Using it on a Powerbook - it still rocks!
Written: Jun 30 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Small, thin, no power supply needed, cheapest of the series, durable, lightweight
Cons: Interface with Mac during sleep is poorly done, uses a lot of processor on G4
The Bottom Line: If you don't have much desktop space, you want to save money, or are using a laptop - then this is the perfect tablet. Otherwise, next size up.
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| stenz's Full Review: Wacom Intuos2 4 x 5 (XD45USB) Stylus |
I have a 1.25ghz G4 Aluminum Powerbook running 10.3.4 that I carry with me everywhere. I decided I needed the ability to draw directly on the computer so I could more easily work with drawings to put them up on the web.
In college I had a large Wacom tablet that I used on my desktop with a PC running Windows 95. I don't recall the dimensions of the tablet or the model - but it was huge and connected to the machine over the serial port and required a separate power supply.
It was a supremely annoying device, although effective at the time, I was dreading that sort of thing with the Powerbook.
Boy was I pleasantly surprised with the Intuos2 4x5!
The price is pretty great for what you get. With that, you get the unit, some sample software (I threw it out since I wasn't going to want it), a mouse (I never use it), and the pen for it (with two different grip types).
The biggest surprises for me were how incredibly small and thin this unit is, and it doesn't need a power supply at all - it gets it via the USB port - great!
(I would say that its thickness is less than your average magazine - very thin, but very sturdy)
I plugged it into my Powerbook and immediately it took over as the mouse - I could no longer use the trackpad - this is hugely annoying since in this mode it is very hard to navigate.
While in that mode I downloaded the newest drivers off of the Wacom website and installed those and then setup the driver preferences - that got it working great! (and it allows me to use the tablet to draw, but still use the trackpad - this makes a big difference in ease of use for different applications)
The whole process was easy enough - but it is annoying in that default mode.
Probably the biggest annoyance of all is that if my Powerbook is asleep and the Wacom isn't plugged in to the Powerbook, if I happen to plug it in before the system is fully "awake" then it ignores the fact that it is a known device and it starts over again assuming it is some sort of mouse. In order to fix this - you have to reboot. This is beyond annoying if you have a lot of programs open and in various states that don't necessarily lend themselves to being shut down right then.
After the reboot, the system is fine for plugging the device in, out, in again, out, whatever.
Just don't touch it while the thing is going between sleep and being awake - it screws it all up and will require that annoying restart.
The only software I use with it is Alias Sketchbook Pro (which is awesome by the way). When using the tablet, the G4 on my laptop gets maxed out, which leads to "skips" in the drawing - this isn't a problem if you are navigating the system like a mouse, but it is very annoying if you are drawing something. I learn to get around that by just drawing slower (it really shows up in writing - the quick downstroke of a "D" will usually grab the processor enough that it isn't ready yet to respond for the curve until the bottom part of it - so your "D"s look like odd "L"s).
This high processor usage is there regardless of what software you are using - so it seems something inherent to the tablet and its drivers.
Overall, I love the unit and it is perfect for laptops. If you aren't used to drawing on a tablet, it takes a bit of time to get used looking at the screen and not at your hand. Although with the smaller tablets like this, it is easier to get the tablet closer to the screen (especially with a laptop right on your lap), so the distance between your hand and the screen is smaller and it isn't so bad.
I am far more impressed with the quality, size, and design of the device than I thought I would be.
While there are some annoying parts to it, they aren't deal breakers in any way and are instead just little things that I will learn to avoid now that I know they are there.
I definitely recommend this to anyone that either has limited desktop space, or is going to be using it with a laptop.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
stenz
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Member: Eric Smith
Location: Bermuda
Reviews written: 63
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
I live in Bermuda and I write software for the financial industry.
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