Are you a mouse master? Most users of modern desktop computers these days might consider themselves so. The little device that allows us to communicate with our computers by pointing and clicking has been around longer than many people realize. On its original patent, it was called the “X-Y Position Indicator for a Display System.” It was first invented by Douglas Engelbart at the Stanford Research Institute in 1963 with the assistance of his colleague, Bill English; and it was encased in wood and had two little wheels that tracked its movement (see Figure 1). 

 

Figure 1: The world’s first computer mouse, called the XY Position Indicator for a Display System, was encased in wood and had two wheels that tracked its movement.

Engelbart and English christened the device the “mouse” to point out its resemblance to the biological counterpart. Unfortunately, Engelbart never received any royalties for the idea because his patent ran out before it became widely used in personal computers.

 

I’ve been a mouse user ever since I bought my first personal computer in 1987, and I’ve seen the mouse evolve from a plastic clunker the size of a shoe to a streamlined, ergonomic, lightweight, wireless objet d’art that effortlessly glides across the surface of my desk.

 

Still, the mouse has become so ubiquitous in our workspace that we hardly give it a thought—unless it malfunctions. But there are countless alternatives that emulate and enhance the mouse’s functionality that should be considered as a possibility to extending the power of digital interactivity. 

 

TAKE A TABLET 

As I’m sure you are aware there are many versions of the standard one- or two-button mouse, and there are many variations of mouse-like X-Y Position Indicators including the track ball, (see Figure 2) a device with a roller that requires less hand and wrist movement to reduce stress, and track pads found on laptops that respond to your finger-tips.

 

Figure 2: A trackball reduces stress by limiting wrist and hand movement.

However, the device that pushes the envelope on point-and-click technology and extends the user’s capability into a whole different realm is something called the graphics tablet. A graphics tablet is like a writing surface, and is bundled with an electronic pen called a stylus. The stylus usually has a button that enables the user to click or double click (as one would with a mouse). 

 

Holding the stylus and moving its tip over the tablet—much like you would a pen—moves the curser on the monitor and provides a higher degree of control when drawing or performing other graphics-related tasks. Because what happens on screen is directly related to the position of the stylus, its interaction with the tablet provides a very natural way to create two-dimensional computer graphics. 

 

Many graphics software applications utilize the stylus’ physical orientation such as its pressure, tilt and rotation information that is transmitted by the tablet to control brush size and shape, paint transparency, color, and brush dynamics, as in Figure 3. These additional attributes enable the user to experience the production of digital images in a much more interactive and expressive modality that simulates the act of traditional drawing or painting.

 

Figure 3: Applications like Adobe Photoshop have built-in controls that are responsive to graphics tablets.

USES IN THE WORKPLACE

Graphic tablets are frequently used by artists with a graphics editing program such as Adobe Photoshop, to enhance precision and extend capabilities. It’s common practice for photographers to dodge and burn photographs and create highly refined layer masks with a tablet. Graphics tablets have found their way into the classroom to create and project handwritten notes or lessons, and they are also useful for grading assignments and for conducting live tutorials when complex visual information or mathematical equations need to be displayed. Tablets have also become useful for technical drawing and computer aided drafting. 

 

WACOM TABLETS

Several types of tablets are available, the most common being the passive tablet. Most notably manufactured by Wacom, (www.wacom.com, pronounced way-kum) a Japanese company that is one of the largest graphics tablet producers in the world. Wacom tablets are the industry standard among artists, graphic designers, architects and cartoonists. They are noted for their use of a patented cordless, battery-free, and pressure-sensitive stylus.

 

The two most recent iterations of the Wacom graphics tablet are the Bamboo (see Figure 4) and the Intuos. These tablets make use of electromagnetic induction technology. The horizontal and vertical wires of the tablet operate as both transmitting and receiving coils. The tablet generates a signal that is received by the stylus. The wires in the tablet then alternate to receiving mode and read the signal generated by the stylus. The advantage of this type of alternating signal is that the tablet drives the stylus and therefore no battery or other external energy source is required, streamlining the size and weight of the stylus and rendering it more pen-like. The disadvantage is that because the system alternates between sending and receiving mode, the signal may be briefly interrupted and produce “jitter” where, for a brief interval, the pen is unresponsive. 

 

Figure 4: Wacom’s Bamboo tablet is considered the industry standard by many graphics professionals.

ACTIVE TABLETS

Active tablets use a self-powered stylus that generate and transmit a signal to the tablet. A battery is contained within the stylus. The advantage of a self-powered stylus is that the tablets continually detect the stylus’ signal because they do not have to alternate between transmit and receive modes, which eliminates jitter. The disadvantage is that the stylus is heavier and more bulky because it contains a battery.

 

Graphics tablets come in a variety of sizes and price ranging from A6 size—5.8" x 4.1" being relatively inexpensive at around $100 to A3-size—16.5" x 11.7" tablets and being considerably more expensive in the $1,000 range. Most tablets connect to the computer via a USB interface.

 

TOUCHSCREENS

No article about graphic tablets would be complete without acknowledging the latest technology to hit the market. A touchscreen is an electronic visual display that can detect the presence of the pressure from a finger, hand or stylus. Touchscreens are common in devices such as smartphones and iPads.

 

Figure 5: Sketchbook Pro by Autodesk is a touchscreen drawing App for the iPad that produces low resolution images.

The advantage of the touchscreen is that it gives the user the ability to directly interact with the image as it is displayed on screen. By dragging or tapping a finger, hand or stylus directly on an image the user can deposit color, lines and shapes and modify existing content. Touchscreen tablets require specific drawing applications such as Sketchbook Pro for the iPad by Autodesk (see Figure 5). While these apps are versatile, easy to use and really inexpensive ($9.95) they produce low-resolution (72 ppi) images that are not ideal for professional quality printing. 

 

Figure 6: Drawing on a touchscreen monitor that connects directly to a computer simulates the traditional drawing experience. Shown here is a 19” LCD monitor pen tablet from P-Active.

The industrial-strength touchscreen solution is to connect an interactive monitor directly to a computer and work with more sophisticated applications such as Adobe Photoshop. A stylus dragged across the surface of one of these interactive 19" displays produces the effects of brushes and other drawing and editing features available in the program. The XPC1910A, a professional 19" LCD monitor pen tablet (with cordless stylus) from P-Active (www.pactiveus.com), is a good example of this technology (see Figure 6). 

 

A DIFFERENT KIND OF DRAWING 

I’ve been using a Wacom Bamboo tablet for about two years now but before that I exclusively used a mouse. Having spent a lot of time drawing on paper, I initially found that working with a tablet is quite different than traditional drawing and a bit hard to get used to. At first I felt disoriented not knowing where or how to position the stylus or I would forget to click the button at the correct time. But, like any new process, I practiced with the tablet for a few weeks and I soon got the hang of it. Now I’m absolutely hooked. Tablets are certainly worth the money if you get tired of pushing that old mouse around and you want more interactivity and control.