While a mouse is acceptable for point-and-click computing, it proves almost useless when trying to draw, proving somewhat 'uncoordinated' and giving you very little control over the resulting picture on screen. A graphics tablet, such as Wacom's Artz II 6x8, gives you much greater level of freedom and control over the screen drawing, both in normal point-and-click operations, and in drawing and painting programs where the tablet really excels.

On Paper, the features packed into the 'Erasing Ultrapen' bundled with the package are quite impressive, with the tablet being able to detect the pen's location, pressure, tilt and bearing from a distance of up to 0.2" away. These specifications come into play when you feel the increadible naturalness that can be achieved in drawing programs such as Fractal Design Painter and Fractal Design Dabbler. By flipping the pen over, the tablet also has the ability to change the current painting tool to eraser in your drawing program, or to erase text.

Installing the tablet is a breeze, with Windows 95 detecting it at startup and, like Windows 3.x and DOS simply requiring the drivers to then be installed, which worked straight away.

In conclusion, whether you want to try your hand at computer art, or just want to escape the 'mouse', then the Wacom Artz II 6x8 would be the perfect starting place for you -- I unreservedly recommend it.

Specifications

TABLET DIMENSIONS - 9.6"x13"x.5"
ACTIVE AREA - 6"x 8"
READING HEIGHT - 0.2"
PRESSURE LEVELS - 256
RESOLUTION - 2540 lpi
ACCURACY - +/- 0.01"
TILT - +/- 60 degrees

Requirements