? What is a typical percentage of price I might expect to pay? Are there any problems or catches with this plan?

Have you been here, or has a tablet PC fulfilled your needs?

Cheap device for song lyric display?

rhys — Fri, 16 May 2008 10:58:18 -0800

I'm looking to use some kind of tablet device, pocket pc, or possibly even e-book reader to display lyrics and chords for me while playing guitar. Criteria: cheap, readable, hackable, in that order. Budget - cheaper is better, $100 is ok, for $200 it should be stellar.

It needs to be able to display text files, and that's about it. It would be great if the screen was big enough to display a whole page, but I usually condense lyrics and chords, so it's not essential.

It would also be great if I could hook up some kind of device to scroll up and down and change songs. Could be a keyboard input, whatever.

I figure that you hardware hacker types must know something about discontinued devices that can be had on eBay. Thanks!

Optimal OS for my ultramobile PC?

Phred182 — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:28:55 -0800

What operating system should I use for my Fujitsu U1010 UMPC? A gift that I'll need to show I use, but I also like the form factor: it's the size of a paperback book and weighs a pound or two. It came loaded with Vista Business, which is barely functional on 1G Ram. Battery life is short as well--so a couple of Vista boot cycles and it's dead. Considering XP because I have a spare XP dvd and license, but would like to know about other options. It will be used to edit and distribute office docs; for contact management; and to keep up with email and mefi on the road. I'd really like mobile Team Fortress 2, but since that's not going to happen, my preferred applications are:

MS office or OpenOffice
Skype
Opera
Mp3 player
Tablet functions

My priorities are: 1) speed; 2) battery conservation; and 3) matching all of the original functionality. An additional complication: I have no external cd/dvd drive, so ideally I'd be able to do some kind of usb transfer from my desktop or my 4g flash drive. If the best solution is XP, how do I do it? Any and all suggestions appreciated.

Uses for a tablet PC

backseatpilot — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 11:09:04 -0800

Bought a tablet PC, now what? I just got the HP t2000z tablet, mostly because of the "Ooh, shiny!" factor, but also because I hate touchpads and I figured using a pen would be a better input device for my intended uses (light word processing and internet appliance). When it arrived, I found out the tablet screen was made by Wacom! Cool, it's got the pressure sensitivity and everything. So... what neat stuff can I do with it that is easier than/not possible with a traditional laptop?

I figured I'd start editing my photos on it and I saw an old thread gushing about OneNote. What else do you typically use your tablet for? Any software I should pick up that utilizes tablet functions? How about games that benefit from the pen input?

Anything better than a tablet for math notes?

woolylambkin — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 22:20:34 -0800

I'm thinking of replacing my old Compaq tc1000 tablet with either a new tablet or a regular notebook. Whatever I replace it with though has to take engineering/math notes well. So what are your suggestions for my tablet replacement? I absolutely love my tc1000 but at 5 years old it's starting to get slow, beat up, and the battery life has slowly dropped from 3 hours down to 1 hour which makes carrying it to class a gamble even with an extra battery. After using it for class for 5 years I can't see myself comfortably going back to pen and paper for note taking not to mention the lack of Hexic deluxe during my geotechnical classes.

I'm looking to replace it with either a tablet (more than likely a HP tx2000z or HP 2710p) or a laptop (PC or Mac doesn't matter). I'll only be using it for note taking and internet surfing so optical drives, hdd space, and pure performance aren't important but battery life and portability are key. I'd prefer something that's smaller than 15" and 5lbs with exchangeable batteries being a nice extra. Also it must have an active digitizer as I find touch screens make me want to stab the stylus through the screen after using them for a minute or two. I'd also prefer a keyboard instead a slate only tablet due to the convenience of internet surfing and non-math note taking with a keyboard.

If you suggest a laptop over a tablet I'd want suggestions on why it'd be better than a tablet for taking notes in engineering and math related courses. Right now I'm using Microsoft OneNote which I absolutely love with a stylus but don't see how I can take effective math notes with OneNote using a keyboard. I realize Word has an equation editor that looks really nice for reports but I find it extremely cumbersome to even attempt using it to take math notes on. I've never used a Mac but would still consider one if there are Mac programs that make equation typing super easy.

Also as far as my notes go I need easy access to integral signs, greek letters, sub and super scripts, division lines, and simple drawings (lines and curves).

With all of that in mind what's your suggestion for my next computing solution?

Should I upgrade to a fancy Intuos tablet from my Graphire4?

actionpact — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 12:30:52 -0800

Graphire4 vs. Intuos: should I stay or should I go (upgrade?) Mine is a 6x8" tablet-- apart from having to wrap the stylus in electrical tape (the grip started coming off) it works fine. But only 'fine'... I don't draw with it at all, merely color because linework pressure is a bit jumpier than I'd like. Also it's a very slick surface, so the feel kind of throws me off.

What I'm wondering is whether an upgrade is a good idea-- I know there's double the sensitivity and tilting in the Intuos, but how does that translate? Are lines more smooth? More of a pleasure to draw with/ more natural? If I had the green I'd get a Cintiq, but I know that's not happening.

If I did upgrade, I'd probably have to get a smaller tablet or buy refurbished (though I see none on Wacom's site right now) or perhaps an earlier model (I can't really swing $330 for a 6x8" at the moment). Would there be much difference in an Intuos vs. Intuos2 or 3? Would an Intuos (the earliest model) be better than a Graphire4? And would the 4x5 size likely drive me nuts if I stepped down? I'm on a 19" iMac and have been using the 6x8 for a couple of years now... so I'm wondering how it might affect me. Of course, I could probably keep the Graphire for coloring and just hang onto the wee Intuos for linework...

Your thoughts, hivemind?

ACECAD DigiMemo

jeffburdges — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 12:07:11 -0800

I'm looking for an A4 sized combination digital notepad and graphics tablet, ala the Aiptek MyNote or Adesso CyberPad (apparently the same product). But neither works under Mac OS X as a graphics tablet. Maybe an ACECAD DigiMemo? A program called VectorPen claims some limited support on the Digital notepad side. But in-fact VectorPen only supports the ACECAD DigiMemo.

Does anyone know if further development on VectorPen has been abandoned? It appears to be a closed source program.

Does anyone know if the ACECAD DigiMemo works as a graphics tablet at all? How about under Mac OS X?

Does anyone know of other digital notepads that also work as tablets? Genius G-Note? LaPazz D-Note? How about smaller devices like the Pegasus Mobile Notetaker or various digital pens?

No doubt people will bring up Wacom tablets. Wacom doesn't make this sort of digital notepad product afaik. I'm also reluctant to sacrifice portability by including several inches of useless space around the writing area.

I imagine that devices like the Nokia Internet Tablet don't really allow for note taking?

Can anyone recommend a good movie watching/web surfing tablet device for cheap?

ranglin — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 19:52:25 -0800

Can anyone recommend a good movie watching/web surfing tablet device for cheap? I love my Macbook to death. Honestly, it is one of the best pieces of kit I've ever bought (next to my bluetooth headphones) and I adore it.

HOWEVER, recently I've been finding it a little heavy to tote back and forth to work, especially since I use a work PC at work, which means all I really use the Macbook for is watching movies on the way home on the train. I'd also love a device I could use to surf the web at home on the couch, without having to find my Macbook!

With this in mind, does anyone have any recommendations for a device I could get to do these two tasks? It occurs to me that what I want would appear to be a bigish LCD screen with wifi and a CF slot or something, but I can't find anything on the web. A tablet PC would do it, but I don't need another laptop and the price is overkill.

Does this type of thing exist? It would seem to be a marketable item, but I can't find them anywhere. Any suggestions? Thanks all!

(PS. I know about the various Nokia devices, but most of the ones I've seen don't have a screen much bigger than my PocketPC phone.. I'm really looking for a device with a 10" screen or something!)

OLPC or Eee?

ooklala — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 21:18:58 -0800

I want a small cheap (under $450) laptop. I want to get either an OLPC or an Eee PC. Which would be more worth my while in the long-run? I am wondering, can the OLPC be used for more than a toy, I.E. be used by an adult in a productive environment or should I get the Eee. I would not mind if I could run the Sugar Interface on top of Ubuntu (which can be installed on the Eee) but how hard it that? I don't want a device like the Nokia Internet Tablet as that is too small. Any suggestions?

What is the best way to (temporarily) repair this tablet stylus?

Iananan — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 10:38:41 -0800

This morning, my wacom tablet (graphire 2) sytlus stopped working, and I would like to fix it until I can buy a new tablet This morning, my wacom tablet (graphire 2) stopped working

however, the mouse still works, and the light is still on.
I have found that (what i assume is) the transmitter chip inside the pen has come loose on one side, rendering it unable to send pressure data to the tablet itself, This is all that is broken though, as if i hold the chip down onto the pcb it will move the cursor

photo here http://i15.tinypic.com/63wbgv4.jpg
where you can sort of see the contacts loose on the left hand side of the chip

What I am asking, is what is the best way to secure the contacts back onto the board? I have a rather large and cumbersome soldering iron, and little knowledge of how to do circuity stuff.

Tablets for handwriting (not art)

lullabyofbirdland — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 06:27:31 -0800

Thinking of getting a graphics tablet to replace my keyboard as much as possible. Do I need to spring for something high-end, or are the cheaper / smaller tablets good enough to write with? I need to find ways to type less, hence the tablet idea. I won't need it for drawing, which is what most reviews I've found focus on. I just need the cheapest tablet that can give a decently comfortable writing experience for a fairly heavy workload.

Do I need anything larger than this for example? Is there any reason to go for a more expensive model like the Intuos?

Bonus points for any personal experience with handwriting recognition on unix.

Touchscreen applications?

Mave_80 — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 10:24:28 -0800

Touchscreen windows laptop: what software would you recommend that could take advantage of a touchscreen? Here's the kicker: the PC is only running XP Pro (not XP tablet edition). I have a Panasonic Toughbook with a Touchscreen. For all intents and purposes it looks like a tablet (reversible flippable screen with stylus etc), but I don't think it's officially a tablet since it didn't come packaged with XP Tablet edition - only XP Pro. I'll be starting a graduate program in Autumn and would love to know of any software you guys would recommend for note taking, handwriting recognition (say for using with Firefox etc) etc etc...

I've looked at previous threads and it seems like MS Onenote and the "XP Experience Pack" are pretty cool, but the experience pack at least looks only available for XP Tablet Edition. Any other suggestions? (Ideally would rather not install XP tablet on the machine or buy Vista for it)

Thanks in advance!

MCE and Tablet edition on one Vista Machine?

Apo11o — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 18:59:48 -0800

Can Vista Laptops Have the equivalent of both Windows XP Tablet edition and Media Center Edition on one system without having to boot into separate partitions? I will be going to college soon and I'd like the convenience and features of a Tablet with the features and ease of MCE in one package. Is this possible on a Vista Machine or am i thinking a bit too wishfully? If possible, Who makes the best and best Priced Tablets? Thanks All.

seeking fat fingers instead of skinny stylus

quadrinary — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 15:06:37 -0800

I've got a touch screen PC that I'm setting up for a commercial demo and I've got a couple questions that I've been unable to figure out on my own during the last couple days, and I'm hoping someone here can help. 1) I've got a program that i need to have maximized upon opening. yes, I've tried the option in the shortcut properties to make it open maximized, but the problem is that the login screen associated with the program gets maximized, then the main program starts un-maximized. is there some registry tweak in windows that will force all new windows to maximize themselves? this PC will be used for nothing else so i have no problems with the general inconvenience this might cause in normal day to day use.

2) this whole thing is running on a touchscreen PC to be used in industrial applications. to make things more seamless, i installed windows XP tablet PC edition in order to use the on-screen keyboard. Unfortunately, tablet PC edition is tailored to stylus computing far more than it is to fat-finger computing. Does anyone know of a way to a) increase the physical height of the on-screen keyboard and b) force the keyboard to remain open at all times?

Thanks tons folks!

Good web-based (tablet-oriented?) art/drawing games/apps?

cortex — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 12:07:48 -0800

I'm looking for fun web-based drawing/art games and toys and apps. I've just gotten a Wacom tablet, and I find myself suddenly thinking of all these wonderful little art toys I've played with on the web (cursing my mouse all the while) over the years. Trouble is, I can't remember what any of 'em were.

Show me what you got. Bonus points for fun+collaborative, with more structure than, say, Drawball.

I'm thinking of getting a tablet PC, specificly the Fujitsu T4215.

EasyLover — Sat, 09 Dec 2006 11:13:08 -0800

This will be my first tablet. Does anyone have any expirience with these Tablets? I'm thinking of buying this tablet before Christmas, would it be cheaper after. Also, all I want the pen for is graphic design and notes, I somehow don't feel that justifies the extra grand for the tablet. Also there are issues with Vista becoming the new OS of choice. Whats your take on all this?

make ubuntu bounce

kaydo — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 18:22:19 -0800

[ubuntu filter] I have an old school tablet pc with no floppy drive, cd drive or usb support (due to a dud windows 98 installation). I'd like to move to ubuntu. I have a separate drive in a USB enclosure I'd like to use. How can I get everything I need for ubuntu on to the external drive, then move this drive into the tablet PC to complete the installation? I don't want to boot from USB or anything, I just want to physically replace the drive in the tablet. I'm sure I've read about this, but now I'm about to take the plunge I can't find enough info to reassure me on the process. Unfortunately most processes I've since read require a secondary input (e.g. floppy, cd rom or USB).

For the record, the system does have USB support, but the security on the existing windows install prevents me from installing ANY driver I download. I've got to move to something else to make the computer useful.

Oh, it's also a 1998 Fujitsu Stylistic Tablet. So this is for fun rather than function.

Can my Wacom Graphire pen be saved?

hsoltz — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 12:21:28 -0800

Did I just bork my Wacom Graphire pen by getting it wet? In a moment of utter stupidity, I picked up my Wacom Graphire pen and used it to stir a cup of tea. (Usually I use a chopstick for this purpose, but I just wasn't thinking and picked up the nearest long thin object.) Now the pen side doesn't work. The eraser side works fine. I took out the nib and shook the pen out, but nothing happened (no water came out, but it's still not working).

Did I fry the works, or should I just wait patiently for it to dry out? Should I spend the $40 on a new pen now so I'll have it on Monday, or will it come back to life?

Shake My Shaky Hand.

kingfisher, his musclebound cat — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 07:25:01 -0800

I am getting an input tablet, the intuous 3, later today. I wanted to start drawing again, a minor skill for me, but one that has been compromised by the worsening of my essential tremor. That is, my hands shake too much to draw a good line. What might be a way of mitigating this effect while using a tablet, without resorting to vector graphics. I am not seeking perfect lines. I have always liked the quality of line and a little imperfection is desirable. Tremendous imperfection, not so much.
I am on OS X, Tiger, have Photoshop CS, and would be willing to buy a plug in or perhaps new software.
(Oh, and if anyone knows a good book on computer-aided illustration, feel free to toss that in. Thanks.)

Widescreen Wacom on a 4:3 screen?

chrominance — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 11:31:22 -0800

I'm considering buying a Wacom tablet. I've found the Intuos3 6x11 for the same price (actually slightly cheaper!) than the Intuos3 6x8. I don't have a widescreen display. Will I be able to use the 6x11 effectively? Bonus question: can I use any of the Wacom tablets in portrait mode, or remap the tablet area to a subset area of the screen (like, say, just the area of the Photoshop window, or the top-left quarter of the screen)?

Note Taking With A Tablet: Brilliant or Bonehead?

plaidrabbit — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 11:11:30 -0800

DorkyStudentFilter: Looking to see if anyone else has used a tablet to assist in taking notes in class, and other ideas for note taking. I did some research, and I'm wondering if anyone else has used a Wacom (or other brand, I'm not brand loyal) tablet to assist with note taking. The last two years of my undergrad, I took notes on a laptop and loved it. The only downside was diagrams - and those were almost impossible to do with plain text.

I'm attending law school this fall and have my heart set on getting the highest grades I've ever gotten at any learning institution.

If you have any recommendations on software in regards to what has worked for you as a note taker in law school, please, let me know as well. Oh, BTW - I'm a Mac guy. Thanks!