Writing Tablets

[n2ize]

Can anyone reccomend a decent, and relatively inexpensive, writing tablet ? I have a program for taking down written notes. Unfortunately trying to write with a mouse comes out looking worst than a doctors prescription. Looking for something simple, that plugs into a USB port and can be easily moved from machine to machine, works on Linux, Windows, Mac, etc.

[NQ6U]

Wacom Bamboo (http://www.wacom.com/bamboo/). $50-60 online, will work with OS X or Windows. Not sure if there's a driver for Linux.

On Edit: There is: http://www.wacom.com/productsupport/linux.cfm

[n2ize]

Looks interesting. What if an optical sensor (similar to that used on a mouse) were placed into a kind of stylus, such that it is held in the fingers similar to a pen. The user could then write against any optical sensor friendly surface (i.e. a desk, peice of paper, etc.) and the writing would come out on screen. It should be relatively easy to build such a device using parts from a standard mini laser or optical mouse.

[NQ6U]

Building the device itself would be the easy part, it's writing the drivers that would be tricky. I know you can program to some extent, John, but writing that low-level stuff is a real art.

[ab1ga]

Looks interesting. What if an optical sensor (similar to that used on a mouse) were placed into a kind of stylus, such that it is held in the fingers similar to a pen. The user could then write against any optical sensor friendly surface (i.e. a desk, peice of paper, etc.) and the writing would come out on screen. It should be relatively easy to build such a device using parts from a standard mini laser or optical mouse.

In an earlier life I used tablets for input to CAD programs, both with "puck" and "stylus" sensors. The puck style was best for selecting menu items and digitizing drawings and graphs, the stylus was supposed to be better at freehand tasks. What I found was that without visual feedback at the sensor, it was difficult for me to obtain good stylus control. I had difficulty closing the motor-visual feedback loop while "writing" on a tablet and viewing the screen. Your mileage may vary, of course, and I'd wager Albi may have some valuable input to give on this particular aspect of computer graphics.

Building a stylus such as you described shouldn't be difficult at all, from either a hardware or software perspective, if one is willing to sacrifice an optical mouse for components. On the hardware end, you may have to move the illuminator, optical sensor, and electronics away from the point and use a light pipe to reach the tip; even a plastic light pipe might work, depending on the illumination wavelength. If you don't change the electronics, it will still look like a mouse to the OS.

73,

[NQ6U]

When I got my first laptop with a trackpad, it took me about a month before I felt as adept with it as I did a mouse. Same deal with a graphics tablet--when I was doing a lot of Photoshop work (and actually getting paid for it), I would spend my entire day using a tablet and got quite good with it. I think it's just a matter of working at it.

[n6hcm]

Looks interesting. What if an optical sensor (similar to that used on a mouse) were placed into a kind of stylus, such that it is held in the fingers similar to a pen

it comes with a stylus.

[n2ize]

When I got my first laptop with a trackpad, it took me about a month before I felt as adept with it as I did a mouse. Same deal with a graphics tablet--when I was doing a lot of Photoshop work (and actually getting paid for it), I would spend my entire day using a tablet and got quite good with it. I think it's just a matter of working at it.

In my case I want it mainly for some basic black & white note taking , perhaps with an occaisional splash of colour. The way i see it it would be easier for me to organize my handwritten notes digitally instead of having stacks of paper notebooks. I have started to digitize a lot of my notes by scanning them page by page. The tablet would allow me to either transcribe them direct or, copy them over to digitized form by hand.

[n2ize]

When I got my first laptop with a trackpad, it took me about a month before I felt as adept with it as I did a mouse. Same deal with a graphics tablet--when I was doing a lot of Photoshop work (and actually getting paid for it), I would spend my entire day using a tablet and got quite good with it. I think it's just a matter of working at it.

In my case I want it mainly for some basic black & white note taking , perhaps with an occaisional splash of colour. The way i see it it would be easier for me to organize my handwritten notes digitally instead of having stacks of paper notebooks. I have started to digitize a lot of my notes by scanning them page by page. The tablet would allow me to either transcribe them direct or, copy them over to digitized form by hand.

[n2ize]

it comes with a stylus.

I know. I am just wondering if it would be possible to incorporate the optics of a mouse into some kind of stylus.

[KG4CGC]

Helvetica is a widely used sans-serif typeface developed in 1957 by Swiss typeface designer Max Miedinger with Zach Spinner.
Hello?

[WØTKX]

I have a Bamboo tablet, and it works well... my next preferred input device is a trackball, then a touchpad, then a mouse. It's hard to draw with a bar of soap. :snicker:

The Wacom Bamboo is top rated and reasonably priced... add some handwriting recognition software.

[NQ6U]

I'm not sure why anyone would want to enter in a lot of text via handwriting, though. Drawings I can see but I'm only a moderately fast typist and can still write many times faster on a keyboard than I could by hand.

[WØTKX]

I agree, I type better than I write by hand... blame the Underwood SX-100 of my childhood.

http://geekhack.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=13950&stc=1&d=1292091056

[NQ6U]

Yeah! That's exactly the same machine I learned to type on as well. Weighed a ton and I'll bet you could use one to prop up a car while you change the tire.

[n2ize]

I'm not sure why anyone would want to enter in a lot of text via handwriting, though. Drawings I can see but I'm only a moderately fast typist and can still write many times faster on a keyboard than I could by hand.

Because there's a lot of stuff I write down on the fly that contains symbols and formulas that can't simply be typed, unless I use LaTeX. LaTeX is preferred but sometimes it's quicker and easier for me to jot down words, symbols, and sketches using pencil and paper than it is to create a document using the appropriate LaTeX markup symbols.

[NQ6U]

Because there's a lot of stuff I write down on the fly that contains symbols and formulas that can't simply be typed, unless I use LaTeX. LaTeX is preferred but sometimes it's quicker and easier for me to jot down words, symbols, and sketches using pencil and paper than it is to create a document using the appropriate LaTeX markup symbols.

Okay, that makes sense.

[KA5PIU]

Because there's a lot of stuff I write down on the fly that contains symbols and formulas that can't simply be typed, unless I use LaTeX. LaTeX is preferred but sometimes it's quicker and easier for me to jot down words, symbols, and sketches using pencil and paper than it is to create a document using the appropriate LaTeX markup symbols.

Hello.

Why not just a pen that can read your writing?
http://www.leapfrog.com/en/pages/support/top_product_list/fly_fusion.html

[n2ize]

Hello.

Why not just a pen that can read your writing?
http://www.leapfrog.com/en/pages/support/top_product_list/fly_fusion.html

Pretty clever gadget.

[w6tmi]

I have a Siso Tablo, it works not unlike the Wii controls, basically allows you to "air write" on any surface.

It was fairly cheap but I dont remember where I got it, it might have been a "Woot". (woot.com)