SWIMBO bought me a Trust TB2100 wireless tablet for my biffday, knowing that
I like to edit the odd photo & would like to do the odd drawing.

Very kind of her - but what the hell is a wireless tablet & what does it do?

I'm trying to sound enthusiastic & grateful, but basically I'm trying to buy
time "haven't had a chance to install it yet love".

WTF does it do?

I've installed the mouse that came with it, which is ferkin useless, so I've
gone back to my old one.

Do I have to open some sort of program to use it? Word? Picture It? What
will it do if I open whatever program?

At the moment its a potential doorstop.

I simply don't understand why it exists? Will it solve a problem I don't
have?


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

In message , The Medway
Handyman writes
SWIMBO bought me a Trust TB2100 wireless tablet for my biffday, knowing that
I like to edit the odd photo & would like to do the odd drawing.

Very kind of her - but what the hell is a wireless tablet & what does it do?

I'm trying to sound enthusiastic & grateful, but basically I'm trying to buy
time "haven't had a chance to install it yet love".

WTF does it do?

I've installed the mouse that came with it, which is ferkin useless, so I've
gone back to my old one.

Do I have to open some sort of program to use it? Word? Picture It? What
will it do if I open whatever program?

At the moment its a potential doorstop.

I simply don't understand why it exists? Will it solve a problem I don't
have?



Sorry Dave, I'm trying desperately to reply but I'm sitting here p'ing
myself laughing and struggling :-)

All I got was a pair of f***ing socks!!!!
Someone

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
om...
SWIMBO bought me a Trust TB2100 wireless tablet for my biffday, knowing
that
I like to edit the odd photo & would like to do the odd drawing.

Very kind of her - but what the hell is a wireless tablet & what does it
do?

I'm trying to sound enthusiastic & grateful, but basically I'm trying to
buy
time "haven't had a chance to install it yet love".

WTF does it do?

I've installed the mouse that came with it, which is ferkin useless, so
I've
gone back to my old one.

Do I have to open some sort of program to use it? Word? Picture It?
What
will it do if I open whatever program?

At the moment its a potential doorstop.

I simply don't understand why it exists? Will it solve a problem I don't
have?


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk



Basically they're for architectural drafting but can be used in pait
programs like paintshop pro or adobe photoshop for drawing anything.
The better the tablet the ore refine a picture or achitectural drawing.

Put a pic on the tablet and select an art program then watch the screen come
together as you draw an outline of a face.
Search Utube for vids on drawing on the computer.

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
om...
SWIMBO bought me a Trust TB2100 wireless tablet for my biffday, knowing
that
I like to edit the odd photo & would like to do the odd drawing.

Very kind of her - but what the hell is a wireless tablet & what does it
do?

I'm trying to sound enthusiastic & grateful, but basically I'm trying to
buy
time "haven't had a chance to install it yet love".

WTF does it do?

I've installed the mouse that came with it, which is ferkin useless, so
I've
gone back to my old one.

Do I have to open some sort of program to use it? Word? Picture It?
What
will it do if I open whatever program?

At the moment its a potential doorstop.

I simply don't understand why it exists? Will it solve a problem I don't
have?


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk



Here's a wacom in action. ;-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZSW-QNs0Is

SWIMBO bought me a Trust TB2100 wireless tablet for my biffday, knowing that
I like to edit the odd photo & would like to do the odd drawing.
Very kind of her - but what the hell is a wireless tablet & what does it do?

Most of them can be used in "pen" mode as a replacement for a mouse
(some people prefer them for general use - but from a personal point
of view, gimme a trackball any day!)

For art orientated stuff, many pads have a pressure sensitivity which
can give you much greater control for editing - if you brush it
lightly, you'll get a minimal effect, but applying a bit more pressure
will heighten the effect of whatever you're doing (like blur / erase)

Most of the time, you can leave both plugged in and use what is most
convenient at the time.

If you haven't got Photoshop or Photoshop Elements, try looking at
Gimp (it's free)

Couple of options here - one you install "normally" from:

http://downloads.sourceforge.net/gim...i686-setup.exe

....or for a version that doesn't need to be installed (can be put on a
memory stick and moved between computers)

http://portableapps.com/apps/graphic.../gimp_portable

You can impress the missus with that one - a variant of Gimp was used
to create the effects on the movie Titanic (tweaked for movies /
motion)

The Medway Handyman wrote:

SWIMBO bought me a Trust TB2100 wireless tablet for my biffday, knowing that
I like to edit the odd photo & would like to do the odd drawing.

OK, in the world of graphics tablets we have Wacom at the Makita /
Festool end of the spectrum, and Trust bringing up the Power Devil end!

Very kind of her - but what the hell is a wireless tablet & what does it do?

At its simplest it is a kind of mouse replacement when you move the
pointer with a pen rather than a mouse. Some also accept puck style mice
that have an accurate crosshair target mounted on them, that you can use
for accurate digitising of points in 2D space (say capturing a diagram
into a drawing or CAD package).

I'm trying to sound enthusiastic & grateful, but basically I'm trying to buy
time "haven't had a chance to install it yet love".

WTF does it do?

As a replacement for a mouse they generally feel a bit odd. However in a
paint package used with freehand drawing tools they feel far more
natural than trying to draw with a mouse. Activities like shading and
tracing become far more natural feeling (e.g. trying to trace round an
image in Photoshop so as to extract it from its background is usually
far easier with a pen than a mouse). As is signing your name.

I've installed the mouse that came with it, which is ferkin useless, so I've
gone back to my old one.

Do I have to open some sort of program to use it? Word? Picture It? What
will it do if I open whatever program?

If you have Photoshop (or Elements) try that, failing that Paint Shop
Pro or whatever your normal prog of choice for graphics retouching is.

They will usually work with any graphics software. The better software
and the better tablets paired together (e.g. wacom and photoshop) should
unleash a bunch of extra things that you can't get with a mouse.

Pressure sensitivity is the most basic. Here the program responds to not
only where you draw, but also how hard you press on the "paper". Hence
lines thicken with more pressure etc, or an airbrush will increase opacity.

The posher ones also recognise "tilt" in two axis. This allows the type
of line drawn to accurately reflect how a real pen or pencil would react
- giving different line styles depending on the angle the stylus is held
at.

At the moment its a potential doorstop.

I simply don't understand why it exists? Will it solve a problem I don't
have?

Try it for freehand drawing in a graphics package. I find that I can
write on screen just as badly as I can on paper with a tablet! ;-)

Note some tablets offer the options of mouse mode and absolute - the
former allows you to lift the pen from the page move it and replace it
at the same position you left off - rather like lifting and moving a
mouse to get more usable roll space on a desk. Absolute mode maps an
exact point on the tablet to one on the screen. Not as intuitive for
some actions but better for tracing and digitising. (some of the larger
tablets have a transparent lift up surface to allow a picture or diagram
to be inserted for tracing over)

--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

SWIMBO bought me a Trust TB2100 wireless tablet for my biffday

If you feel the urge, and you happen to find out where she got it has
a decent returns policy, a Wacom is a much better product.

The reviews on Amazon are not particularly friendly, with some slating
it heavily !

http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/product/B0000DIGJ1

Compare them to this...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/product/B000VZZCSO

Colin Wilson o.uk
wrote:

SWIMBO bought me a Trust TB2100 wireless tablet for my biffday

If you feel the urge, and you happen to find out where she got it has
a decent returns policy, a Wacom is a much better product.


I do a lot of photo editing, often several hours a day. Before
splashing out on a Wacom, I bought a cheap graphics tablet to try. I'm
glad I did, because (like the OP) I just couldn't see the point of it.
I would have been very cross if I had paid for a Wacom.

In case the cheapness was the problem, I did try a Wacom for a day,
and while it was better made, I didn't find it any more useful for
photo editing than a mouse and keyboard. My tablet went back into its
box where it remains, three years later (it is not valuable enough to
bother with eBay!).

I can see the value of a tablet in a drawing office (engineers and
architects etc..) or for a graphic designer who can express
him/herself better with a pen than with a mouse. But for photo
editing, tablets don't seem to offer much of an advantage, if any.

To the OP, it is probably worth persevering with it to see if it works
for you.

Bruce wrote:
Colin Wilson o.uk
wrote:

SWIMBO bought me a Trust TB2100 wireless tablet for my biffday
If you feel the urge, and you happen to find out where she got it has
a decent returns policy, a Wacom is a much better product.


I do a lot of photo editing, often several hours a day. Before
splashing out on a Wacom, I bought a cheap graphics tablet to try. I'm
glad I did, because (like the OP) I just couldn't see the point of it.
I would have been very cross if I had paid for a Wacom.

In case the cheapness was the problem, I did try a Wacom for a day,
and while it was better made, I didn't find it any more useful for
photo editing than a mouse and keyboard. My tablet went back into its
box where it remains, three years later (it is not valuable enough to
bother with eBay!).

I can see the value of a tablet in a drawing office (engineers and
architects etc..) or for a graphic designer who can express
him/herself better with a pen than with a mouse. But for photo
editing, tablets don't seem to offer much of an advantage, if any.

To the OP, it is probably worth persevering with it to see if it works
for you.


I use PhotoImpact for editing, and have barely scratched the surface of
its capabilities.
As John says, freehand selection can be very tedious with a mouse.

stuart noble wrote:

Bruce wrote:
Colin Wilson o.uk
wrote:

SWIMBO bought me a Trust TB2100 wireless tablet for my biffday
If you feel the urge, and you happen to find out where she got it has
a decent returns policy, a Wacom is a much better product.


I do a lot of photo editing, often several hours a day. Before
splashing out on a Wacom, I bought a cheap graphics tablet to try. I'm
glad I did, because (like the OP) I just couldn't see the point of it.
I would have been very cross if I had paid for a Wacom.

In case the cheapness was the problem, I did try a Wacom for a day,
and while it was better made, I didn't find it any more useful for
photo editing than a mouse and keyboard. My tablet went back into its
box where it remains, three years later (it is not valuable enough to
bother with eBay!).

I can see the value of a tablet in a drawing office (engineers and
architects etc..) or for a graphic designer who can express
him/herself better with a pen than with a mouse. But for photo
editing, tablets don't seem to offer much of an advantage, if any.

To the OP, it is probably worth persevering with it to see if it works
for you.


I use PhotoImpact for editing, and have barely scratched the surface of
its capabilities.
As John says, freehand selection can be very tedious with a mouse.


I don't find it tedious at all. But that's probably because I have
been doing it for nearly 20 years - since 1989.

Graphics tablets were available then, but they were way outside my
price range. I had just spent £2795 on an Apple Macintosh SE with a
tiny 9" black and white screen, and £4295 on an Apple Laserwriter NT,
a Postscript laser printer with a mere 300 dpi, so funds were scarce.
I guess that if I had used a graphics tablet from the start, I would
have been singing its praises now. As it is, with all that practice,
the mouse works very well for me, so I see no need to change. ;-)

"stuart noble" wrote in message
news
Bruce wrote:
Colin Wilson o.uk
wrote:

SWIMBO bought me a Trust TB2100 wireless tablet for my biffday
If you feel the urge, and you happen to find out where she got it has a
decent returns policy, a Wacom is a much better product.


I do a lot of photo editing, often several hours a day. Before
splashing out on a Wacom, I bought a cheap graphics tablet to try. I'm
glad I did, because (like the OP) I just couldn't see the point of it.
I would have been very cross if I had paid for a Wacom.

In case the cheapness was the problem, I did try a Wacom for a day,
and while it was better made, I didn't find it any more useful for
photo editing than a mouse and keyboard. My tablet went back into its
box where it remains, three years later (it is not valuable enough to
bother with eBay!).

I can see the value of a tablet in a drawing office (engineers and
architects etc..) or for a graphic designer who can express
him/herself better with a pen than with a mouse. But for photo
editing, tablets don't seem to offer much of an advantage, if any.

To the OP, it is probably worth persevering with it to see if it works
for you.

I use PhotoImpact for editing, and have barely scratched the surface of
its capabilities.
As John says, freehand selection can be very tedious with a mouse.

You should try it on a tablet PC, wacom tablet behind the screen. ;-)

Bruce wrote:
stuart noble wrote:

Bruce wrote:
Colin Wilson o.uk
wrote:

SWIMBO bought me a Trust TB2100 wireless tablet for my biffday
If you feel the urge, and you happen to find out where she got it has
a decent returns policy, a Wacom is a much better product.

I do a lot of photo editing, often several hours a day. Before
splashing out on a Wacom, I bought a cheap graphics tablet to try. I'm
glad I did, because (like the OP) I just couldn't see the point of it.
I would have been very cross if I had paid for a Wacom.

In case the cheapness was the problem, I did try a Wacom for a day,
and while it was better made, I didn't find it any more useful for
photo editing than a mouse and keyboard. My tablet went back into its
box where it remains, three years later (it is not valuable enough to
bother with eBay!).

I can see the value of a tablet in a drawing office (engineers and
architects etc..) or for a graphic designer who can express
him/herself better with a pen than with a mouse. But for photo
editing, tablets don't seem to offer much of an advantage, if any.

To the OP, it is probably worth persevering with it to see if it works
for you.

I use PhotoImpact for editing, and have barely scratched the surface of
its capabilities.
As John says, freehand selection can be very tedious with a mouse.


I don't find it tedious at all. But that's probably because I have
been doing it for nearly 20 years - since 1989.

Graphics tablets were available then, but they were way outside my
price range. I had just spent £2795 on an Apple Macintosh SE with a
tiny 9" black and white screen, and £4295 on an Apple Laserwriter NT,
a Postscript laser printer with a mere 300 dpi, so funds were scarce.
I guess that if I had used a graphics tablet from the start, I would
have been singing its praises now. As it is, with all that practice,
the mouse works very well for me, so I see no need to change. ;-)


It's ok at full zoom where it's all straight lines anyway, but I find
the initial outline difficult on a mouse. Maybe I should clean it more
often :-)

I'm trying to sound enthusiastic & grateful, but basically I'm trying to
buy time "haven't had a chance to install it yet love".

Dave maybe you should sit down and speak to her instead of slating what she
gets you. I seem to recall you slating her presents before.
http://groups.google.co.uk/group/uk....essies&lnk=ol&

Maybe she might be more interested in your other pursuits? ;o)
http://www.gaytoz.com/search01.asp?line=25976
Do you charge a higher rate for that line?

WTP.

On Mon, 07 Jul 2008 23:47:27 GMT, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:

SWIMBO bought me a Trust TB2100 wireless tablet for my biffday, knowing that
I like to edit the odd photo & would like to do the odd drawing.

Very kind of her - but what the hell is a wireless tablet & what does it do?

You have connected it and installed the driver from the CD that came
with it?

Maybe she might be more interested in your other pursuits? ;o)
http://www.gaytoz.com/search01.asp?line=25976

You found that without any trouble - one of your usual haunts ?

Whats The Point wrote:
I'm trying to sound enthusiastic & grateful, but basically I'm
trying to buy time "haven't had a chance to install it yet love".

Dave maybe you should sit down and speak to her instead of slating
what she gets you. I seem to recall you slating her presents before.
http://groups.google.co.uk/group/uk....essies&lnk=ol&


What are you? Some kind of marriage guidance stalker? **** off & mind your
own business.

Maybe she might be more interested in your other pursuits? ;o)
http://www.gaytoz.com/search01.asp?line=25976
Do you charge a higher rate for that line?

Why would I charge homosexuals more?


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

stuart noble wrote:

Bruce wrote:
stuart noble wrote:

Bruce wrote:
Colin Wilson o.uk
wrote:

SWIMBO bought me a Trust TB2100 wireless tablet for my biffday
If you feel the urge, and you happen to find out where she got it has
a decent returns policy, a Wacom is a much better product.

I do a lot of photo editing, often several hours a day. Before
splashing out on a Wacom, I bought a cheap graphics tablet to try. I'm
glad I did, because (like the OP) I just couldn't see the point of it.
I would have been very cross if I had paid for a Wacom.

In case the cheapness was the problem, I did try a Wacom for a day,
and while it was better made, I didn't find it any more useful for
photo editing than a mouse and keyboard. My tablet went back into its
box where it remains, three years later (it is not valuable enough to
bother with eBay!).

I can see the value of a tablet in a drawing office (engineers and
architects etc..) or for a graphic designer who can express
him/herself better with a pen than with a mouse. But for photo
editing, tablets don't seem to offer much of an advantage, if any.

To the OP, it is probably worth persevering with it to see if it works
for you.

I use PhotoImpact for editing, and have barely scratched the surface of
its capabilities.
As John says, freehand selection can be very tedious with a mouse.


I don't find it tedious at all. But that's probably because I have
been doing it for nearly 20 years - since 1989.

Graphics tablets were available then, but they were way outside my
price range. I had just spent £2795 on an Apple Macintosh SE with a
tiny 9" black and white screen, and £4295 on an Apple Laserwriter NT,
a Postscript laser printer with a mere 300 dpi, so funds were scarce.
I guess that if I had used a graphics tablet from the start, I would
have been singing its praises now. As it is, with all that practice,
the mouse works very well for me, so I see no need to change. ;-)


It's ok at full zoom where it's all straight lines anyway, but I find
the initial outline difficult on a mouse. Maybe I should clean it more
often :-)


Have you tried a trackball? They are much more precise.

I use a Marble Mouse from Logitech. It is a trackball, but they
probably feel they have to call it a mouse.

It hardly ever needs cleaning. ;-)


http://tinyurl.com/2y2nyd

Have you tried a trackball? They are much more precise.
I use a Marble Mouse from Logitech. It is a trackball, but they
probably feel they have to call it a mouse.

I use one in work - they're great for "normal" work, but a bit crap
for gaming IMO - the ball on the marble mouse is too big, whereas the
first one I had by Logitech (forget the name) was great - small
central ball and two HUGE buttons either side.

It hardly ever needs cleaning. ;-)

I do mine every couple of weeks, and for the benefit of the op, while
this might sound onerous, it's literally a sub-10 second job - the
ball lifts out (no need to disassemble anything, it simply lifts out),
and you simply knock any big lumps of "snot" off the three ball-
bearing mounts.

"Colin Wilson" o.uk wrote
in message g...
Have you tried a trackball? They are much more precise.
I use a Marble Mouse from Logitech. It is a trackball, but they
probably feel they have to call it a mouse.

I use one in work - they're great for "normal" work, but a bit crap
for gaming IMO - the ball on the marble mouse is too big, whereas the
first one I had by Logitech (forget the name) was great - small
central ball and two HUGE buttons either side.

I think they are too small.
Maybe one of these?
http://www.amazon.com/Micro-Innovati.../dp/B00004W40X

I think they are too small.
Maybe one of these?
http://www.amazon.com/Micro-Innovati.../dp/B00004W40X

Nah, doesn't float my boat :-}

Sadly, I can't find a picture of it on google (!) - it pre-dated the
Trackman models, not sure what year I bought it, but it was from Escom
before they went bust - it was a Logitech Pilot Trackball (and
described in the only mention I can find of note that it "looks like a
fried egg gone wrong" circa 1997)

"Colin Wilson" o.uk wrote
in message g...
I think they are too small.
Maybe one of these?
http://www.amazon.com/Micro-Innovati.../dp/B00004W40X

Nah, doesn't float my boat :-}

Sadly, I can't find a picture of it on google (!) - it pre-dated the
Trackman models, not sure what year I bought it, but it was from Escom
before they went bust - it was a Logitech Pilot Trackball (and
described in the only mention I can find of note that it "looks like a
fried egg gone wrong" circa 1997)

I have two of the Logitech ones, one serial and one USB.
They work quite well as long as you keep the LED windows and ball clean, the
bearings don't matter.
I don't use either now, just a tablet or the touch pad.

Bruce wrote:
stuart noble wrote:

Bruce wrote:
stuart noble wrote:

Bruce wrote:
Colin Wilson o.uk
wrote:

SWIMBO bought me a Trust TB2100 wireless tablet for my biffday
If you feel the urge, and you happen to find out where she got it has
a decent returns policy, a Wacom is a much better product.
I do a lot of photo editing, often several hours a day. Before
splashing out on a Wacom, I bought a cheap graphics tablet to try. I'm
glad I did, because (like the OP) I just couldn't see the point of it.
I would have been very cross if I had paid for a Wacom.

In case the cheapness was the problem, I did try a Wacom for a day,
and while it was better made, I didn't find it any more useful for
photo editing than a mouse and keyboard. My tablet went back into its
box where it remains, three years later (it is not valuable enough to
bother with eBay!).

I can see the value of a tablet in a drawing office (engineers and
architects etc..) or for a graphic designer who can express
him/herself better with a pen than with a mouse. But for photo
editing, tablets don't seem to offer much of an advantage, if any.

To the OP, it is probably worth persevering with it to see if it works
for you.

I use PhotoImpact for editing, and have barely scratched the surface of
its capabilities.
As John says, freehand selection can be very tedious with a mouse.

I don't find it tedious at all. But that's probably because I have
been doing it for nearly 20 years - since 1989.

Graphics tablets were available then, but they were way outside my
price range. I had just spent £2795 on an Apple Macintosh SE with a
tiny 9" black and white screen, and £4295 on an Apple Laserwriter NT,
a Postscript laser printer with a mere 300 dpi, so funds were scarce.
I guess that if I had used a graphics tablet from the start, I would
have been singing its praises now. As it is, with all that practice,
the mouse works very well for me, so I see no need to change. ;-)

It's ok at full zoom where it's all straight lines anyway, but I find
the initial outline difficult on a mouse. Maybe I should clean it more
often :-)


Have you tried a trackball? They are much more precise.

I've got used to a 3 button type where the centre is a double click. The
result is I now seem to have lost the ability to double click fast
enough, which is kind of embarrassing when you're on friends' computers.
Perhaps the trackball button does this? That extra click has always
seemed an unnecessary waste of time to me.

I use a Marble Mouse from Logitech. It is a trackball, but they
probably feel they have to call it a mouse.

It hardly ever needs cleaning. ;-)

Wow! I have to scrape the bearings on mine with a toothpick. Static
charge I guess. I blame the cat


http://tinyurl.com/2y2nyd

"stuart noble" wrote in message
...
Bruce wrote:

8

It hardly ever needs cleaning. ;-)

Wow! I have to scrape the bearings on mine with a toothpick. Static charge
I guess. I blame the cat

Its you!
All that mess is from your hands.
It doesn't have much effect on optical mice and track balls.


http://tinyurl.com/2y2nyd

They work quite well as long as you keep the LED windows and ball clean, the
bearings don't matter.

My trackball pre-dated the optical era by a couple of years - I still
had to scrape the rollers occasionally :-}