There are many things about my setup here at work that I feel are making me a bit spoiled. I’m not sure whether it’s the double monitors or the seemingly endless flow of hot coffee, but I find it a little easier to whine about things when I’m working from my home machine. A few years ago my home computer was comparable to the mainframe machines NASA used. Now I catch myself saying things like, “This 27 inch monitor is way too small” or “If this mouse cord keeps getting in the way I’m gonna freak out.” Well, I don’t really say those things, but I sure do feel them deep inside my spoiled brain.
I think my favorite spoiler is my Wacom tablet. When I first started here at C360 I was asked if I wanted a tablet to use in addition to my mouse. I had never used a tablet before, but had always wanted to give it a shot. I was told it could be awkward at first but if you go for a full immersion approach within a week or so you will love it. They were not wrong. Totally love it! I still don’t have a Wacom tablet at home, but the one at work comes to visit quite often.
Here are few reasons you should consider a tablet for your setup:
- The pen is very responsive. The cursor moves as quick as your hand without getting lost.
- Your tablet is your screen. Meaning the surface of the tablet is a representation of the monitor. Once you are used to this, you can quickly pick up the pen and jump to particular areas of the screen.
- Holding the pen is a very natural feeling compared to the mouse.
- When using pressure sensitive brushes to illustrate you can easily control line thickness and fluidity.
- Sketching was something I used to only do with paper and pencil, but with the Wacom tablet I can now achieve a similar experience digitally.
- The ability to use the tablet without the pen as a touch pad.
So far I think I’ve only had one issue and I don’t think I can blame it on the tablet. I have a tendency to get up from the desk with a pen in my hand and sometimes leave the pen in a random spot. This has happened a few times with the Wacom pen and has struck fear in my heart when I couldn’t locate it. I try to use the small fabric pen holder on the side of the tablet as much as possible now.
I would definitely tell anyone who hasn’t tried a Wacom tablet to give it a shot. Stick with it and don’t give up and before you know it you may make the switch from that clunky little mouse.
