Wacom Intuos 3 Tablet Missing Mouse?

May 20, 2012 4:41 PM

I am in a position to be able to buy a used Wacom Intuos 3 Tablet at a very good price, but it is missing the mouse. Is that something that I would miss? (I would be using it primarily for drawing).
posted by cardamom to Technology (15 answers total)

Generally, no.
You would only be missing it if you have some particular situation you prefer to use mice in. There's nothing you can do with the mouse you can't do with the stylus, other than maybe precision "dropping" of the cursor, since that involves lifting the stylus which will involve a little wobble. So: meh.

If it's important, you can get a replacement mouse for about seventy bucks, and possibly even less if you hunt around Amazon or electronics clearance places.
posted by Su at 4:47 PM on May 20, 2012

[PK and I both use Wacoms and pretty much never ever touch the mice. Frankly, I'd like to see it left out of the package and only sold as an add-on.]
posted by Su at 4:49 PM on May 20, 2012 [1 favorite]

Years went by before I used the mouse. The only reason I use it now is because I'm too cheap to buy a mouse pad. I have a perfectly good optical mouse, but it won't track on my desk, so I use my (tiny) Wacom. I think it's a PITA to use the stylus for general mousing tasks, but there's no real need to use it for that if you have a mouse already. I have a friend who has a large Intuos and has never used the mouse.

Also, the mouse doesn't work well with programs written in Qt (VLC being the one I use most often), so it's not even a great solution for general mousing anyway.
posted by wierdo at 4:49 PM on May 20, 2012

FWIW, you can get decent laser mice (they'll even track on clear glass desktops) nowadays for under $30 - The one I use on my main home machine set me back a whopping $24.99.

/ Can't stand mouse pads
posted by pla at 5:05 PM on May 20, 2012

I almost never use the Wacom mouse. It's good on occasion when you need some extra precision, but mine usually collects dust.
posted by azpenguin at 5:11 PM on May 20, 2012

Never used mine except to try it when I first took the tablet out of the box. Am now looking around my desk wondering exactly where it may be. It's probably back in the box.
posted by TimTypeZed at 5:21 PM on May 20, 2012

My girlfriend's owned about five or six Wacom tablets over the years, and I've only ever been dimly aware of the fact that they even come with a mouse. If your workflow is like hers, you won't miss it.
posted by radwolf76 at 5:39 PM on May 20, 2012

Mouse is a piece of crap that doesn't function like normal mice. Forget it. I have two of these and have never used the mouse, it sucks.
posted by fake at 7:43 PM on May 20, 2012

I inherited a Wacom tablet at my job and it was literally years before I realized it even had a mouse, stuffed as it was at the back of a cupboard. I've never, ever used it.
posted by looli at 7:46 PM on May 20, 2012

Nope. I've been a Wacom fan for more than a decade, and I can't remember the last time I used the mouse. (In fact, I only just relocated mine - from the large Intuos2 tablet I got off of Craigslist - while cleaning today.) I use the pen or a real mouse.
posted by ubersturm at 8:21 PM on May 20, 2012

You will absolutely not miss it. I have a Monoprice tablet, which doesn't come with a mouse at all, and when I need a mouse, I just use the mouse I already have on my desk. No need for a special tablet mouse!
posted by limeonaire at 8:30 PM on May 20, 2012

Get it! You don't need the mouse. I never use mine- I tried but it was annoying.
posted by KateViolet at 1:15 AM on May 21, 2012

I'd guess the mouse is missing because it was never ever used. I know I've never used mine.

If it's a good deal, go for it.
posted by Sourisnoire at 5:18 AM on May 21, 2012

My experience on a similar matter: I bought a used Intuos 4 that was without one and have never missed it; my Intuos 3 was given to my sister sans mouse and she's never missed it; and the reason the 3's mouse was missing in the first place is because I can't remember where I put it -- because in all the years I had it, I never needed nor used it.

In summation: nope, you won't miss it at all.
posted by Pufferish at 10:54 AM on May 21, 2012

The only reason I even keep the mouse around is so that people who aren't used to the pen/tablet can use my setup. One could just as easily have a separate mouse for that.
posted by freezer cake at 10:57 AM on May 21, 2012