5 Jun
2013
5 Jun
'13
7:01 a.m.
On Jun 4, 2013, at 11:28 PM, Mouse <mouse at rodents-montreal.org> wrote:
I'm not surprised. I know a fairly serious artist (whose "I scribbled
this out for something to keep my hands busy while listening to the
talk" drawings are substantially better than the best I can do) who
uses such a tablet.
They're not expensive these days (under $100, which fits a certain
definition of "not expensive").
I think it's essentially a USB HID device stapled onto a general
display (VGA/DVI/DisplayPort inputs for modern devices). The USB
protocol has been reverse engineered, and the Linux Wacom Project
has code you could probably study.
Web link (which may not be useful for everyone):
http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/linuxwacom/index.php?title=USB_Protoc…
Sure. The iPhone does that when you're trying to position the text
insertion point; it pops up a little magnifying glass above your
fingertip when you touch and hold. It's useful, but I'll say that
it's still pretty frustrating, because the point has a tendency to
move as much as a letter's width when you remove your finger.
I think that's essentially what an external trackpad does, unless
I'm misinterpreting what you're saying. Apple has a nice one, if
that's your sort of thing, but I've been far happier with a $15
Logitech no-frills mouse than I have been with anything Apple has
called a mouse since the end of the ADB days. I'm generally OK
with a trackpad on a laptop, but for some of the same reasons I
have problems with touchscreens for CAD, I kind of miss the
trackball. Fortunately, it's quite simple to plug a mouse into a
modern laptop.
- Dave
Back in the '80s, I had the good fortune to get to
use a tablet
input device - [...]
Lots and lots of webcomic artists use them (though the pens
are not
usually wired anymore). There are even
ones like the Wacom Cintiq, which is a drawing tablet
with a high-color-fidelity screen built in; it's expensive, but if
you are a digital artist, it can be invaluable.
I should look into it. If the interfaces are documented enough, I
might even allow myself to splurge on such a thing. I think the
biggest problem with touchscreens when it comes to CAD is
that fingers are so much bigger than pixels.
I actually think that's not so much the problem as it is that the
feedback is concealed by the input device. I've done pixel-precise
positioning with the touchpad on my laptop; it's a pain, but it's
doable - but only because the visual feedback is not under the finger.
Hence my suggestion about displacing the visual feedback so it's out
from under the fingertip - and also the insta-zoom suggestion. Also, I
can't see holding my arm up to a touchscreen for 6 to 8 hours
at a go. They'd get tired.
Me neither. I'd have the touchscreen basically flat. When I've spent
significant time using a touchscreen, I've held it basically at the
angle I'd hold a pad of paper for writing on.
It's possible that doing it right will mean splitting the output and
input, so that the input is flat but the output is vertical (as is
pretty much true of mice-and-keyboards). This could also fix the
"feedback is under the fingertip" issue. But it's not what most people
mean by a touchscreen.