On  6 Oct 98 at 20:11, Roxanne Pierce wrote:

> I have a client who is interested in supplementing her mouse with a pen and
> tablet. I have absolutely no information whatsoever about these things.
>
> 1.  Can a pen and tablet be functional simultaneously with a mouse?

  Yes.  The only thing to watch out for is if you set the pen down on
the tablet and move the mouse around -- then the devices fight about
where the cursor should be.  Move the pen away from the tablet when
mousing.

> 2.  Do they normally plug into a serial port, a parallel port, or are some
> available for USB ports?

  The two tablet-equipped systems I've built (I have partners who are
graphic artists) have both used a serial port -- and, as implied
above, get treated as a serial mouse by Windows and any other "not
tablet aware" programs.

  Both of these systems also have 33.6Kbps internal modems.  In one
case, we were able to configure the modem to use an alternate IRQ; in
the other case, I installed a PS/2 mouse (they can be found for $7-8)
so that both COM port IRQs were available for modem and pad.

> 3.  Are there any brand names and models that are particularly good or
> particularly bad?

  Wacom makes some very nice units.  I think a 4"x6" pad and
"Dabbler" software were about $150 last year.

  I don't recall the name of the pad on the more recent system.  Its
pen has a cord (Wacom is cordless) and the accompanying software was
a bit less complicated, but the surface itself was more like 6"x8"
and the price was only about $90.

David G

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